64 sample hardware buffer gone in 8.0.3

[JMDNYC]

Please forgive me if this is a stupid question, but I've done lots of searching and can't find the answer.

I used to have the option to set my h/w buffer to 64, and now with 8.0.3 it is gone. Was there a "read me" or announcement that I missed?

I've noticed it on an Hd3 on 10.6.2, on a hd2 on 10.5.8 and on my LE on 10.6.2. Did this disappear before 8.0.3?

[crizdee]

Originally Posted by JMDNYC

Please forgive me if this is a stupid question, but I've done lots of searching and can't find the answer.

I used to have the option to set my h/w buffer to 64, and now with 8.0.3 it is gone. Was there a "read me" or announcement that I missed?

I've noticed it on an Hd3 on 10.6.2, on a hd2 on 10.5.8 and on my LE on 10.6.2. Did this disappear before 8.0.3?

Hi,

Its related to your playback settings for number of voices per DSP's

Chris

[25ghosts]

Originally Posted by JMDNYC

Please forgive me if this is a stupid question, but I've done lots of searching and can't find the answer.

I used to have the option to set my h/w buffer to 64, and now with 8.0.3 it is gone. Was there a "read me" or announcement that I missed?

I've noticed it on an Hd3 on 10.6.2, on a hd2 on 10.5.8 and on my LE on 10.6.2. Did this disappear before 8.0.3?

Mine is there, I just double checked for you.

[JMDNYC]

Thanks, guys. So it seems:

if I set the Number of Voices to 96 (2 DSP) I can go to HW buffer of 64.

If I set to 64 Voices (2 DSP) I can only go to 128.

If I set to 32 Voices (2 DSP) then I can only get to 256.

I suppose this makes some kind of sense. It's just odd that I never noticed it before.

[Ad Sluijter]

Hi,

The lowest possible buffersize is indeed related to the number of DSP chips and the number of voices. Have a look at this:

Number of Voices / DSP chips / Lowest buffer size
192 / 6 / 128
144 / 6 / 256
96 / 6 / 256

160 / 5 / 128
120 / 5 / 256
80 / 5 / 256

128 / 4 / 128
64 / 4 / 256

96 / 3 / 128
48 / 3 / 256

96 / 2 / 64
64 / 2 / 128
32 / 2 / 256

48 / 1 / 64
32 / 1 / 128
16 / 1 / 256

Best regards, Ad

[tonwurm]

Originally Posted by Ad Sluijter

Hi,

The lowest possible buffersize is indeed related to the number of DSP chips and the number of voices. Have a look at this:

Number of Voices / DSP chips / Lowest buffer size
192 / 6 / 128
144 / 6 / 256
96 / 6 / 256

160 / 5 / 128
120 / 5 / 256
80 / 5 / 256

128 / 4 / 128
64 / 4 / 256

96 / 3 / 128
48 / 3 / 256

96 / 2 / 64
64 / 2 / 128
32 / 2 / 256

48 / 1 / 64
32 / 1 / 128
16 / 1 / 256

Best regards, Ad

I´m kind of curious with that

f.e. why should I choose 48 / 3 / 256 instead of 48 / 1 / 64, loosing 2 chips AND getting higher latency (= less performance) ?

are there any other benefits ?

[JMDNYC]

From that chart it looks like 96/2/64 is the way to go for most situations.

[Mark Ziebarth]

The playback engine settings for voices and dsp chips define how much stress you put on your PCI/PCIe bus (you can watch it in the System Usage Window). Many voices on few DSPs take more bandwidth.
My standard setup is 96 voices on two DSPs, works well with many sessions. AFAIK you have to be careful with these settings if you use an expansion chassis or other stuff that uses the PCI/PCI-e bus extensively.
But I didn't know that the possible buffer size settings depend on the voice/DSP-setting...

Mark