Hey Guys,

I'm thinking about a soundcard and I'm wondering how specifically it benefits you. So far the only info I've found is that (and I might be wrong) you get multiple software inputs which the card would mix for you (to let your cpu rest a bit)... For instance in fruity instead of routing all FX tracks to master, you route some of them directly to the soundcard. Is this right?

Also, do soundcards help process the VSTi's? I guess I'm saying how specifically does the soundcard jump in and extend your CPU resources for producing music, in my case fruity loops.

Finally - do some soundcards come with a built in reverb that you could, say, plug into an FX send in your sequencer as if it were a VST, thereby making the card use its power on a great verb and not your CPU?

Thanks for any help guys. I'm trying my best to figure this out but any comments are appreciated.

Mike

how much is a new sound card vs a new processor?

say like a sound card (top notch that is) is something like 40 quid...?

a new 1.6ghz processor is something like 60 odd nikka so u might as well get a new processor, as it doesnt really improve the sound quality by alot, but it will soak most of the cpu load up...

sound cards with hardware/3d acceleration may help, im not entirely sure abt that though.

my sound card happens to have a 3d accelerator on it, dont sound any different from my on-board ac97 sound.

meh.

___________________


Found Atlantis - Mixography [mix archive/mokumentary/my soul]?
i writed a song.

I concur, get a faster CPU and MoBO, more memory blabla ... it goes on and on and on for me. Upgrade every year or so and I still want more ... more vsts ... more vsti effect inserts and sends .. more reverbs ... more more more and even more and then i can rule the world *que evil laugh* mwahawahawhaw

ahem ... unless you want to get something like a TC Powercore http://www.tcelectronic.com/PowerCore ... wouldnt mind one meself

Right now I have a 2.6 Ghz P4 with 800mhz FSB and 512MB DDR ram, so it will be just a little while until I'll be upgrading again.... Its just that I went nuts a little while ago and tapped out my CPU, plus the timeworks reverb at the fullest setting taps it out just with one instance!... so i was just thinking, "hmm how can i extend this a little before I do another upgrade"...

>> plus the timeworks reverb at the fullest setting taps it out just with one instance

nice FX huh ... but very cpu intensive like you said

Dont see buying another straight ahead soundcard giving you more cpu headroom for your vst. Unless you buy one that is tailored for the job (i.e. a powercore or UAD-1)

Only other option I can think of is bouncing some of your vsti tracks to wavs then turning off those vsti to free up some cpu for your reverb. I do that all the time, hence wanna upgarde my 2.2G-XP Athlon. How I got by on a duron 800mhz I will never know

damn thats me dribbling again \/

http://www.dv247.com/invt/11127

http://www.dv247.com/invt/14685

.... or you might get by on increasing latency. More latency means a bigger audio buffer which gives your cpu some space to catch up if it does something intensive. (i.e. switch to mme driver instead of using directx driver or just plain old increase latency if you can)

Im always starting a project with 2ms of latency so i can play some keys in real time. Later on when Im producing with delays and reverbs I will increase latency to get some more bang from my cpu

quote:

Originally posted by /I\ Im always starting a project with 2ms of latency so i can play some keys in real time. Later on when Im producing with delays and reverbs I will increase latency to get some more bang from my cpu

This is a great idea that I can't believe I didn't think of earlier. It's the best of both worlds

___________________
"You can only drink 30 or 40 glasses of beer a day, no matter how rich you are." - Colonel Adolphus Busch

Major Johnson - February Progressive Mix

Download Other Mixes

dead cool huh ... who needs to freeze a vst when you can bang your latency up to 2000ms and have 6 zillion effects

The soundcard does not process the audio, the CPU does. Cards with DSP's process audio though. These are the expenmsive ones. They lesten the strain on your CPU. Yes, they come with fx (normally) which are not run by the CPU but by the DSP. They can also come with synths and mixers and stuff too. Stuff like the TC powercore, the Creamware cards, etc are examples of this.

___________________
1 out of every 4 people in this country are mentally disturbed. Look at your 3 closest friends. If they seem okay, then you're the one.

Cheg thats good advice. I followed the link to the powercore card and now I understand better. Those cards give you their own VST instuments, and when you choose them, they are really run on the card instead of your CPU... So the question is - do I pay the extra $$$ and trust that the built in reverb/compression/EQ for the card sounds good? And that somewhere down the line I won't curse god when I no longer have the card, and thus, have to rewrite my whole song.

The freeze effect - now thats something too. I heard you can do that on cubase? If thats true I might start trying to learn that now.

THanks for all your help guys!

Speaking of DSP cards, the new e-mu 1820 series comes with built in effects processing. At only $500, plus all of its other features, it seems almost too good to be true. That's why I'm going to wait a month or so to see some user feedback before I get one. It could be a great alternative to the $1000+ powercore or creamware dsp options.

My 2 cents, using the Timeworks Reverb on max setting sounds nice, but not as nice as say Renverb or TrueVerb at 1/5 of the processing power.

___________________
Business is very food.

Last edited by Etherium on Feb-17-2004 at 01:28