Fast Track Ultra & M-Powered - Do I need to upgrade my computer?

[bedrichards]

Any insight would be great. I'm completely set up and having what seems to be horrible latency issues. I really only need to be able to record simultaneously on 4 tracks with no plug-ins. Here is what I'm using:

Computer
Model : Dell Computer Corporation Dimension XPS
Workgroup : MSHOME
Host Name : XPS
User : Beau Richards
Processor
Model : Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz
Speed : 2.8GHz
Cores per Processor : 1 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 2 Unit(s)
Integrated Data Cache : 2x 8kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 4-way, 64 byte line size, 2 lines per sector
L2 On-board Cache : 2x 512kB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 lines per sector

Computer
Mainboard : Dell 0F2905
BIOS : Dell Computer Corporation A02 07/21/2003
Bus(es) : X-Bus AGP PCI IMB USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
Total Memory : 1GB DIMM DDR
Chipset
Model : Dell 82875P,E7210 Memory Controller Hub
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 200MHz (800MHz)
Total Memory : 1GB DIMM DDR
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 200MHz (400MHz
Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Nanya NT512D64S8HB1G-5T 512MB DDR PC3200U DDR-200 (3-3-3-8 2-11-0-0)
Memory Module : Nanya NT512D64S8HB1G-5T 512MB DDR PC3200U DDR-200 (3-3-3-8 2-11-0-0)
Video System
Video Adapter : RADEON 9800 SERIES (PS2.0, VS2.0 378MHz, 128MB 337MHz, AGP 3.00)
Storage Devices
WDC WD1200JB-75CRA0 (120GB, ATA100, 3.5", 7200rpm, 8MB Cache) : 112GB (C
MAXTOR 6L040J2 (40GB, ATA133, 3.5", 7200rpm, 2MB Cache) : 37GB (E
HL-DT-ST CD-RW/DVD-ROM GCC-4480B (ATA33, DVD-R, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : 3GB (D
TDK DVDRW0404N (ATA33, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (G
Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Intel 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) LPC Interface Bridge
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : SMSC LPC47M172
Audio Device : Creative Labs SB0243 Audigy 2 (OEM'd For Dell??)
Serial Port(s) : 2
Parallel Port(s) : 1
Disk Controller : Dell 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) EIDE Controller
Disk Controller : Dell 82801EB (ICH5) SATA Controller
USB Controller 1 : Dell 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #1
USB Controller 2 : Dell 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #2
USB Controller 3 : Dell 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #3
USB Controller 4 : Dell 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #4
USB Controller 5 : Dell 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB 2.0 EHCI Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : Creative Labs Audigy 2 Firewire Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel 801xx/63xx SMBus

[scenicrecords]

You should monitor through the M-Audio mixer and mute the tracks you are recording to in Pro Tools. There will be no (or near-zero) latency there on the M-Audio mixer. This is the workaround for the M-Audio setup with Pro Tools. It will record in sync with the rest of your session.

I create 'Tracking Tracks' that are muted and set up with the correct i/o, then move things down to other tracks when we get a good take. If you need to punch a section, edit out the part on the keeper tracks and record over on your Tracking Track then edit together.

Unfortunately, if you want to punch like a normal tape machine, you need PT HD.

[albee1952]

You should monitor through the M-Audio mixer and mute the tracks you are recording to in Pro Tools. There will be no (or near-zero) latency there on the M-Audio mixer. This is the workaround for the M-Audio setup with Pro Tools. It will record in sync with the rest of your session. This is the same as working with the USB Mbox interfaces.

I create 'Tracking Tracks' that are muted and set up with the correct i/o, then move things down to other tracks when we get a good take. If you need to punch a section, edit out the part on the keeper tracks and record over on your Tracking Track then edit together. Good method.

Unfortunately, if you want to punch like a normal tape machine, you need PT HD. This is not accurate(but you DO need a faster computer). Any modern quad core system should be capable of recording several tracks at the 128 buffer(or 64 if its available). In any case, your old P4 with 1gig of RAM is WAAAAY under-powered for version 8. You may also be losing performance due to the small cache on your drives(especially if you are recording to the Maxstor).

[WoodsAE]

Yes your computer is underpowered for audio production. If you want to get the most out of the Pro Tools software I suggest a quad-core processor, 4 gig of ram, at least a 256 MB pcie video card, and at least 2 SATA II hard drives with NCQ or any variant of it. If you looking to buy a workstation from a Systems Integrator I suggest the Dell Precision Workstations. If you will be building it yourself then you have much more flexibility in your component selection.

[scenicrecords]

Originally Posted by albee1952

Unfortunately, if you want to punch like a normal tape machine, you need PT HD. This is not accurate(but you DO need a faster computer). Any modern quad core system should be capable of recording several tracks at the 128 buffer(or 64 if its available).

I was referring to zero-latency within a Pro Tools session - which you can only obtain with HD (or just use a Studer A80 24 Track). 128 samples is too much for recording vocals, at least for me and my clients.

[bedrichards]

I tried muting the record-enabled tracks and monitoring through the Fast Track Ultra and I'm still experiencing the same result:

1. Random and loud pops/clipping throughout recording
2. Extreme latency/delay after hitting "Record"
3. Recording duration cannot exceed about 10 seconds (even when recording a single track)
4. After those 10 seconds, "Low on CPU Power" warning and recording is ended.

Does anyone have any idea what the problem is?