This is an informative thread.  I downloaded and ran the Latency Mon program.  My system red-lined terribly with WLAN and AVG running.  I disable those whenever I record, but even without those programs running Latency Mon reported problems and suggested CPU Throttling as a culprit and/or BIOS.
 
Now, I've used my studio laptop for live broadcasts before with a Logitech HD Webcam.  Turns out that program appeared as a Hard Page Fault offender.  I uninstalled it.  There is a BIOS update for my laptop, but I have no intention of risking that.  However, I did check on a few driver updates and there was one for my Quad Capture, 1.5.2 from 1.5, which I installed.  
 
Previously, I had to set the ASIO Buffer at nearly 1024 samples to avoid erratic playback, but with the new driver installed and Logitech Webcam software uninstalled, I was at a 96 sample buffer with a 9.8 sec Total Round Trip on a 6-track project with few plugins.
 
Latency Mon still shows my system in the red though with ACPI.sys being the major offender.

I fell out of love with my presonus 1818 pretty quick. I "upgraded" to the latest firmware and lost the fat channels and ease of use suffered. I didn't realize it didn't offer direct monitoring till I already had it. God I miss being able to use my Aardvark q10! Anybody wanna buy a slightly used Presonus audio box 1818vsl??

Followup on this with a good ending (so far...).
 
Check out this site from Sweeteater and download LatencyMon.
 
http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/solving-dpc-latency-issues/
 
Realize that Presonus drivers suck if I can get better performance from the direct MS driver, but used LatencyMon to identify problems and fix them. Does better than the DSP program (many thanks for this reference). DSP gave me a yellow bar okay, LatencyMon reported everything was forked up and how to troubleshoot.
 
Not sure if my computer won't burst into flames from overheating, but can get the wretched 22VSL to run S-Gear and the 106-Emulator without sounding like a popcorn popper.
 
Happy camper until something melts down.
 
John

Followup on a followup. This from the standpoint of win 10.
I lost the link wanting to share, but think it was provided after running LatencyMon when I was having major problems. Things working well now, so no flags and links, and my old age Alzheimer's can't remember back past 5 minutes at best.
They give the option of a reg modification file to install additional, and to my opinion, critical entries into the control power management scheme. No spyware. Got the file if anyone wants and can't find.
What gets added is the "Processor power management" field under the Control Panel "Power Options" tab.
Hi points seems to be advanced options in core parking, minimum processor state,and max processor state. Advice was to set these percentages to 100 to get the biggest bang.
Laptop started flying like a bat out of hell, but the fan on all the time. I've gone in and modified these parameters to 50%.
Fan is off most of the time and able to get the Presonus running pop free at a 256 buffer. Before this intervention, 256 was complete static and garbage.
 
Steve, not that it may work for you, but give this a shot before dumping your 1818 as a boat anchor.
 
Hope this info will help. Even if no manifest problems, a good analysis and shows where there is room for improvement.
 
John

Followup on followup on followup...
 
Got over zealous on 256 buffer. Banging away on the elegant 106-Emulato while S-Gear on another track. Both major CPU hogs, as cool as they are. Removed the S-Gear track and 106 behaving properly and the other way around.
 
Got unacceptable pops throttling back to 50%. Fortunately, can fine tune the percentages to a balance. Safe static one one end, pending fire bomb on the other.
 
John
 

Laptops are prone to higher DPC Latency.
Due to tight space constraints, performance throttling is used to keep temps in check.
If you're running an i7 CPU, it likely has lower clock-speed than your tower/desktop.
You're also dealing with power-management (for long battery life), which affects performance.
 
Depending on the laptop, you may or may not have much control over the above.
 
 

Guys,
 
Here's the link on managing CPU throttling, including reg file to add the control as the Processor power management tab. Very useful so far, but does anyone see any dangers in changing these values, as in overheating things?
 
http://isboxer.com/wiki/H..._Throttling_in_Windows
 
John

FWIW, Those settings are *part* of managing CPU throttling.
Other parameters may or may not be exposed in the BIOS.
 
No, you will not burn up the processor with those settings.
 
 

What perfect timing!  I, too, am getting drivers ready for Windows 1607 and it looks like my 44vsl is going the way of my E-MU 1820.  They should stack nicely together in the corner.  As a public service, I should post what I plan to buy next so everyone can stay away from it.  This one thread answered more in 15 minutes than years of searching the web.  Thank you.  Very disappointed in Presonus.

Thanks Jim for the BIOS reminder.
 
BrFr,  I'm holding my breath, but with throttle adjustments in win 1607, the Presonus card is working a lot better. Was going to do that test where they run over it with a car, and see what my results were. Might however be able to hang on to it for a while longer.
 
John