Mus
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Time for a new PC?
Hi guys,
My 6 year old PC spec is in my profile - even when I run even a modest Sonar Platinum project all i7 CPU cores eventually rise from about 20% to near 100% and I get audio dropouts at 1024 latency on the MOTU.
I had to do a clean install at one point and it seems to have got worse.
Is my PC obviously underpowered or can I troubleshoot why the CPUs get overloaded?
Thanks for any input!
M
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Mesh
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Re: Time for a new PC?
2016/04/08 16:21:18
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1024 is a bit high.....have you tried it at 512 or lower?
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dwardzala
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Re: Time for a new PC?
2016/04/08 16:58:48
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What are you running on it for soft synths and effects? An i7 should have plenty of processing power.
DaveMain Studio- Core i5 @2.67GHz, 16Gb Ram, (2) 500Gb HDs, (1) 360 Gb HD MotU Ultralite AVB, Axiom 49 Midi Controller, Akai MPD18 Midi Controller Win10 x64 Home Sonar 2017.06 Platinum (and X3e, X2c, X1d) Mobile Studio - Sager NP8677 (i7-6700HQ @2.67MHz, 16G Ram, 250G SSD, 1T HD) M-Box Mini v. 2 Win 10 x64 Home Sonar 2016.10 Platinum Check out my original music: https://soundcloud.com/d-wardzala/sets/d-wardzala-original-music
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Klaus
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Re: Time for a new PC?
2016/04/08 17:24:46
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Some soft synths and FX can be very CPU intensive, so running a first generation i7 mobile CPU with "only" 1,6 GHz could indeed be a bottleneck.
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mikedocy
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Re: Time for a new PC?
2016/04/08 20:21:41
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Mus
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Re: Time for a new PC?
2016/04/09 14:10:58
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Thanks guys, tried those tweaks Mike and no difference. The project starts off OK but if I loop round a section or the whole song the CPU gets progressively worse until it drops out. The fan seems to be racing every time I open Sonar or do any video work. I tried to freeze some FX like TH2 etc. but not much difference. I've tried to cut down Bitbridge stuff as that eats memory too I think. Klaus might be right about the 2nd Gen i7 bottleneck I fear. Wondering if I need this kind of thing or whether there is a more cost effective solution these days. https://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/configurator/3xs-scan-performance-17-studio-laptop-no-firewire M
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SuperG
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Re: Time for a new PC?
2016/04/09 16:29:41
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Six years is getting a bit long in the tooth.
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kitekrazy1
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Re: Time for a new PC?
2016/04/10 16:50:54
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SuperG
Six years is getting a bit long in the tooth.
Not really. My Phenom IIs can still run audio quite well. Unless the OP made an error in his specs, this is a laptop running @ 1.7 ghz. This machine really doesn't work so well for a lot of audio software.
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Klaus
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Re: Time for a new PC?
2016/04/10 17:39:42
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Mus
Wondering if I need this kind of thing or whether there is a more cost effective solution these days.
https://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/configurator/3xs-scan-performance-17-studio-laptop-no-firewire
M
These specs look fine and should take you a big leap forward compared to your current system. Albeit a more cost effective solution would be a custom desktop computer made by yourself. But that's a desktop, not a laptop, so maybe not the route you want to go...
SONAR Platinum ∞RME HDSPe AIO - Windows 10 64bit - Intel i7 2600K - 16 GB RAM
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Maarkr
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Re: Time for a new PC?
2016/04/10 20:28:42
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new machine every 4 years... altho the past 4 years have seemed to have the clock at 2.4 to 2.8 GHz for Intel.
Maarkr Studio: SPALT Lifetime/BL Cakewalk, Studio One 3.5, UAD, Z3ta+2, IKM, NI, Waves, iZotope, Melda, Reaper i7 3770/Giga Z77 mobo, Win10 Pro-64 w16Gb, MOTU Ultralite MK4, Yamaha HS80M wSub, Live: PX-5S, FA-06, Roland Lucina, Epi Les Paul, Ibanez Bass, Amps, e-drums, Zoom R-16... Latest album release, NEW! Counry Classic at http://genemaarkr.bandcamp.com/
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bitflipper
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Re: Time for a new PC?
2016/04/11 11:47:59
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☄ Helpfulby Starise 2016/04/11 12:37:57
Laptops just don't perform like comparably-equipped desktop machines, because they have to be designed with heat in mind. That means slower CPUs and slower hard drives. Unless portability is a major concern, you'll get more horsepower for less money with a conventional desktop PC.
That's just a generalization, however. If you're maxing out all cores on your i7, something else is eating up those CPU cycles besides your DAW alone. Look for things that are competing with SONAR for CPU time. For example, make sure the wi-fi's turned off.
 All else is in doubt, so this is the truth I cling to. My Stuff
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Starise
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Re: Time for a new PC?
2016/04/11 12:28:28
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Might be ok for smaller less intensive things. Was it running better earlier? Or is this the first time using Sonar on it?
Under powered computer and maybe also a software issue. Something could be hogging what little power it has, making matters worse.
The spec posted for the new computer looks decent for Sonar. As already mentioned it isn't nearly as good as you could get from a more custom build in a desktop form factor. If the laptop form factor is of prime consideration, then you could do much worse than this.
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Mus
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Re: Time for a new PC?
2016/04/11 18:07:18
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Thank you for the input guys.
I'll do some software checks but I can't think of an obvious culprit hogging the CPU.
My laptop was good for quite a few years but I haven't done much recording recently. Like I say, looping round the track seems to choke it but starts off fine.
I guess I've just gotten used to using a laptop for the last 6 years but will look at desktop specs too.
M
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Mus
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Re: Time for a new PC?
2016/04/16 13:25:08
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I updated the Nvidia graphics driver which was 3 years out of date and things improved considerably for the project I was working on :-)
I can't see any other drivers to update unless anyone knows the usual culprits in this kind of thing?
Uninstalled antivirus and switched off wi-fi.
Thanks
M
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