Q6600 Dverb Test Unusually Low

[jmorganmitchell]

Hey guys,

I've tried to solve this for like 20 hours between today and yesterday without posting, but I'm totally at a loss. I'm running xp sp2 with /3GB switch and DEP disabled, pro tools 8.0 on 002r and my sandra is included below.

I'm getting like 70 new dverbs at 1024 which seems to be around half of what people are getting with the exact same components. I've manually set my ram timing and voltage, all correct, cpu voltage is correct, freshly installed windows and pro tools, tried via, agere and TI firewire chipsets, processor scheduling is set to background processes, run memtest86 w/ no errors, disabled unnecessary onboard devices and services, and pretty much every other suggestion I've been able to find with no luck. Am I crazy or have I missed something? There must be something wrong that I've missed. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you guys, and here's my sandra:

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz
Speed : 2.4GHz
Cores per Processor : 4 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Quad-Core
Integrated Data Cache : 4x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 2x 4MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 16-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing

Computer
Mainboard : Asus Rampage Formula
BIOS : AMI 0219 03/05/2008
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 : 3.25GB DIMM DDR2

Chipset
Model : ASUS X48 Processor to I/O Controller
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 401MHz (1.6GHz)
Total Memory : 8GB DIMM DDR2
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 602MHz (1.2GHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : G.Skill F2-6400CL5-2GBPQ 2GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5-5-5-15 3-24-6-3)
Memory Module : G.Skill F2-6400CL5-2GBPQ 2GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5-5-5-15 3-24-6-3)
Memory Module : G.Skill F2-6400CL5-2GBPQ 2GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5-5-5-15 3-24-6-3)
Memory Module : G.Skill F2-6400CL5-2GBPQ 2GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5-5-5-15 3-24-6-3)

Video System
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT (32 SP 1.25GHz, 256MB DDR3 2x800MHz, PCIe 1.00 x16)

Storage Devices
WDC WD2500BB-00RDA0 (250GB, ATA100, 3.5", 7200rpm, 2MB Cache) : 233GB (E:)
SAMSUNG HD753LJ (750.2GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 32MB Cache) : 699GB (C:) (D:)
Pretec UltimateGuard 8GB (USB) : 8GB (F:)

Logical Storage Devices
Hard Disk (C:) : 210GB (NTFS) @ SAMSUNG HD753LJ (750.2GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 32MB Cache)
Hard Disk (D:) : 488GB (NTFS) @ SAMSUNG HD753LJ (750.2GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 32MB Cache)
3.5" 1.44MB (A:) : N/A
Removable Drive (F:) : 8GB (FAT32) @ Pretec UltimateGuard 8GB (USB)
Hard Disk (E:) : 233GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD2500BB-00RDA0 (250GB, ATA100, 3.5", 7200rpm, 2MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : ASUS (ICH9) LPC Interface Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : Winbond W83627DHG
Disk Controller : ASUS (ICH9) 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 1
Disk Controller : ASUS (ICH9) 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 2
Disk Controller : ASUS JMB368 IDE Controller
USB Controller 1 : ASUS (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 2 : ASUS (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 3 : ASUS (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 4 : ASUS (ICH9) USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 5 : ASUS (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 6 : ASUS (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 7 : ASUS (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 8 : ASUS (ICH9) USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : ASUS VT6306 VIA Fire II IEEE-1394 OHCI Link Layer Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 2 : Lucent/Agere Systems (Was: AT&T MicroElectronics) FW322/323 IEEE1394 OHCI FireWire Contro
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel 801xx/63xx SMBus


Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)
Platform Compliance : x86

[jmorganmitchell]

Sorry for not being entirely specific in my first post, my PTLE version is 8.0.0.314. :)
Please let me know if there's anything else I can clarify.

[sunburst79]

It does seem a little low.

I would download and run CPUz from CUID.com and make sure that the processor is running at its rated speed.

Which is the Audio drive? The 2mb cache one is going to be to slow and the other SATA drive is partitioned which is not the same as having a dedcated audio drive.

Are you encountering any errors? Other than a relatively low DVerb count.?

[jmorganmitchell]

Originally Posted by sunburst79

It does seem a little low.

I would download and run CPUz from CUID.com and make sure that the processor is running at its rated speed.

Which is the Audio drive? The 2mb cache one is going to be to slow and the other SATA drive is partitioned which is not the same as having a dedcated audio drive.

Are you encountering any errors? Other than a relatively low DVerb count.?

Hey there, thanks for the response sunburst.

I am aware that the one with the 2mb cache is not ideal for the audio drive. I'm going to move the OS over to the IDE drive with the 2mb cache tonight and use the first partition on the Sata for audio. In the mean time, I'm not getting any other errors running sessions that are very taxing for my core 2 quad laptop from the system drive or the one with the 2mb cache on this machine. The only error I've gotten is 9128 when I get around 80 dverbs.

I'm running cpuz as we speak, and i'll post the results in a moment.

[sunburst79]

Originally Posted by jmorganmitchell

Hey there, thanks for the response sunburst.

I am aware that the one with the 2mb cache is not ideal for the audio drive. I'm going to move the OS over to the IDE drive with the 2mb cache tonight and use the first partition on the Sata for audio. In the mean time, I'm not getting any other errors running sessions that are very taxing for my core 2 quad laptop from the system drive or the one with the 2mb cache on this machine. The only error I've gotten is 9128 when I get around 80 dverbs.

I'm running cpuz as we speak, and i'll post the results in a moment.

I would recomend a new smaller cheaper SATA drive for the OS and that the 2MB drive only be used for backups. 2 Mb is small, very small, optical drive small. I ultimately would not use that for anything OS or audio related. Seriously.

It would make more sense to buy a another 32MB cache SATA drive and use it for Audio and leave your existing system disk alone. Use the 500Gb partition as a storage area for disk images and backup files.

[jmorganmitchell]

Originally Posted by sunburst79

I would recomend a new smaller cheaper SATA drive for the OS and that the 2MB drive only be used for backups. 2 Mb is small, very small, optical drive small. I ultimately would not use that for anything OS or audio related. Seriously.

It would make more sense to buy a smaller 32MB cache SATA drive and use it for Audio and leave your existing system disk alone. Use the 500Gb partition as a storage area for disk images and backup files.

I know, I know I'm going to see what I can cannibalize out of some old systems, but that's pretty much all I've got. I'm 19 and have been supporting myself since 16, so I don't have much money floating around at this point in my life. Do you think using a smaller sata drive would impact my rtas usage? I don't usually work with huge sessions, just a lot of plugins. I make a living polishing turds.

here's my cpuz readout

do you think upping the voltage would make much of a difference? it's rated to 1.5

[sunburst79]

Originally Posted by jmorganmitchell

I know, I know I'm going to see what I can cannibalize out of some old systems, but that's pretty much all I've got. I'm 19 and have been supporting myself since 16, so I don't have much money floating around at this point in my life. Do you think using a smaller sata drive would impact my rtas usage? I don't usually work with huge sessions, just a lot of plugins. I make a living polishing turds.

here's my cpuz readout

do you think upping the voltage would make much of a difference? it's rated to 1.5

I understand beleive me. Since higher track counts in PT 8.0 seem to favor the 32MB cache drive I would use that for Audio. Although theres no reason not to try the 2MB cache as a audio drive before you change anything. As as what you got-its pretty nice other than the 2MB drive.

The CPUz screenshot looks good. One of the biggest performance busters is not having EIST turned off. It looks like your machine is configured correctly in that respect. I don't really have any advice to add other than getting a drive with a larger cache for the OS. Since theres nothing in the CPUz screen shot or Sandra report thats pointing to any obvious problems.

[jmorganmitchell]

Originally Posted by sunburst79

I understand beleive me. Since higher track counts in PT 8.0 seem to favor the 32MB cache drive I would use that for Audio. Although theres no reason not to try the 2MB cache as a audio drive before you change anything. As as what you got-its pretty nice other than the 2MB drive.

The CPUz screenshot looks good. One of the biggest performance busters is not having EIST turned off. It looks like your machine is configured correctly in that respect. I don't really have any advice to add other than getting a drive with a larger cache for the OS. Since theres nothing in the CPUz screen shot or Sandra report thats pointing to any obvious problems.

Alright, well, I really appreciate the help. At least it's not a problem that should've been staring me in the face. I'll continue working on it and see if I can come up with anything else that would help pinpoint the issue (assuming there is one)

If anyone can think of something else to try, please let me know. I'm hoping there's a setting I've missed or something, and I didn't just end up with an ugly duckling runt quad hahaha. I'll post an update in an hour or so.

[Shan]

Originally Posted by jmorganmitchell

Sorry for not being entirely specific in my first post, my PTLE version is 8.0.0.314. :)
Please let me know if there's anything else I can clarify.

On PT 8.0.1cs1 using XP Pro SP3 on my Q6600 I hit the 273ish Dverb mark(That's the old Dverb). No over clocking or extreme system tweaks etc. Just the standard BIOS and O.S. optimizations.

Shane

[jmorganmitchell]

Originally Posted by Shan

On PT 8.0.1cs1 using XP Pro SP3 on my Q6600 I hit the 273ish Dverb mark(That's the old Dverb). No over clocking or extreme system tweaks etc. Just the standard BIOS and O.S. optimizations.

Shane

Man. I envy you hahaha:]

I'll try the update right now and see if that makes a difference. You got around 160 new dverbs using 1066 ddr2 though right?

I just can't imagine ddr2 800 vs 1066 equating to double the dverbs. Is that realistic? I have a hard time wrapping my head around that, but I can't pinpoint any serious issues in my setup that would justify a 50% drop in performance.