i7 CPU, SSD HD, fast record drive - & still get crunching noise at 128 samples. Help!

[Georgerob]

Hi,

I'm at my wit's end here. I cannot use the 128 samples H/W Buffer size without a horrible, daleks style crunching distortion effect. I also get it sometimes at 256 samples. Initially I thought it was because I was recording to the same drive as Pro Tools was on.. so got an external, 7200rpm USB 3.0 record drive. The problem remained. So now I've swapped the slow, old 5400rpm internal drive for a Samsung 830 256mb SSD drive, and reinstalled windows 7 and Pro Tools 9 MP. The problem remained.
I have done every possible optimization as recommended by Avid. The problem remains!

The only thing I have not been able to do, is switch off the "Intel Turbo Boost" feature of this laptop (which is recommended by Avid), as I cannot find the option in the BIOS as Avid suggests. Could this be the cause of this issue all along?

Sandra report below..

SiSoftware Sandra

Computer
Model : Dell Dell System Inspiron N7110
Workgroup : WORKGROUP
Host Name : G-Unit
User : George

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2670QM CPU @ 2.20GHz
Speed : 2.2GHz
Cores per Processor : 4 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 2 Unit(s)
Type : Quad-Core
Integrated Data Cache : 4x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing
L2 On-board Cache : 4x 256kB, Synchronous, ATC, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing
L3 On-board Cache : 6MB, Synchronous, ATC, 12-way, Exclusive, 64 byte line size, 8 threads sharing

Computer
Mainboard : Dell 0RP6C8
BIOS : Dell A13 09/05/2012
Bus(es) : X-Bus PCI PCIe USB
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : No
Total Memory : 3.9GB

Chipset
Model : Dell 0104h
Front Side Bus Speed : 1x 100MHz (100MHz)

Video System
Video Adapter : Intel(R) HD Graphics Family (SM5.0, 1GB, PCI)

Graphics Processor
Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M (16SP 2C 1.2GHz, 1023.8MB)
Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M (16SP 2C 1.2GHz, 1023.8MB)
Adapter : Intel(R) HD Graphics Family (978.6MB)
Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M (978.6MB)

Storage Devices
SAMSUNG SSD 830 Series 256GB (SATA600, SSD, NCQ) : 238GB (C:)
WDC WD5000AAKS-00UU3A0 (500.1GB, USB/SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache) : 466GB (F:)
TSSTcorp DVD+/-RW SN-208BB (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 1MB Cache) : N/A (D:)
Disk : N/A (E:)

Logical Storage Devices
RECOVERY : 20GB (NTFS)
Work (F:) : 466GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD5000AAKS-00UU3A0 (500.1GB, USB/SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache)
OS (C:) : 219GB (NTFS) @ SAMSUNG SSD 830 Series 256GB (SATA600, SSD, NCQ)
Optical Drive (D:) : N/A @ TSSTcorp DVD+/-RW SN-208BB (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 1MB Cache)
Optical Drive (E:) : N/A @ Disk

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Dell 1C4Bh
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : Winbond W83687THF
Audio Device : Dell 1C20h
Audio Codec : Realtek Semiconductor High Definition Audio
Disk Controller : Dell 1C03h
USB Controller 1 : Dell 1C2Dh
USB Controller 2 : Dell 1C26h

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller
Network Adapter : Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)
Wireless Adapter 1 : Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless-N 1030 (802.11g (ERP), AES-CCMP, 144Mbps)

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line
Battery No 1 : 100%

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Home 6.01.7601 (Service Pack 1)
Platform Compliance : x64

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 4.6

[CME]

What interface are you using? Sounds more like a driver issue than a computer issue. But on all honesty I barely even scanned your Sandra report. Maybe there it something incompatible. Someone else would know much better. :)

[Transputer]

Is this with your MobilePre or Profire 2626 ? If you have a look back at my latest posts I've had similar issues.

IRQ conflicts.

[Georgerob]

Originally Posted by CME

What interface are you using? Sounds more like a driver issue than a computer issue. But on all honesty I barely even scanned your Sandra report. Maybe there it something incompatible. Someone else would know much better. :)

Thanks for the reply.. I'm using an MAudio MobilePre, but I used to get the same issues with my old Mbox1. Getting the MobilePre was the first thing I did to try and get rid of the problem, as the mbox was very old and probably not very compatible with win 7, and not supported by Pro Tools 9.

It's definitely not the hard drives, and I'm pretty sure it's not the interface. So what about this "Intel Turbo Boost?" Anyone know?

thanks

[Georgerob]

Originally Posted by Transputer

Is this with your MobilePre or Profire 2626 ? If you have a look back at my latest posts I've had similar issues.

IRQ conflicts.

Hi Tranputer,

This is with the MobilePre, but as I said it happened with my old mbox 1 too. What is an IRQ conflict? Is it like certain devices conflicting with each other? If so, how do I ascertain which ones are conflicting?
I will check out your posts.

cheers

[Transputer]

IRQ conflicts - bad news really.

Have a look in the Device Manager, conflicts show as yellow exclamation marks. Check those out and you'll find a resource is shared.

My previous posts suggest that I have HP DV6 i7 720QM laptop working fine - well an issue has come into play. Crackling, distorted audio. Can't turn off anything in the BIOS. My only thought is to install another drive, do a fresh Win 7 install and then not install any drivers not essential for a barebones Pro Tools build - things like the bluetooth, wi-fi as I can't disable them in the BIOS.

Things always change mind and in the meantime I have a 3570k, B75 chipset build to bench, so the DV6 is on the back burner for now

[Georgerob]

Originally Posted by Transputer

IRQ conflicts - bad news really.

Have a look in the Device Manager, conflicts show as yellow exclamation marks. Check those out and you'll find a resource is shared.

My previous posts suggest that I have HP DV6 i7 720QM laptop working fine - well an issue has come into play. Crackling, distorted audio. Can't turn off anything in the BIOS. My only thought is to install another drive, do a fresh Win 7 install and then not install any drivers not essential for a barebones Pro Tools build - things like the bluetooth, wi-fi as I can't disable them in the BIOS.

Things always change mind and in the meantime I have a 3570k, B75 chipset build to bench, so the DV6 is on the back burner for now

I see. Could you describe the crackling distortion in more detail? Mine is so distorted you can barely make out the original sound. It's like an 8bit fuzz pedal type effect put over the entire stereo output! Is that what you're getting? And does yours clear up when you switch to 256 or 500 samples?

I'm wondering if the problem I'm having lies with the fact the MobilePre refuses to work on USB 3.0 ports.. maybe as it's using USB 2.0 it is causing a bottleneck?

I think I've got the most up to date driver, but Avid seems to have stopped supporting M-Audio products and my driver dates back to 2009 I think.

[RaidZer0]

That's exactly what's happening to mine Georgerob. Mine clears up when switching to 256 sample rate. Wierd thing is it works fine on my Intel Core 2 Duo rig. Unfortunately I can't record very many tracks with it. It seems to be some processor function that is causing this to me.