New build - Music Editing PC - Latency problem

[rpthomas]

I need to build a new music editing PC to run Steinberg Sibelius and Cubase SX because I have a horrible problem with latency that I just can’t seem to fix. Playing midi into Cubase SX has a delay of nearly 1 second. I have a good sound card - MAudio Audiophile 192 - so its not the sound card.

The need is for a PC that has no latency for midi playing into Cubase or Sibelius, but that is the lowest budget I can reasonably get. I have about £400 to spare.

I have the following parts to use:

MAudio Audiophile 192 Sound Card
LiteOn 20X DVD Recorder (IDE)
Cheap Radion Video Card
HD Western Digital Caviar 160 GB IDE

The rest of my current build is ancient. Gigabyte GA7-N400Pro2 (Rev 2.x) running an AMD Athlon 450 processor. Don’t know what memory I have in there.

I need a recommendation for the following parts, please:

Processor
Motherboard
Memory
HD (I am happy to change to SATA if necessary)
PSU

As I say, the big problem is getting rid of latency.

I am not an expert, but I have put together a computer from parts before, not really knowing what I was doing, but it worked.

[flanzig1]

Here's a starting list:
Asus P5B motherboard
Intel Core2 duo E6600
Corsair Value Select DDR2 667 ram/2gig kit
Seagate 7200.10 Sata 160g HD
Antec 430W PSU
Asus Nvidia 7300GS
I priced this items from Ebuyer.com.uk and came to 362 pounds inc VAT.
If you want a stronger video card/bigger HD/bigger PSU, figure to add an other 100 quid to the total.

[rpthomas]

Thanks. That's really helpful. Do you know what causes latency?

R

[blue60007]

Have you run your equipment on another computer with no latency?

I'd say the processor in your current build is waay behind. I did a quick bit of research and looks like it's been around for quite a while. A Core 2 Dou would be many many times faster. I can't say that'll fix the latency, but I imagine the CPU is working overtime. Check the CPU usage in the task manager the next time you are using the equipment.

Looking at the system requirements for the software it looks like the minimum is a 500MHz processor. I believe the Athlon 450 is 450MHz? Recommended is 1GHz.

[D van H]

I would say the latency has nothing to do the computer hardware (mobo, processor, video card etc)

It will have something to do with the soundcard settings, or the settings of your music software.

Do you have the ASIO sound driver selected in Cubase? - this is set somewhere in the settings or preferences - this will give you lower latency (it's very important that you are using the asio driver)

It's also possible to set the soundcard latency in the MAudio card settings panel (should be an icon somewhere in the lower right hand corner)

[rpthomas]

ASIO sound driver selected in Cubase, so its not that. Latency in the MAudio card settings panel is set to 256 samples. Not really a techie (musician / score composer) so would welcome suggestions.

Also, was going to set up RAID on my new system to prevent data loss in event of HD failure, but reviews suggest that the P5B won't allow Raid unless I get the deluxe version?

R

[LeftyAce]

The newegg specifications: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131030
say "SATA RAID 0/1"
as does the ASUS product page: http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1178&l1=3&l2=11&l3=307

Do you need "all the time" backup? Or would running a backup every night suffice? If it would, getting an external enclosure and harddrive would be a little safer: it would be electrically isolated from the main computer, so if something surges your backup disk doesn't get fried, and in the event of a virus infection it won't get automatically written on the backup as well. RAID backs up everything always, protecting you from a harddrive failure, but won't save you from data corruption or viruses; as anything on 1 drive is instantly on the other...

[rpthomas]

How about the following build:

Asus P5N-E SLI 650i Socket 775 Onboard Audio ATX (This has better RAID options than P5B)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 (2.13Ghz) Socket 775 FSB1066 4MB Cache
Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL5(5-5-5-12)
Antec Basiq Power 500W ATX 12V PSU

I'd welcome comments on this. The reason for not going with P5B is the restriction on RAID options - the P5N-E appears to have better internal RAID options.

I take on board the comment about an external Hard Drive for back up, and will go with this.

I also take on board the comments about latency not being in the system, but my processor is SOOOO old that I suspect it is out of spec for the software AND the card. I built the computer in 1998!

I will use two SATA drives - one for OS and software, and the other for writing the music data to - so that seek times on the drives are not delayed by switching between OS and Data.

This, hopefully, will give me the latency free (or almost) that I need for Cubase and Sibelius.

Richard

[LeftyAce]

I take on board the comment about an external Hard Drive for back up, and will go with this.

So why do you need RAID? If you want to have 1 harddrive for the OS and the other for data, you CAN'T do RAID.
I would get the P5B or possibly P5K.

Yeah, a system built in '98 probably can't cope with a modern sound suite.....but 9 years is a good run for any pc :-)

The ram you have listed is overkill; get Corsair ValueSelect DDR2 667.

Seagate harddrives are good, and come with a 5 year warranty. The 7200.10 series is fast, and I believe the 320GB model is the 'sweet spot' as far as $/GB

We recommend Apricorn external enclosures for backups. Good quality, and they come with backup software.