Audio Interface Issue with Windows 10

[Connor]

Hi,

I am a long time mac user but I wanted some more horsepower so I decided to build my own PC.

I am running into playback issues (pops/clicks) with my 003 Rack Interface. The issue becomes more apparent at low buffer sizes such as 64 but it is still noticeable at 128.

I have made a video showing the problem : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc1m...ature=youtu.be

The recorded audio track does not have any pops/clicks. I have confirmed this by bouncing the file and playing it on my onboard sound card.

Here is my rig:
Core i7 7700k
Asus PRIME Z270-A
Samsung 960 EVO M.2 (Boot Drive)
NVIDIA GTX 670
Digidesign 003 Rack
Syba PCIE FireWire Card

I believe this may be a motherboard or Operating System issue as I have tried a USB Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 and it has pops and clicks also. (Interestingly I am able to change the speed/rate of the pops/clicks by adjusting the ASIO Buffer Size within the Focusrite Mix Software)

Any ideas on what is causing this problem? Has anybody heard of an issue similar to this one?

Thanks, Connor

[YYR123]

Nice CPU !!!! Like really nice

Win10PRO Install?
Why the Syba FW card? Why not the TI version?

What's your target record drive?

Have you done the optimizations?

Do you need the video engine loaded?

Can you make your cache size approximately 1/2 of your total ram?

Drivers up to date?

[rhumphries]

Also, check for a Bios update.

[AlexLakis]

I just built my son a new system that is almost identical to yours and I have been experiencing clicks/pops in playback as well. I thought it was the fact that I was running an unsupported device (M-audio FW410) thru a 3rd-party firewire card, but I upgraded to a USB-C M-Audio M-Track 2x2M, and the problem persisted. This problem is not only in Pro Tools, but thru Winamp, VLC, etc.. Onboard audio is disabled in BIOS, BIOS flashed to latest version, etc..

Never experienced this on multiple Windows 7/XP builds...I'm still playing around with settings in Windows 10 but running out of options.

[albee1952]

Did any of you research this motherboard/chipset before buying? You are in what I would call "uncharted territory" with this motherboard.

Ditto on system optimizations, but how much RAM do you have? If its 8GB or more, you can(and should) set the paging file to none.

Make sure that(in Sound>Properties) that windows is NOT using your interface as the default playback device(set that to the on-board sound card).

[AlexLakis]

I didn't build the system for Pro Tools, I just installed it to run some tests. I think its a Windows 10 and/or a motherboard issue, so I was chiming in.

In the OP's case, things might be resolved by following optimization guides, trashing prefs, or replacing the firewire card with an Avid-approved card (I checked out the YouTube and it doesn't sound like a clocking issue). If not, he may be running into the same problem I am since our hardware is almost identical. I'm gonna keep testing...

[albee1952]

Fingers crossed for you I hate when a build doesn't work

[Connor]

Thanks for the help everyone.

I should have been more specific in my original post. I will answer some of your questions now.

I am using Windows 10 Home. I didn't think to get Pro but maybe I should have.

Here is the FireWire Card I am using : https://www.amazon.ca/Syba-Profile-P.../dp/B002S53IG8

As you can see, I made sure to buy one that has the TI Chipset.

My target record drive doesn't make a difference for this issue.

I have done the Avid optimizations but I am starting to think this isn't a Pro Tools issue.

I have 32GB of DDR4. Sure I can increase the Disk Cache but I'm still trying to play a clean test tone without having annoying pops/clicks.

I have installed the latest drivers for both my FW 003 and my USB Focusrite. Both have the same problem.

I have updated my BIOS and will continue to do so since it's a fairly new mobo.

Looks like I got unlucky with the mobo that I chose. I have a friend who has an Asus Laptop and has no problems with Windows 10.

I see a lot of users going for the workstation mobos with 6cores and 8 DIMM Slots. I wonder if I would have had better luck with that shelling out the extra cash for that.

Anyway, I guess I will just stick with my 2011 MBP. It's slow but atleast it works.

Thanks again for your help!

[onosendai]

Does the pops/clicks persist when using the onboard audio chip? Is it possible that another audio process/application might unknowingly be running in the background?

[albee1952]

One thing to check re Windows 10 Home edition; will it actually use all of your RAM?(it may limit you to 16GB)

Re the question about a separate recording drive; while you may feel it has nothing to do with your problems(and you may be correct), the basics of troubleshooting start with eliminating any/all things that are not on the list of "standard/approved" things(running a separate recording drive is a "standard/approved" item)

For the sake of testing/troubleshooting, I would set disk Cache to 4GB(assuming your test sessions are probably small). Once you do get things smoothed out, and assuming windows is accessing all of your RAM, I would push the cache setting up to 9-10GB(but I am still worried that the motherboard may be the cause)