3538l ASIO performance

cics · Oct 26, 2006, 05:46 PM

Tried ASIO 16/48 (2+2) on intel machine with map/irq/10k2 sync in foobar2000. Get stable playback at 2.67ms.

QUESTION: Why is ASIO playback volume approx 50% of Wave HQ 24/96 (using kernal streaming)?

HumanRes · Oct 27, 2006, 07:57 PM

All milliseconds are measured with 16/48 (2+2) and indicate the lowest possible values that can be reached without pops/klicks or sound speed slowdown. Host: Reson 3.0.4.

Default=4.00ms, CPU=<1%

User/Sleep->jumps Back to Default
User/Thread=4.00ms, CPU=7%
User/Timer=4.00ms, CPU=<1%
User/SMP=1.00ms, CPU=50%

Krnl/Sleep=4.00ms, CPU=<1%
Krnl/SMP=1.00ms, CPU=50%

Map/Timer/Sleep = 4.00ms, CPU=<1%
Map/Timer/Event = 2.67ms, CPU=7%

Note, that 50% on my dual core means 100% on a single core.

So i decided for "default", 4.00 ms are good enough for me, at no cpu power cost.

Machine:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
ABIT KN8 Ultra (nForce4 Ultra)
MDT DIMM Kit 2x1024MB CL4 (DDR2-533)
ATI Radeon X800XL
WinXP Professional, SP2
(with installed AMD Processor Driver 1.3.2.x + AMD Dual Core Optimizer 1.0)

----Hardware / Software configuration---------------
Treibername:kX Audio Driver (Debug)
Treiberdatum: Sep 18 2006 04:52:44
Treiberversion: 5.10.00.3538 - debug
DB Name:none
CT4832 10k1 [dc00]
PCI Information:
Device: 21102 Subsys: 80271102 ChipRev: 8
Card has MPU device
Card HAS AC97 codec
Codec name: Cirrus Logic (unknown)
3D Extension: Crystal Semi 3D Stereo Enhancement
Codec is 2.0 compliant
Capabilities[1990] : -headphone out-
DAC resolutions : -16-bit- -20-bit-
ADC resolutions : -16-bit- -18-bit-
Ext Capabilities [200]: -slot/DAC mappings-
Port: dc00 Irq: 0x5(5)
Playback buffer: 20a0
Record buffer: 4000
Number of AC3 buffers: 4
Tank memory: 256 kb
GSIF buffer: 256 samples
OS version: [2 5 1 Service Pack 2; 2 5 1 Service Pack 2; 156 148]
----------------------------------------------------

Stairsteps · Jan 3, 2007, 06:36 PM

Well Im getting a Weird Buzzing sound whenever I click off the record button in Sonar 6.1, which was not present with 3537, btw overall the drivers seem to have gotten quicker. but That droneing buzzing sound can only be turned off by rebooting Sonar. at least I dont have to reboot the entire PC.

other than that I want to say thank you and I will donate to you soon as i get back to work agian, I was laid off during the holidays.

running kx drivers in ASIO mode with 2.66 latency no clicks got 17 instruments vsts running at once with 4% CPU usage.

DAW specs::
INTEL E6600 Core Duo 2
ASUS P5N32-SLI Premium Mobo
Kingston 2 gig ram PC 5300
nVidia BFG 8800 GTS
Creative Audigy 1 Ex PLatnium with black breakout box and Phantom Pwrd XLR
BFG 650 watt SLI power
Antec Nine Hundred Gaming case
ViewSonic 19 LCD
SATA 320 HD
5-USB HD 1 Terabyte

Stairsteps · Jan 3, 2007, 08:01 PM

Ok I have isolated the buzzing problem a little better. It didnt happen with the 3537 but with 3538l im getting a buzzing sound when I press record then press it off.

At first I thought I just had to reboot Sonar 6, but thats not the case what I have to do is turn back on the record button for a track and the buzzing goes away.

im going to run a few more experiments and report them back.

However im getting stellar performance out of these dirvers which are starting to sound like the card I was gonna replace this one with.

I was gonna get the EMU 0404 USB 2.0 but this card now sounds just as crystal clear as that one. albiet no 24/96 but still this thing sounds WAY better than it used to.

I think correct me if im wrong but these drivers are EMU pro drivers retrofitted somehow to work with Audigys.

Maddogg6 · Jan 3, 2007, 10:05 PM

Try lowering your latency and/or the 'mode' in the ASIO control panel. It may help - it may make it worse ??- depends on your system AFAIK.

JGSF · Jan 4, 2007, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stairsteps

(...)
I think correct me if im wrong but these drivers are EMU pro drivers retrofitted somehow to work with Audigys.

No, actually E-mu should retrofit kX drivers to work with the emu's...

Max M. · Jan 4, 2007, 05:56 AM

Code:

LOL

thomasabarnes · Jan 20, 2007, 11:05 AM

Hi all:

Windows XP Home Edition (SP2)
AMD Athlon 64x2 4600+ Dual Core (no overclocking)
ASUS M2N-E Motherboard
2xGB DDR2 533 MHz RAM
80 GB 7200 rpm HDD
250 GB 7200 rpm HDD
GeForce 7300 256 MB
Audigy (SB 0092 (10k2)
ACPI System Configuration
(Sorry but I dont' know what you mean, Eugene, by application setting in System)

I used a 4.0ms latency setting, and 16 bit/48 kHz (16+16) format using ASIO. I got just about the same results using the WDM driver as well. I was able to use the 2.67ms latency setting in both ASIO and WDM, but I got pops and click at times.

So for my test, I used 4.0ms and ASIO, SONAR 6 (with Use Multi-Processing Engine enabled), 5 SoftSynths: Cakewalk TTS-1 (playing 3 Instruments), Toontrack EZDrummer (with 302 MB Drumkit loaded), Edirol Orchestral, Edirol Superquartet, and Pro 53. Also I got no pops or clicks using the ASIO setting and softsynths mentioned above.

My results were not near as exciting as the others who posted using dual core systems, even though I have installed the AMD Dual-Core Optimizer with a release date of November 2006.

Sync Modes:

Default: 50% CPU or less
User/Sleep: (setting will not stay, it goes back to default)
User/Thread: High CPU usage (80% or more) Unusable
User/Timer: 58% CPU
User/SMP: High CPU usage (80% or more) Unusable
Knrl/Sleep: 50% CPU or lower
Knrl/SMP: High CPU usage (80% or more) Unusable
Map/IRQ/Sleep (10k2): 50% CPU or less
Map/Timer/Sleep: Buzz sound (unusable)
Map/IRQ/SMP (10k2): High CPU usage (unusable)
Map/Timer/Event (10k2): Buzz (unusable)
Map/IRQ/Event (10k2): 54% CPU or less

I haven't optimized this system for audio yet (except to select "Adjust for best performance of background services" in the Performance option of Win XP), but this system still out performs my old system by far.

Even when I turned the Multiprocessing Engine off in SONAR, I still got about the same performance using each sync mode. I even got no noticable difference when I check marked or uncheck marked the option "SMP/HT ASIO Optimizations" in the driver compatibility section.

I plan to do more tweaking of the OS, and MB BIOS to see if I can get better performance from my system.

I will test with 3534f, and maybe some other kX driver version in time.

Thanks Eugene for all your work!

The kX Project saved my soundcard! And, I just may be getting a Audigy 2 ZS Platinum. I very much seek to have the ability to record in 24 bit/96 kHz. And, I don't think I'm alone when I express my desire for kX to support this bit depth and sample rate recording in ASIO mode.

See you all around.

EDIT:

I noticed that if I change the ASIO latency to 23ms or 42ms, I can hear no fifference in latency, I get no dropouts, and the CPU usage get a bit lower than 50% or less! That's interesting!

Can some of you dual core CPU users elaborate on whether or not you made any performance tweaks to get so low a CPU usage? I installed the AMD Dual Core Optimization fix, but there was no change in the CPU usage seen in the Windows task manager. Is there some tweak window for this Dual Core optimizer? Please let me know what you can, if you have any ideas to help me get lower CPU usage.

In SONAR, each CPU doesn't show more than 20% CPU usage, but the Windows task manager shows 50% or less when playing the project mentioned above. Also, when EZDrummer loads for that project the Windows Task Manager goes up to like 80% CPU usage until after it finishes loading, then it fluctuates from 30+ % or less til I play the project, and it then shows 50% or less.

Thanks to anyone for any help or comments to why other Dual Core users are getting much lower CPU usage than I am getting,

Jan 3, 2007, 06:36 PM	#33
Stairsteps DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: NewJersey Posts: 6 Rep Power: 0	Well Im getting a Weird Buzzing sound whenever I click off the record button in Sonar 6.1, which was not present with 3537, btw overall the drivers seem to have gotten quicker. but That droneing buzzing sound can only be turned off by rebooting Sonar. at least I dont have to reboot the entire PC. other than that I want to say thank you and I will donate to you soon as i get back to work agian, I was laid off during the holidays. running kx drivers in ASIO mode with 2.66 latency no clicks got 17 instruments vsts running at once with 4% CPU usage. DAW specs:: INTEL E6600 Core Duo 2 ASUS P5N32-SLI Premium Mobo Kingston 2 gig ram PC 5300 nVidia BFG 8800 GTS Creative Audigy 1 Ex PLatnium with black breakout box and Phantom Pwrd XLR BFG 650 watt SLI power Antec Nine Hundred Gaming case ViewSonic 19 LCD SATA 320 HD 5-USB HD 1 Terabyte Last edited by Stairsteps; Jan 3, 2007 at 06:43 PM.

Jan 20, 2007, 11:05 AM	#38
thomasabarnes Long Time ***** Friend Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: USA Posts: 1,373 Rep Power: 58 System Specs	Test With 3538l Hi all: Windows XP Home Edition (SP2) AMD Athlon 64x2 4600+ Dual Core (no overclocking) ASUS M2N-E Motherboard 2xGB DDR2 533 MHz RAM 80 GB 7200 rpm HDD 250 GB 7200 rpm HDD GeForce 7300 256 MB Audigy (SB 0092 (10k2) ACPI System Configuration (Sorry but I dont' know what you mean, Eugene, by application setting in System) I used a 4.0ms latency setting, and 16 bit/48 kHz (16+16) format using ASIO. I got just about the same results using the WDM driver as well. I was able to use the 2.67ms latency setting in both ASIO and WDM, but I got pops and click at times. So for my test, I used 4.0ms and ASIO, SONAR 6 (with Use Multi-Processing Engine enabled), 5 SoftSynths: Cakewalk TTS-1 (playing 3 Instruments), Toontrack EZDrummer (with 302 MB Drumkit loaded), Edirol Orchestral, Edirol Superquartet, and Pro 53. Also I got no pops or clicks using the ASIO setting and softsynths mentioned above. My results were not near as exciting as the others who posted using dual core systems, even though I have installed the AMD Dual-Core Optimizer with a release date of November 2006. Sync Modes: Default: 50% CPU or less User/Sleep: (setting will not stay, it goes back to default) User/Thread: High CPU usage (80% or more) Unusable User/Timer: 58% CPU User/SMP: High CPU usage (80% or more) Unusable Knrl/Sleep: 50% CPU or lower Knrl/SMP: High CPU usage (80% or more) Unusable Map/IRQ/Sleep (10k2): 50% CPU or less Map/Timer/Sleep: Buzz sound (unusable) Map/IRQ/SMP (10k2): High CPU usage (unusable) Map/Timer/Event (10k2): Buzz (unusable) Map/IRQ/Event (10k2): 54% CPU or less I haven't optimized this system for audio yet (except to select "Adjust for best performance of background services" in the Performance option of Win XP), but this system still out performs my old system by far. Even when I turned the Multiprocessing Engine off in SONAR, I still got about the same performance using each sync mode. I even got no noticable difference when I check marked or uncheck marked the option "SMP/HT ASIO Optimizations" in the driver compatibility section. I plan to do more tweaking of the OS, and MB BIOS to see if I can get better performance from my system. I will test with 3534f, and maybe some other kX driver version in time. Thanks Eugene for all your work! The kX Project saved my soundcard! And, I just may be getting a Audigy 2 ZS Platinum. I very much seek to have the ability to record in 24 bit/96 kHz. And, I don't think I'm alone when I express my desire for kX to support this bit depth and sample rate recording in ASIO mode. See you all around. EDIT: I noticed that if I change the ASIO latency to 23ms or 42ms, I can hear no fifference in latency, I get no dropouts, and the CPU usage get a bit lower than 50% or less! That's interesting! Can some of you dual core CPU users elaborate on whether or not you made any performance tweaks to get so low a CPU usage? I installed the AMD Dual Core Optimization fix, but there was no change in the CPU usage seen in the Windows task manager. Is there some tweak window for this Dual Core optimizer? Please let me know what you can, if you have any ideas to help me get lower CPU usage. In SONAR, each CPU doesn't show more than 20% CPU usage, but the Windows task manager shows 50% or less when playing the project mentioned above. Also, when EZDrummer loads for that project the Windows Task Manager goes up to like 80% CPU usage until after it finishes loading, then it fluctuates from 30+ % or less til I play the project, and it then shows 50% or less. Thanks to anyone for any help or comments to why other Dual Core users are getting much lower CPU usage than I am getting, __________________ May a song always touch you in a positive way. Sonar 8.5.3 PE, Windows 7 Pro 64Bit, MOTU UltraLite MK3, 150 GB HDD, 250 GB HDD, 1 TB HDD 7200 rpm, My Music Production: Top 40, Contemporary Christian, Pop/Rock, Decent Rap, Inspirationals, and Children Songs Last edited by thomasabarnes; Jan 27, 2007 at 05:33 PM.

Oct 26, 2006, 05:46 PM	#31
cics DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 16 Rep Power: 0	Tried ASIO 16/48 (2+2) on intel machine with map/irq/10k2 sync in foobar2000. Get stable playback at 2.67ms. QUESTION: Why is ASIO playback volume approx 50% of Wave HQ 24/96 (using kernal streaming)?

Oct 27, 2006, 07:57 PM	#32
HumanRes DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Germany / Duesseldorf Posts: 26 Rep Power: 0	All milliseconds are measured with 16/48 (2+2) and indicate the lowest possible values that can be reached without pops/klicks or sound speed slowdown. Host: Reson 3.0.4. Default=4.00ms, CPU=<1% User/Sleep->jumps Back to Default User/Thread=4.00ms, CPU=7% User/Timer=4.00ms, CPU=<1% User/SMP=1.00ms, CPU=50% Krnl/Sleep=4.00ms, CPU=<1% Krnl/SMP=1.00ms, CPU=50% Map/Timer/Sleep = 4.00ms, CPU=<1% Map/Timer/Event = 2.67ms, CPU=7% Note, that 50% on my dual core means 100% on a single core. So i decided for "default", 4.00 ms are good enough for me, at no cpu power cost. Machine: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ ABIT KN8 Ultra (nForce4 Ultra) MDT DIMM Kit 2x1024MB CL4 (DDR2-533) ATI Radeon X800XL WinXP Professional, SP2 (with installed AMD Processor Driver 1.3.2.x + AMD Dual Core Optimizer 1.0) ----Hardware / Software configuration--------------- Treibername:kX Audio Driver (Debug) Treiberdatum: Sep 18 2006 04:52:44 Treiberversion: 5.10.00.3538 - debug DB Name:none CT4832 10k1 [dc00] PCI Information: Device: 21102 Subsys: 80271102 ChipRev: 8 Card has MPU device Card HAS AC97 codec Codec name: Cirrus Logic (unknown) 3D Extension: Crystal Semi 3D Stereo Enhancement Codec is 2.0 compliant Capabilities[1990] : -headphone out- DAC resolutions : -16-bit- -20-bit- ADC resolutions : -16-bit- -18-bit- Ext Capabilities [200]: -slot/DAC mappings- Port: dc00 Irq: 0x5(5) Playback buffer: 20a0 Record buffer: 4000 Number of AC3 buffers: 4 Tank memory: 256 kb GSIF buffer: 256 samples OS version: [2 5 1 Service Pack 2; 2 5 1 Service Pack 2; 156 148] ----------------------------------------------------

Jan 3, 2007, 08:01 PM	#34
Stairsteps DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: NewJersey Posts: 6 Rep Power: 0	Ok I have isolated the buzzing problem a little better. It didnt happen with the 3537 but with 3538l im getting a buzzing sound when I press record then press it off. At first I thought I just had to reboot Sonar 6, but thats not the case what I have to do is turn back on the record button for a track and the buzzing goes away. im going to run a few more experiments and report them back. However im getting stellar performance out of these dirvers which are starting to sound like the card I was gonna replace this one with. I was gonna get the EMU 0404 USB 2.0 but this card now sounds just as crystal clear as that one. albiet no 24/96 but still this thing sounds WAY better than it used to. I think correct me if im wrong but these drivers are EMU pro drivers retrofitted somehow to work with Audigys.

Jan 3, 2007, 10:05 PM	#35
Maddogg6 Tail Razer Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Bernyurass, AZ - USA Posts: 4,027 Rep Power: 50	Try lowering your latency and/or the 'mode' in the ASIO control panel. It may help - it may make it worse ??- depends on your system AFAIK.

Jan 4, 2007, 05:56 AM	#37
Max M. h/h member-shmember Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Evil Empire Posts: 2,606 Rep Power: 66	Code: LOL