lagging system and latency. somethings not right?

[Dan.TweekStudios]

I'm having an issue with latency and overall lag with my pro tools 8 le system and I can't exactly pinpoint the reason why. I was wondering if someone here could maybe help me out or give me some pointers...

MY SYSTEM:
I built a custom PC. With windows 7 ultimate 64bit.
8g of ram
an Intel i5 3.6ghz processor
a 500g hd for the system,
a seperate 500g hard drive for my pro tools audio
I'm running a digi 002 via FireWire with a control 24 connected to it via DSubs.
I followed all of the avid guides for optimizing windows 7 for pro tools to a T, and cut down all all of the programs and processes running in the background.
I have the latest windows updates and the latest pro tools 8.0.5 update

MY PROBLEM:
When I have a session with around 8 or 10 audio tracks, with lets say a digi EQ, digi compressor, and maybe a cpu hog like izotope nectur. I begin to experience latency at my lowest buffer rate (64) and with "low latency monitoring" enabled. It gets progressively worse after more tracks and plug ins, and when I get a few CPU hog plug ins up like izotope or waves, protools itself begins to lag. As in the graphics, playback, everything. I rarely ever get the low CPU warning, and my system usage only shows around 75% on my biggest sessions. When I have an average rock band session open and running, lets lay 15 to 20 audio tracks, a few busses with sends, and some basic plug ins, the session becomes almost unusable to mix even at my highest buffer rate (4024) and impossible to record. Even if I bypass all the plug ins recording is impossible.

MY QUESTION:
Is this normal? Should I just not add any plug ins until I'm completely finished tracking? When I built my PC I figured it would be more than fast enough to handle my largest sessions, I feel like something has to be set up wrong, or is my PC really not as fast as I thought? Is it possible that my graphics card is slowing things down? I have an ATI 4300 hd that's a fairly good card but isn't exactly up to par with the rest of my system. It just seems like I spend more time messing with buffer rates and system settings than I do actually tracking and mixing! It has consumed my life lol. Can anyone give me some advice on what to change or on what I'm doing wrong?

[albee1952]

Certain plugins(like Nectar) have a lot of latency and I avoid them during tracking. Then you can nudge audio to adjust/compensate come mix time. Ctrl-clicking on the little box that defaults to the DB fader level(Mix window) will toggle so you can see the latency of the plugins on any given track. Under 10 samples and you won't be bothered, but over 100 or 1000 and tracking becomes impossible. Posting a SiSandra report will help spot hardware issues(like mis-matched RAM, wrong type of hard drives, improper formatting, incompatible chipsets for Northbridge or firewire). Once you get things working solid, a move to PT9 can ease the latency issue for mixing, but its still a function of processing time(with ANY DAW platform) so tracking requires a little perseverance(no DAW latency compensation can move audio earlier in time).

[Dism]

I don't have a problem tracking through Nectar at 64... but you do have to make sure it is in "tracking mode." It ups the CPU use significantly, but kills the latency.

Also... Bypassing plugs will not reduce their CPU usage or latency, you must disable them completely.

As Albee suggested, it's best to keep the heavy CPU plugs out of the tracking stage.

[TOM@METRO]

Originally Posted by Dism

I don't have a problem tracking through Nectar at 64...

Same here. I use it primarily for this purpose, to get a quick vocal sound while tracking. Remember to deactivate it on muted tracks.

[DJ Hellfire]

Regardless of what was said above, sounds like you have some serious issues with your build. You should be able to mix large sessions with lots of plugins without a glitch on that beast, especially at the higher buffer settings! Post your Sandra ASAP!

[Dan.TweekStudios]

Thank you all so much for your insanely quick replies. I'm out of town for the night, but will post a Sandra asap when I get back tomorrow! I can't wait to get this figured out. Its been driving me crazy. Thanks again for all the help!

Dan

[Dan.TweekStudios]

Heres my SiSandra Log. I went to the "Computer" tap and clicked "computer overview" and this was the log that was generated. Is there any other info I should provide that could help resolve my issue?



SiSoftware Sandra

Computer
Model : BIOSTAR Group TH55B HD
Workgroup : WORKGROUP
Host Name : TWEEKstudios-PC
User : TWEEK studios

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 650 @ 3.20GHz
Speed : 3.5GHz
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 2 Unit(s)
Type : Dual-Core
Integrated Data Cache : 2x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing
L2 On-board Cache : 2x 256kB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing
L3 On-board Cache : 4MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 16-way, Exclusive, 64 byte line size, 16 threads sharing

Computer
Mainboard : BIOSTAR Group TH55B HD
BIOS : AMI 080015 12/31/2009
Bus(es) : ISA X-Bus PCI PCIe IMB USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
Total Memory : 8GB DIMM DDR3

Chipset
Model : Biostar Microtech Core (Auburndale/Clarkdale) DRAM Controller
Front Side Bus Speed : 140MHz
Total Memory : 8GB DIMM DDR3
Channels : 2
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 700MHz (1.4GHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : G.Skill F3-12800CL9-2GBRL 2GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module : G.Skill F3-12800CL9-2GBRL 2GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module : G.Skill F3-12800CL9-2GBRL 2GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module : G.Skill F3-12800CL9-2GBRL 2GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)

Video System
Video Adapter : ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 Series (SM4.1 600MHz, 512MB DDR3 800MHz 64-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)
Video Adapter : ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 Series (SM4.1 600MHz, 512MB DDR3 800MHz 64-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor
STREAM Processor : ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 Series (40SP 2C 600MHz, 512MB DDR3 800MHz 64-bit)

Storage Devices
WDC WD2500AAJS-60M0A1 (250GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 8MB Cache) : 233GB (C:)
WDC WD5000AAKS-00V1A0 (500.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache) : 466GB (D:)
WD My Book 500.1GB (FireWire/1394) : 466GB
WD 5000AAD External 500.1GB (USB) : 466GB (G:)
Optiarc DVD RW AD-7240S (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (E:)

Logical Storage Devices
Hard Disk (C:) : 233GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD2500AAJS-60M0A1 (250GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 8MB Cache)
R Drive (D:) : 466GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD5000AAKS-00V1A0 (500.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache)
R DRV BU (G:) : 466GB (NTFS) @ WD 5000AAD External 500.1GB (USB)
Optical Drive (E:) : N/A @ Optiarc DVD RW AD-7240S (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Biostar Microtech H55 LPC Interface Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : T2 87-21
Audio Device : Biostar Microtech P55/PM55/3400 High Definition Audio
Audio Device : ASUS RV730XT Audio device [Radeon HD 4670]
Audio Codec : ATI (AMD) HDMI Audio
Serial Port(s) : 1
Parallel Port(s) : 1
Disk Controller : Biostar Microtech P55/PM55/3400 4 port SATA IDE Controller
Disk Controller : Biostar Microtech P55/PM55/3400 2 port SATA IDE Controller
Disk Controller : Jmicron JMB368 IDE Controller
USB Controller 1 : Biostar Microtech P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 2 : Biostar Microtech P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 3 : VIA VIA VT6214L USB UHCI Controller
USB Controller 4 : VIA VIA VT6214L USB UHCI Controller
USB Controller 5 : VIA VT6202 USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : VIA VT6306 VIA Fire II IEEE-1394 OHCI Link Layer Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus

Network Services
Network Adapter : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller (Ethernet, 100Mbps)

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 6.01.7600
Platform Compliance : x64

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 3.8

[mykhal c]

can you provide a link to your mobo? my gut tells me this might be an incompatible chipset i know it's a flavor of a P55 but maybe just different enough to provide these kinda problems. hopefully a fix can be found tho. but a link is a good startin place

[mykhal c]

also what happens if you have audio trax only...no plugs loaded?? same result?

[TOM@METRO]

Originally Posted by mykhal c

can you provide a link to your mobo? my gut tells me this might be an incompatible chipset i know it's a flavor of a P55 but maybe just different enough to provide these kinda problems. hopefully a fix can be found tho. but a link is a good startin place

I'm with you Mykhal, this motherboard in general would be a crap shoot at best. Do you know of a single successful system with this board? The VIA firewire controller has been an issue also. The Bios is well over a year old, we might look at that as well.