Thanks for the suggestions so far.

I currently have an external soundcard in the form of a TASCAM US 122L which is USB 2.0, and I find it does not take anything off the CPU that I can tell anyway.

Maybe that isn't a good enough soundcard to actually take the load off the computer. When I compare it vs the onbaord soundcard I have there is really no improvement between the two even when using with ASIO on top.

In that regard I have absolutely no clue what external soundcard to go for to replace it. Is there something to look for in an external soundcard that indicates it will take pressure off the CPU?

My monitors are Yamaha HS50M just to complete the picture.

Your sound card has a negligible impact on CPU consumption. It's only when you start to get down to really low latencies and lots of inputs/outputs for recording that you're going to notice any difference, because that's where efficient driver code and the kind of bus (USB, FW, PCI/E) comes into play. If you're just playing audio back at 256-512 samples, you'll see bugger all difference.

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Hmm so no point buying a fancy soundcard then

I should be focusing on just getting a new CPU, Win7, Ram, SSD, A 1000w PSU

Suppose it is obvious, CPU cannot cope..... so buy a bigger CPU !

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Originally posted by the-sixth Hmm so no point buying a fancy soundcard then I should be focusing on just getting a new CPU, Win7, Ram, SSD, A 1000w PSU Suppose it is obvious, CPU cannot cope..... so buy a bigger CPU !

what latency are you trying to run at the moment???

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Originally posted by evo8 what latency are you trying to run at the moment???

I don't think its latency thats the issue, its the CPU there is so much going on it hits 100% and the audio starts to stutter heavily. Impossible to make tunes that way

I use ASIO and have the buffer slider set to the highest sample it can go (the lower you go the worse the stuttering goes).

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Originally posted by the-sixth I don't think its latency thats the issue, its the CPU there is so much going on it hits 100% and the audio starts to stutter heavily. Impossible to make tunes that way I use ASIO and have the buffer slider set to the highest sample it can go (the lower you go the worse the stuttering goes).

fair enough, doesnt sound like a soundcard issue so

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well until you get your new set up you can render to audio on each of your tracks to save on cpu

No worries Evo8 I just thought you could get external sound cards that would take the burden off the CPU when you have loads of VSTs running. Maybe you can but I have no idea what to look for if that does exist.

I tried to bounce down to wav but it takes the fun out of it Stewart, I lose the idea I had and then I just don't finish the track. I want to play everything live in the moment without having any stutter wrecking the session.

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Originally posted by the-sixth No worries Evo8 I just thought you could get external sound cards that would take the burden off the CPU when you have loads of VSTs running. Maybe you can but I have no idea what to look for if that does exist. I tried to bounce down to wav but it takes the fun out of it Stewart, I lose the idea I had and then I just don't finish the track. I want to play everything live in the moment without having any stutter wrecking the session.

Im the same as you - i rarely ever bounce anything, only when recording external synths.

Would be good if you could try out (borrow) another soundcard just to make sure it isnt holding your system back. Setting a high latency will help your CPU but makes things annoying when using midi keyboards etc cos of the long delay between hitting a key and hearing a sound.

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What is going here guys?

@ the sixth: You're running 15-20 tracks and the CPU is crapping out?

Considering you've got an i5 and at least an OK soundacard, this to me seems more like user error that making you run out of processing power, and the telltale sign of this is that you're using Rbass on your bass tracks

The main drive could be a factor, but nearly every drive unless you down spec it is going to be a major brand 7200rpm and that simply should not give the limitation you're facing.

I bet you're using inserts instead of aux sends, meaning every individual FX on each channel is discrete? Sylenth and waves are also a resource hog (especially the free versions )

And with pads, what are you using? Omnisphere? Same as above.

Learn to use sends, stop using FX that aren't appropriate (Rbass etc), and if you're suing cracks, that won't help the situation either.

I run a 2008 imac (with an SSD) and I can easily got to 40-50 tracks before things start getting funky.

As Echosystem stated (but I'll further clarify*) a soundcard *once you get past onboard chips* isn't going to effect performance that wildly. Class compliant devices aren't quite as efficient as proprietary driver based soundcards, and there is a tiny bit of difference at the very high end when doing many tracks at low latency, but other than that, a tascam us122 will yield virtually no CPU advantage over a Motu interface that costs 10 times as much.

Shit sucks when things go funky.

Cracks generally use the same or less as they don't make requests to call home and shit.

My guess is every synth is nexus, using ozone5 as an insert on each channel. Rbass is light n the CPU no ?

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