My audio 4 crackles and pops at the MAXIMUM allowed latency the same as it does on the minimum. I’ve gone into Device Manager and disabled internal audio, modem, wireless, and every usb host controller that didnt cause my mouse and midi controllers to stop working. I get the same DPC spikes even when traktor isnt running. I also have an m-audio mobile pre usb audio interface (not plugged in at the same time) and I have that set to the lowest setting, getting 8ms latency in REASON and it never crackles one bit. Am I right in thinking that the NI drivers don’t like my laptop for whatever reason?
I did a restart with everything still disabled, and my dpc latency stayed green, but same
snap crackles and pops still. This shit is really pushing me towards getting a damn macbook
Have you tried Asio4all? Have you tried different cables? The latest Windows Drivers from NI for the Audio 4 are from March of this year, maybe try updating those if they’re not current. But I think people get some better results using Asio4all on the PC.
There’s only one issue that can’t be fixed, and that’s a very poorly performing BIOS (that can be flashed, but you’re at the whim of the manufacturer). Otherwise software issues like this are fixable.
Boot normally, enable everything you disabled, and in general get your computer back to it’s regular operation. Get a baseline DPC measurement WITHOUT any of the audio interfaces connected. Post back with your system specs and average DPC measurement. If possible, include a screenshot of the DPC so we can see the timing of the spikes. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to have a Hijack This log ready -
Thats a pic of the baseline DPC with everything enabled again and all external audio interfaces disconnected
if you cant read it, that absolute max is 4967 while running no audio
If you run DPCLC for a long time, do you see that spike repeat at a given interval?
Also, you have some stuff running in the background that really doesn’t need to be there. I recommend turning off Damon tools and sidebar unless you absolutely NEED them (sidebar sucks for a lot of reasons, and you can run DT when you plan on using it). The mctadmin.exe service can be set to MANUAL as well.
Your computer really doesn’t look like it’s in bad shape at all (except for the Ask and Google toolbars - do you REALLY use them?). Have you tried uninstalling the A4DJ driver and installing a new version? Also, have you swapped USB cables and verified you’re not using a bad cable? Bad quality cables are a common issue. Swapping USB ports is another easy to test solution.
Failing all of these, Try looking at your running processes and DPCLC when using the A4DJ and Traktor and see if anything is spiking the CPU. Just fire up Task Manager and go to the PROCESSES tab and sort by CPU.
I pulled out the old online stopwatch and noticed that my DPC is spiking 4-6 red columns every 60 seconds. While watching the task Manager the only thing that ever goes above 1 in the CPU column is chrome, and that’s it going to 3%
turned off sidebar service, turned off gadget service, got rid of D-tools, ask toolbar, still the same on DPC latency. You mentioned something about the BIOS, I just checked Gateway’s site and there is a new BIOS available, I’m going to flash that and see
Big lag every minute sounds a lot like wifi autoconfig. BUT! apparently you’ve disabled that. You should try installing the windows performance toolkit, then run xperf to find out what’s behind that spike.
right, I dont think audio latency falls under any computer shop’s usual fixes. I have a degree in computer management, and I’ve googled my ass off and still have this problem on this laptop. I borrowed my mom’s macbook for a few days and it ran fine without any of the problems I’m currently experiencing. and this is coming from someone that thinks mac’s are overpriced as hell.
The thing is, this falls under the ‘you get what you pay for’ category. As a DJ and music person, having to go through these hoops just to get something working properly is a waste of time and money. If you charged $100/hr of your time to fix these problems, you’d make up the money you ‘saved’ pretty quickly. At a most basic level, The Windows audio sound stack needs to be rebuilt to avoid these problems. Truth is, MS just don’t care enough about this customer base to do anything.
A couple of days ago a had a total ZEN moment whilst sat at my desk. I was listening to Ludovico Einaudi - Dietro Casa (the piano track from This Is England) and my girlfriend walks in. I turned around to her and said ‘it’s moments like this that I spend all my money on audio stuff’. The music just surrounded us, and she said: ‘This should be our song.’
I didn’t buy this laptop with the intention of djing on it. And I know I get what I pay for, but it just seems kinda shitty that I can run ableton / reason into the dirt with tracks and effects and NEVER crackle with my M-audio card, but can’t with my Audio 4.
