sandman5000


@ mike (this quotes thing....) 

well since u want to try to call me out....doesn't Jim charge $ for those calls?   that is ....uhmmm... what's that word again....oh yeah.. a SALE.  


And firewire?  its on it's last legs!  like it or not,  USB won (or will definitely win).  To recommend a laptop based on if it will work with firewire....thats not too forward thinking at all. Even  the daw salesmen have said..there are none with decent  fiirewire anymore (I'll take their word on it for this point...but i'm not entirely convinced it would not work for EVERY laptop made or  EVERY interface made).


But lets think for a second...who stands to benefit from recommending  firewire interfaces with laptops...and im not singling out JR here.

Another important point that gets ignored...is 64 buffers more noticeable than 128?  Its not a FACT that it is.  There are huge raging debates on whether or not  its even noticeable.  Very serious and pro musicians state they cant tell.  Can you?  can Jim?  PROVE scientifically that its noticeable to every human being.  I'm not talking about on paper.  On paper ..sure.   But in reality?  the debate goes on...

As far as the rest...mr platinum (congratz!) summed it up nicely already. 

Good day.  :)

...(edit)..BTW--you need an expert to tell youwhich home office laptop to buy? Sounds like you don't know much if you need that.   I've built about 10 DAWS for myself n freinds (build soundslike  too much..assembled really).  EZ enough with a little research.   I'd have told you to go to Micro Center or fry's..or somewhere where there isn't a 15% restocking fee like at best buy in case it doesn't fit your needs.  Perhaps you should have called me instead. .

sandman5000


mr platinum...that must b a new change at Best Buy.  Or maybe just California?  last time I asked was December.  I think it would be great if they have a no restocking fee now. 

Keep rocking out with your karaoke rig!

Jim Roseberry

Unless you have the ability to create custom BIOS/drivers for said hardware, you're not going to achieve low idle DPC latency with the HP.

mike_mccue


"I still "question" the validity or relevance of this DPC Latency test on new machines running Windows 7 with a Core i7 processor.  Like I said before, my DPC results hover between 100+ and 400+, spiking at 500+ and I have no dropouts whatsoever."

The fact that you question this has been obvious.

This is clearly a "if you have to ask" situation.

It's obvious you haven't been in a situation where you need the DPC to be minimal.

That's why I suggest that people simply make their own field report rather than denounce Jim's conclusions with the vigour displayed previously.

For example; your claim that your workflow can withstand a DPC rating of 500 helps me understand that you are truly satisfied, yet it tells me that I will not be.

Easy. Painless. Freindly.

best regards,
mike

Jim Roseberry

Load up the Unified Tribe song "Guilty" from the Sonar 8 content DVD. 
On a fast i7 tower/rackmount DAW, "Guilty" really isn't that heavy of a load (~12-20% on my tower).
Start playback at said settings... and have a listen. 
In short, it won't playback without major glitches.  No amount of bickering, arguing, complaining, etc will change this.
Using a TI chipset Firewire controller (via express-card) won't change this.
Streaming the audio from an eSATA HD that sustains 120MB/Sec won't change this.
The only way to mitigate the problem is... wait for it... to increase latency.  
These laptops *could* have effectively worked at a 64-sample ASIO buffer size (the processing power is there), but DPC latency has to be down to the bone and consistent to do so.  We know this not to be the case.  For the record, the Dell Studio 1747's DPC latency is very slightly lower and a little more consistent than the HP's. 
 
EDITED to add:
As a point of comparison, the much slower 2.4GHz Core2Duo Laptop (MBP) breezes thru the above test (with the exact same audio hardware and settings)... totally glitch-free.  That's the difference low DPC latency and good TI Firewire can make.  If the HP and Dell had those attributes, they have enough speed to smoke the 2.4GHz Core2Duo.

 

Timur


Somehow it feels as if I hadn't posted that exhaustive (exhausting?) explanation about DPC interpretation at all.

For comparison the DV7 3020EA manages this song at 128 samples and 35-40% CPU through a USB Tascam US 122L .

only picky people like myself could notice 10-15 sample long crackles in playback

pinguinotuerto

teaandjambeforejam


pinguinotuerto,

my laptop is a hp pavilion dv7 (2043cl) and i would like to use this machine for recording if possible. i notice you are working with a laptop from the same series and a line 6 ux8. i was thinking of buying a ux2 however there are thousands of threads on the line 6 forums suggesting that line 6 studio pods will not work with this series of hp laptop. i would be working with guitars and mics for voices and maybe some softsynths. i am a mere hobbyist when it comes to the studio and wanting to record some work for independent releases is all. any advice on how you got the line 6 gear working would be much appreciated as would any advice on alternative interfaces in the same price range that would work with my system (x64 home premium version of vista although i may upgrade to windows 7).

Tea,
Wow, that's a really tough one because so many people are having very different results with Line 6 units and Windows 7 BETA drivers.  I went straight from XP SP3 to Win 7, so I can't really be much help with Vista.  It seems, according to Line 6 T.S., that some processors don't work well with Line 6 USB units, one of them being the AMD Turion.  I experienced a lot of glitches with my old system (Dual Turion) and my Line 6 gear and was told by Line 6 that some people have found success by plugging in their Line 6 units into a self-powered USB hub.  I never tried it, so I can't tell you if it works or not, but it might be worth a try.  I checked your machine and it seems to have an Intel Core 2 Duo T6400. I don't have any experience with that processor so I can't really comment on it and I really haven't checked the Line 6 forums regarding Vista, but if I'm not mistaken I think their Vista drivers were ok.   I like both the UX2 and the UX8.  See if you can work out a deal with a store where they can guarantee you that you can return it within a certain amount of time if it doesn't work for you.  Most stores have a 14 to 30 day return policy without a re-stocking fee.
 
I'm sorry I can't help you more! Good luck!