Building a PC dedicated to REAPER

[Dopey]

It seems the focusrite saffire pro 24 is supported under Windows 7 (as seen on some internet post).

What do you mean by "more "aggressive" on the dual core CPU" ?

[JGrabowMST]

I think by aggressive, he means that Windows 7 is much better at addressing multi-core CPUs than XP was, simply because Windows XP was created in a time when the only computers running multiple processors were very high end servers. Windows 7 knows how to distribute the workload, while XP basically has no idea what to do.

Over the years, Windows XP had received updates and patches to kind of get the whole multi-core idea going, but nowhere near what Vista and 7 can do.

[Dopey]

Ok, I'll trash my XP and go buy a Windows 7 then...

[JGrabowMST]

Don't forget that there are plenty of applications which don't work in Windows 7 yet. I'd look into what you'll be running specifically, and make sure that you don't need XP later on.

Windows 7 Professional includes a Virtual XP mode, but that is not something that would ever work for audio recording.

I made the jump without paying too much attention to that, and it kicked me back pretty hard, but I've mostly worked out the kinks by now, having used Windows 7 for about a year now.

Windows 7 Home Premium is a very good build, and even with all of the updates, I don't have problems with my computer when recording, even with Pro Tools. I for sure know that I could never go back to XP on my DAW.

[SiKo]

Originally Posted by Dopey

Ok, I'll trash my XP and go buy a Windows 7 then...

Before you run off; get the 64 bit edition since you want to make sure you can use all the memory installed (and not 'just' 3GB as with the 32 bit edition is possible) AND make sure you will have a 64 bit driver for your sound card!

Other than that: go for it; running 32 bit apps works very well on 64 bit W7.

[Fabian]

Originally Posted by Dopey

What do you mean by "more "aggressive" on the dual core CPU" ?

I mean this. DuX' XP top, W7x64 bottom.





More detail here: http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=48372

But this said... I have W7x64 on my AMD Phenom II x6 DAW computer and it works great!

[Dopey]

Thanks for the details guy.

Good news everyone ! I finally managed to get XP 32bits UP & running.

It's damn stable (5 hours of prime95, but a bit too hot and noisy) and lightning fast !

Here's how I managed to get XP to install :

It was indeed a SATA driver problem that crashed the windows XP installer.

- I downloaded and uncompressed the SATA drivers of my motherboard on the Gigabyte website.
- I downloaded nLITE, loaded Dux's ISO and INI parameters.
- In the wizard, I then added the path to the SATA drivers previously downloaded
- Burned the ISO and booted on it !


Things I got to do now :
- changing the damn CPU fan, waaaaaaay too noisy and not very efficient
- find a way to switch my keyboard to AZERTY (it's currently QWERTY and I can't find a way to change it because it seems Dux's ISO only contain US keyboard layout)

[SiKo]

Great news, but a shame you cannot use all of your memory ...

[Dopey]

Yes, that's why I only put 4GB... and I only see 2.75GB in XP :s

My reaper is configured as default 512 samples : is it ok ?
I read 12ms/20ms at the top right corner of reaper... is it good ?

I though it would be better with the focusite saffire pro 24. Should I change something in the setup ?

[SiKo]

I guess if it works (without drop-outs/clicks/props) and the latency is not bothering you while playing instruments, then the answer is: Yes

Have fun, seems like you got yourself a nice system!

[Dopey]

Thanks !

I don't know why I hear myself in the headphones event when not recording. And I don't know the difference between hardware and software monitoring... I mean, sometimes I hear myself two time if I hit the monitoring button...

I'm recording and mixing with headphone only.

I'm totally lost in reaper... I'm reading the manual over and over...

[Fabian]

Originally Posted by Dopey

Things I got to do now :
- changing the damn CPU fan, waaaaaaay too noisy and not very efficient
- find a way to switch my keyboard to AZERTY (it's currently QWERTY and I can't find a way to change it because it seems Dux's ISO only contain US keyboard layout)

I bought the Noctua NH-U12P to cool my CPU. The cooler is huge, so you better check that it fits in the case, but it's dead silent (almost)...

As for keyboard layout, I also had this problem with my Swedish keyboard. You DL kbd*.dll and just drop it into the System32 folder. (Maybe what you need is here http://www.down-dll.com/index.php?letter=k)

As for latency, 512 samples buffer is not particularly good (I use 64 samples), but it is ok for mixing. For recording you'd probably want to try to go lower. You can adjust this under Preferences > Audio Device > ASIO Configuration.

Hardware monitoring means your interface routes its input to its own outputs (as well as to Reaper) mixing this with what comes out from Reaper. SW monitoring goes only through Reaper. So if you have both HW and SW monitoring enabled, you will hear a direct (zero latency) version of the input plus a slightly (depends on the buffer size as per above) delayed version of the same signal. Probably there is a button (or maybe this is set in the driver) to adjust the amount of direct (what goes in to the interface) vs non-direct (coming out of Reaper) monitoring.

[Dopey]

I'll add the Noctua NH-U12P on my wishlist. I think I have enough room in my case. I'm just wondering if it's possible to have it installed vertically : it seems to weight a lot ! I don't want it to damage the mobo.

Thanks for the keyboard dll tips, I'll download the dll and see if it works.

As for the samples buffer, I switched to 224 and now I have 5ms/13ms, I'll try to go down little by little.

As for the saffire pro 24, I have a MONITOR button, but it won't do anything. I'm constantly hearing myself into the headphone... Then when I activate reaper monitoring (to hear the FX I apply), I have the delay problem you said.



I'll investigate further.

[Fabian]

Have you checked here http://www.focusrite.com/answerbase/...gory.php?id=97
There's a post there "How do I enable hardware monitor control over the outputs on the Pro 24? ", might hold some info.

As for the Noctua, I have it installed vertically with no problem. The mobo should be attached to the case firmly enough.

[Dopey]

Thanks !
As I'm only using headpones, the answer is : that's not possible by hardware button

How do I enable hardware monitor control over the outputs on the Pro 24?

The Saffire Pro 24 hardware monitor control on the front of the unit only controls the level of line outputs 1/2. The level of the other outputs can only be adjusted in the Saffire Mix Control software. This is different from the PRO 40 and Liquid Saffire 56 where the hardware monitor control can be set to control the level of any number of outputs.

[Finnish]

Originally Posted by mplay

I missed the gigabyte H67-ud3h. Reasonably priced and onboard TI.

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/pro...px?pid=3772#sp

I'll receive this maybe next friday with SB 2600k. Onboard TI-firewire, jawohl!

[subtractive]

The P67 board with firewire is VIA chipset. Bummer.

[Finnish]

Originally Posted by mplay

I missed the gigabyte H67-ud3h. Reasonably priced and onboard TI.

Originally Posted by subtractive

The P67 board with firewire is VIA chipset. Bummer.

Sandy Bridge CPUs, especially 2600, are terribly powerful without overclocking. If you don't need OCing, go with GIGABYTE GA-H67A-UD3H-B3 board. TI-chipset plus lot of goodies on I/O etc.

[pixeltarian]

Here's a build I just put together. A bit overkill for just reaper, but I'm sick of always going cheap on the graphics card and then having slow performance once in a while:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Pu...umber=17539726

[Finnish]

Originally Posted by pixeltarian

Here's a build I just put together. A bit overkill for just reaper, but I'm sick of always going cheap on the graphics card and then having slow performance once in a while:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Pu...umber=17539726

That will be a killer machine!

[JGrabowMST]

I've built machines on that combo before...two different machines, and they perform wonderfully, but I use WD 150gb Velociraptors and 1TB WD Blacks for the scratch disk...worth every penny.

The 1090T and 8xx chipset is a solid winner. Paired with some good 1666mhz ram, and you're looking at a good workstation for a budget.

[pixeltarian]

Originally Posted by Finnish

That will be a killer machine!

notice the price is high because I have two 24" monitors in the build.
if you took out the monitors, were less picky in the graphics card department, and already had hard drives the price would be less than a grand.

[Dopey]

@Fabian

As for keyboard layout, I also had this problem with my Swedish keyboard. You DL kbd*.dll and just drop it into the System32 folder. (Maybe what you need is here http://www.down-dll.com/index.php?letter=k)

I downloaded the dll and put it in system32, but no luck, I still don't see my keyboard layout... nevermind I switched it to something near it, that have azerty. I just have some symbols on the wrong keys, but no big deal for reaper shortcut

[Fabian]

Originally Posted by Dopey

@Fabian



I downloaded the dll and put it in system32, but no luck, I still don't see my keyboard layout... nevermind I switched it to something near it, that have azerty. I just have some symbols on the wrong keys, but no big deal for reaper shortcut

Maybe this helps http://www.easydesksoftware.com/keyboard.htm

And if you cannot find a keyboard layout specific to your locale, you can always roll your own: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/e...displaylang=en

[Dopey]

I'll try to manually set the registry key. Thanks.