P4 runs like a bucket of crap

[Bonez]

I'm having a few problems with the Pro Tools rig I bought in October.

It was running fine (or so it seemed) until I got the chance to do some semi-involved recordings. The songs were around 10 - 12 tracks with only about 15 plugins running when the computer started running out of CPU power and I was getting -9128 errors from Pro Tools. I checked here for tweaks etc and applied them all but this still didn't help. A week or so ago the guys from MusicLab in Brisbane were up here with some of the Digidesign reps and I asked them about the problem. They gave me a few things to try such as deleting the "Digidesign Database" folders in case they were corrupted and none of those helped. Their only recommendation after that was to try re-installing windows and seeing if that helped. Before I did that I tried a few comparisons running encryption cracking software from distributed.net and found that the Pro Tools PC was running slower than my AMD 1500 system.

I reinstalled windows and still found the same problems occurring. I found that if I saved a copy of the sessions that were hanging up and then reopened the copy I could get them to run again but they still maxed out fairly soon after. The original session however, maxes out immediately on opening and pressing play.

I also ran the DaveC test and found that I was maxing out at around 24 tracks with 5 plugins on each track, while other users with similar system specs to mine are getting 32 tracks plus as many as 15 auxiliary channels. This leads me to think that something has gone seriously wrong in my install somewhere. I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips or a guide on getting the best install and achieving what I should be able to get with this rig?

My system specs are:
ASUS P4C800-E
P4 2.8Ghz 800Mhz FSB
80gig ATA HDD partitioned to system and storage
80 gig SATA HDD for recording
2x512 Dual DDR (Matched Pair) 400 MHz Corsair RAM

[Chris Cavell]

Something's not right. Which plugs are you running? Do you have anything running in the background you don't know about?

[Bonez]

Plugs are basically T-racks EQ, Digidesign compressor, and 4 band EQ. Not much else at all, apart from maybe 3 or 4 sends of AUXES left over from tracking.

Background processes are minimal, only what is needed to run the computer

[Chris Cavell]

Well, then you've got me stumped. Sorry I couldn't help.

[s0nguy]

This might be worth a shot. Download SiSoft Sandra and run the the tests on your memory throughput, diskIO, and processor to see if you discover and obvious bottlenecks. There are charts included to see how your performance stacks up with other configurations.

Something is DEFINETLY not right with your rig. I was getting 32 tracks playback on my p4 2.67 533FSB.

let us know if you discover anything....We will get it working for you!

-songuy

[jjhuntfox]

I'll assume you have no conflicts in the device manager... sooooo:

I would suggest updating the drivers for your MOBO, Video Card and any other goodies you have installed. Check if there is a new BIOS out. If that doesn't work you might remove any cards / software other than DIGI, one at a time, to see if you can find the culprit.

A long time ago I had "performance issues" and when I updated drivers for my video card and keyboard/mouse I was back in bussiness.

What OS U using? Might check updates there as well.

Another thing to help evaluate your system is 3DMark2001 and if you have a kick ass video card 2003

These are large files so I hope you have a fast connection. They are good safe torture tests but the scores mainly reflect how good your video card is. I just want my machines to run them successfully. There is also a system info tab that can help you sort things out.



Good Luck

The SISoft program is great. I just downloaded it and have been making some tweaks to the home computer. It is better than the 3DMark for identifing problems...

[Cliffy_Boy]

If you have Dverb loaded, try removing it and see if that solves the problem.

[hanzoid]

I had the same "problem". P4 2.8 512 DDR Intel 845 MOBO. However I solved the problem by changing the order of how I setup the DAVEC test. Instead of duplicating the plug-in loaded track x amount of times, I create 32 audio tracks first and then instantiate the plug-ins (each one simultaneously) across the tracks. Now I max out at 32 tracks on my non-tweaked XP partition. Before this when I was duplicating the plug-in loaded track I only got to 12 tracks before running out of CPU power. Ideas anyone. And let me know if this works for you.

[Lalaman]

Just so that you know: SiSoft Sandra is spyware.
In case you wouldn´t mind that, nevermind. ;O)

Lalaman

[JMS40]

Please tell us how you came to that conclusion, Lalaman.

Sisoft Sandra is not listed in any of the online spyware registry's I've searched.... and is often included as a reccomended link on those same sites.

I have never found Sandra to install spyware.
"Spybot Search and Destroy" and "Adware 6" have never found spy or adware installed on my computer associated with Sisoftware.