Instruction Manual

863
Improving Performance with Digital Audio
Improving Audio Performance
digital audio, including how to get the more tracks of audio, more real-time
effects, lower latency and how to fix audio dropouts.
For more information see:
Getting the Most Out of Your PC
Mixing Latency
Dropouts and Other Audio Problems
Reduce GUI Updates to Improve Playback Performance
Getting the Most Out of Your PC
The maximum number of audio tracks you can expect to play on your
computer depends on the audio sample rate, the speed of your hard disk,
and the speed of your computer’s CPU.
The effect of your CPU on audio track throughput is much more difficult to
quantify. Throughput is affected by the type of chip, clock speed, the
number and type of real-time effects in use, cache size and settings, and
many other factors.
There are a variety of things you can do to increase the number of audio
tracks and effects you can play on your computer, as outlined in the
following table:
Approach… How it works…
Avoid compressed disks If you use DoubleSpace, Stacker, or some other
disk compression system, it will slow down
playback of audio tremendously. Configure your
system so that the Data directory is on a hard disk
that is not compressed.
Exit other programs The more programs you have open, the more
CPU cycles you are taking away from your
project. Exit any programs unnecessary to the
task at hand.
Refrain from other activity during
playback
If you open and close windows or do lots of
editing while playback is in progress, you may
steal CPU cycles that would otherwise be used
for playback.