Old 10-20-2014, 09:52 AM   #1
Majestikc
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Default Audio/CPU spike?

I have an issue on a new computer build, the session plays fine but at almost regular intervals the CPU will spike and the audio will stutter for a bit and then it carries on playing normally.

I loaded the session on my older computer and there is no issue at all with playback, the new pc has the issue whether the sample rate is 128 samples or 4096 whereas the old one can play it back smoothly at 1024 no problem, both are set to 24bit 44.1khz

The new PC is an AMD FX 8500 with 16gigs ram, Asus Mobo, M-Audio Delta 10/10 pci card and a 3tb 7200rpm drive.

My old PC is pretty much the same setup except it has an AMD Phenom II X4 with 8gigs ram and an MSI mobo, and a bunch of 2tb drives.

Any ideas on what to look for or what settings to adjust?
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Old 10-20-2014, 02:09 PM   #2
bluzkat
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Might want to run this diagnostic...

http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon.

Good luck.


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Old 10-20-2014, 08:59 PM   #3
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This issue is definitely traceable directly to the M-Audio Delta 1010.

I did lots of research and the final solution is very different for every different computer.

What motherboard do you specifically have? The model is the key, as there are motherboards that are just incompatible with the Delta series cards. It's an issue I raised with M-Audio a number of times, pushing for an EoL to be announced, but it just never happened.

If you have other PCI slots on your motherboard, move the Delta to another one and try again. Try whatever PCI slot is closest to the bottom of the motherboard.

Also, go into your BIOS and disable C1E, CPU throttling, and any Speedstep related features. Those terms are typically used for Intel motherboards, but on AMD motherboards like yours, I believe the feature is still called "Cool N Quiet." Disabling those features can significantly improve the functionality of the Delta series on many motherboards.

You can also try a BIOS update if there is one available. While it's risky business to move around between BIOS versions, I would try a version up and a version down as well, to see if there is a BIOS version that provides you with best functionality. I had a motherboard which very specifically worked with a single BIOS revision, and the update completely broke all compatibility. Going back down to the working BIOS update fixed all problems entirely.

Motherboards which use an ITE chipset for "translating" the data from the PCI slots to the PCI-e bus was nothing short of a spectacular failure. This was primarily on Intel boards right around the X58 chipset. AMD was not immune to this issue, as AMD has been running an integrated memory controller for much longer, but the introduction of PCI-Express really affected the latency performance of both AMD and Intel.

Running the DPC Latency checker will not really accurately give you an idea of what you have an issue with because this is very specifically a hardware and software issue, not one or the other. DPC Latency can be affected by a specific driver, but when a driver is affecting latency on a noticeable level, it's because hardware is sharing resources that shouldn't be sharing resources with each other.

I spent almost 3 years working through the issues with the Delta series, and I have just about every Delta series card myself. I had donated most of them because I simply don't have a use for them anymore, but considering M-Audio is now owned by InMusic and not Avid, I feel a little more at-ease regarding some of the more technical findings, though I'm still not able to really post much of that in depth.

Much like myself, I would encourage you to replace your Delta series equipment now that you're using a new computer. The hardware itself is not bad, and had great features for it's time, and certainly had a long shelf life, but the fact of the matter is simply that the Delta series just isn't compatible with most new computers without some kind of user intervention regarding settings and testing to really get the card working optimally. Because of that, I really don't think that 1) most users are experienced enough and 2) have the patience to really work through the problems they'll experience using the Delta series with new computers.

All that and more really, consider a significant number of computers today do not even have a PCI slot for the Delta series cards. It's time to move to either USB or Firewire interfaces. There are few PCI-Express interfaces that I would say exist in the "prosumer" price range that compare in features to what the Delta series had to offer. I replaced my two Delta 1010's and Delta 66 setup with a ProFire 2626. I'm very happy with my results from the ProFire, and having been using it for about 5 years now, am still very satisfied with the results from it, as well as the support I've gotten out of it on both Mac and my Windows 8 and 8.1.

Admittedly, I'm not terribly active on the forums lately, but ask anything you want, and I'll help you out as best I can with the Delta series card you have.
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Old 10-21-2014, 05:34 AM   #4
Majestikc
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Nice, thanks for the tips I'll definitely try everything out.

I have an external M-Audio Fastrack Ultra 8R that I can hook up instead if all else fails
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