Athlon 64 3000+
ASUS k8V motherboard
1024 Corsair 333 2.5 3373 memory (not approved for motherboard)
Windows XP SP1
Firewire drive
Layla 24
Way to much **** running background that I don't feel like turning off.

ASIO:
42.7 - 31%
21.7 - 32%
10.7 - 39%
5.3 - 47%
2.7 - 65% (as low as it can go)

WDM:
42.7 - 36%
21.7 - 39%
10.7 - 46%
5.3 - 46%
2.7 - 44%
1.3 - 48%

As it stands now I'm matching you with my XP2700+.

I never bothered trying to get PC3200CL2 - does anyone know if this will yield much difference?

That should make a several percent difference. Syncronising the FSB and RAM clock makes a large latency improvement in nForce2 systems and Sonar is responding really well to reduced latencies. You will need to throw some good money into DDR400 you can run at low latencies.

AMD Athlon XP 1900+
1.59 GHz
1 GB RAM
MOTU 2408 mk I
WIN XP Pro
Maxtor G450 Dualhead

WDM
5.8 = 81%
11.6 = 62%
17.4 = 56%
23.2 = 52%
46.4 = 48%

ASIO
Buffer Size 64 = Nope
128 = Nope
256 = 74%
512 = 57%
1024 = 48%
2048 = 44%

you dont need to hit play, just enable the audio engine(button next to exclamation mark). the input monitoring with effects stresses the CPU

ORIGINAL: Scott Reams

This one is more applicable to Sonar 3.x. It uses the track EQ and full Lexicon Reverb, and so requires Producer Edition to run. In an effort to isolate the CPU, front side bus, and memory, the file consists of purely input-monitored tracks with various plugins/softsynths. The layout represents one possible mixing/tracking scenario.

Here it is:

Sonar3Test

Testing is simple...

Open Sonar... Set default sample rate to 44.1KHz (important to do this). Set latency to, say, 46.4ms (For consistency's sake, try to use ASIO drivers if you have them available... otherwise, WDM is okay)... and then open the test file. Make sure the audio engine is active, and note the CPU meter reading. Do the same at 23.2ms, 11.6ms, 5.8ms, 2.9ms, and 1.5ms. Keep in mind that on many systems, the audio engine may refuse to engage at the lower latencies. Make a note of that as well.

AMD Athlon XP 3200+
ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Motherboard
1GB PC3200 CAS2.5 DDR (2x512MB)
MatroxG450 AGP Video
Mobo IDE
--ST 80GB 7200rpm ATA133 System Drive
--ST 80GB 7200rpm ATA133 Audio Drive
--BENQ 48x16x48 CDRW
SI PCI Raid (Mirror Backup)
--ST 80GB 7200rpm ATA133
--ST 80GB 7200rpm ATA133
USB2 Drive (Audio Library)
--ST 80GB 7200rpm ATA133
Enermax 350W PS
Windows 2000 Professional SP4
Delta 1010 .36 Drivers (ASIO)

46.4ms........28%
23.2ms........33%
11.6ms........39%
5.8ms..........49-52%
2.9ms..........68-73%
1.5ms..........N/A

Here's my results. But first the weird stuff.

I am running a q10 with ASIO drivers - the latest release is loaded.

When I change the latency slider in the ASIO panel I have to shut down and then restart Sonar to get the settings to show up on the Sonar Options/Audio pop up. Is that normal?

Also, the latency readings on the q10 panel do not match up to those shown on the Sonar panel. I show those q10 readings in brackets below.

After changing settings 3 or 4 times (and hence shutting down and restarting Sonar and the Aardvark program), the Aardvark gives up and takes out XP with it. I have to reboot. Is this normal or is it symptomatic of some other problem?

An off topic question: What hardware buffer setting should I be using under the heading Direct Sound Settings in the Aardvark ASIO and DirectX tab?

Anyway back to my results.

System is P4 2.6 running XPSP1
D865GBFL Intel mobo
1 gig DDR ram (2 x 512 MB PC2700 DDR333
Main drive for apps is WD 40GB 7200RPM U/ATA100 8 MB
removable drive for projects is Samsung 120GB 7200RPM 2Mb
Matrox g550 Dual Head video card

46.4 (55) 2048 varies from 33 to 37 %
23.2 (31) 1024 varies from 38 to 46 %
11.6 (20) 512 varies from 43 to 44 %
5.8 (14) 256 varies from 59 to 89 %
2.9 (11) 128 varies from 83 % to CPU warning
1.5 I can't get my ASIO buffer size slider in q10 below 128 - is that normal?

I hope this all makes sense - I am very new to DAW.

Keep up the great work guys.

ORIGINAL: mrh

Here's my results. But first the weird stuff.

I am running a q10 with ASIO drivers - the latest release is loaded.

When I change the latency slider in the ASIO panel I have to shut down and then restart Sonar to get the settings to show up on the Sonar Options/Audio pop up. Is that normal?

Also, the latency readings on the q10 panel do not match up to those shown on the Sonar panel. I show those q10 readings in brackets below.

After changing settings 3 or 4 times (and hence shutting down and restarting Sonar and the Aardvark program), the Aardvark gives up and takes out XP with it. I have to reboot. Is this normal or is it symptomatic of some other problem?

I noticed the same thing last night. Check this thread:

http://www.cakewalk.com/forum/tm.asp?m=35598

Moving the latency slider to safe after changing the ASIO buffer setting, or after experiencing a dropout or shutdown apparently resets the drivers--at least that's my theory. I experienced no crashes as a result. Add your comments to the thread I've started.

Guitslinger

Scott,

Pentium 4 1.8 Ghz 512 megs ram on a Dell Precision Workstation 330 Sonar 3.1b

46.4ms 49%
23.2ms 53%
11.3ms 64%
5.8ms 85%
2.8ms will not run

-- Martin

Here's a real vintage result..

Athlon Thunderbird 1.33GHz
Asus A7V (if i remember correctly)
MotU 2408mk3, PCI-424
WinXP
640 Mb memory

ASIO:
42.7 ms = 68 %
21.3 ms = 72-74 %
10.7 ms = 86-88 % (whole machine slows down considerably)

Can't handle the lower rates at all..

Cheers,
raymond.

ORIGINAL: Jay Stephen

Scott- How does one determine if the SATA Controller shares PCI bandwidth with the audio interface? I have an Asus P4C800-E Mobo and 2-SATA drives (an 80GB w/16 bit clusters for streaming audio and a 160GB for backup). I use an M-Audio Delta44 w/.36 drivers. WinXP-SP1.

Thanks.

Once you know what chipset you are using you can usually look up the chipset's feature set in order to get an idea. Alternatively... look for a SATA controller chip on the motherboard. If there isn't one... it is most likely integrated into the chipset. In your case, I believe it is integrated.

-S

ORIGINAL: Scott Reams

ORIGINAL: Jay Stephen

Scott- How does one determine if the SATA Controller shares PCI bandwidth with the audio interface? I have an Asus P4C800-E Mobo and 2-SATA drives (an 80GB w/16 bit clusters for streaming audio and a 160GB for backup). I use an M-Audio Delta44 w/.36 drivers. WinXP-SP1.

Thanks.

Once you know what chipset you are using you can usually look up the chipset's feature set in order to get an idea. Alternatively... look for a SATA controller chip on the motherboard. If there isn't one... it is most likely integrated into the chipset. In your case, I believe it is integrated.

-S

The P4C uses the ICH5R Southbridge.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ICH5R with Integrated SATA and RAID 0 Intel is the world's first chipset maker to integrate Serial ATA (SATA) and RAID 0, 1 functions into the South Bridge. The latest ICH5R chipset now delivers 150MB/s fast data transfer (SATA) and striping performance to enhance computing efficiency.

The project uses input monitoring to load the CPU, No audio files necessary.

Just open it up and read the CPU meter (as long as the audio engine is running).

Here are mine - Dual MP2800+ A7m266-d 1gig crucial rme hammerfall 9652

46.4 - 11%
23.2 - 23%
11.6 - 32%
5.8 - 40-43%
2.9 - 58-77%
1.5 - N/A

Without Dual

46.4 - 37%
23.2 - 41%
11.6 - 48-52%
5.8 - 65%
2.9 N/A
1.5 - N/A

Pity cant get it to play for very long without a crash!

Oh well

Scott,
I would like to give you some info back but my latency slider
on one of are puters here only goes in increments of 10 ms.
Any idea why. And the lowerest it'll go is 10 (i've never had
a chance to go this before so... )

thnx jeffrey

nice job on the line graphs!