Hello.
 
I've been having trouble with latency and dropout problem.
Latency is fast(5ms) and there is no problem at the beginning(without any mixing) of the project(new project).
But if there are many prochannel or 3rd vst plugins in the several tracks(ie: 20+), latency speed starts to become slow.
It's hard to record MIDI with slow latency(maybe 0.3sec). And dropout frequency is increased while playing.
Simple solluton is to turn every plugins off while MIDI recording then turn it up again,
but I'm considering to upgrade my computer to solve latency problem and frequent dropout when
many prochannel and plugins are inserted.
 
I'm wondering which one is the core factor that affects latency and dropout between hard drive and cpu.
If hard drive affects more than cpu, I would consider to buy SSD as I'm using HDD(1TB, 7200rpm for OS, vst plugins).
If cpu affects more than hard drive, I would consider to buy expensive cpu such as 3930K or 3770K.
Please give me some advice.
 
Thanks
JunL

Please post back with your system specs and audio interface settings.

Bob Bone

I'm wondering which one is the core factor that affects latency and dropout between hard drive and cpu.

I think you are missing the point. The latency you are describing is due to the time it takes the processor to do the math necessary to add the effects. The more math the slower the result. To the extent that the CPU is fast enough and the random access memory in the computer is of sufficient size to keep the results in fast memory, you can minimize the delay. Once you begin to need to shift the results to the hard drive because of memory shortage, you enter a storage that is very very much slower. That will be faster with an SSD running the swap file, but it will still be much faster if you can keep it all in memory. So decrease your computation load by freezing tracks etc. or upgrade your processor and expand your memory. Do not look for salvation in a faster hard drive. 


On caveat. Some effects are designed to work with a "look ahead" buffer. They have a built in delay, and are designed for mastering and are not suitable for real time processing. If you have one of those running, the speed of the machine is not the problem.

Thanks for the helpful reply.

My system is:
cpu : i7 860
ram : 8Gb ram Gskill
HDD : 1TB HDD(OS, program, plugins) + more(VSTi, etc)
Audio interface : Gina 3G PCI
OS : Windows 7 64

In addition to my post, the problem go worse when I work with 96/24 format.
(cpu usage become over 90% with very crackling noise)
According to the slartabarfast's advice, I humbly think that I  need to upgrade cpu
and ram.
There were also  "look ahead" plugins and I have to turn it off.

Its all about what kind of sound card drivers you have, what there set to, and how much your PC can handle.

Read this, it will clear up your latency issue - http://www.audio-mastering-mixing.com/FAQ___Q_A.html#32

CJ

CJay is right. Before you change hardware check your settings. Do not get me wrong. My advice is not that you need to upgrade your CPU and memory as a first choice, just that changing your hard drive will not have that much benefit compared to increased memory. Your machine is way more powerful than mine already. (Q6600 with 4 Gig of RAM).

I started computer music wile the dinosaurs were still roaming, and I thought it was an extreme advance when we got a DAW that could run two simultaneous tracks live. Then real time effects on two tracks at once...a miracle. Managing computer resources was an essential skill in those days. 

So my advice to you would be to think about what and why you are running all this stuff (especially effects) live, and in particular while you are recording midi. I can understand why a vocalist wants to hear some flattering echo in his headphones, but why in god's name do you need to be hearing live effects on multiple channels while playing a controller? There are huge resources to be had by recording "clean." Are you going to be hitting a different key if there is an effect running? Even if you think you need to match the velocity to the levels on your other tracks in real time, you can turn those other tracks into audio, and listen to the audio playback without taxing your computer. Even when mixing, where latency is almost a non-issue, you do not have to have all the tracks live if your CPU is straining.