User manual

23
Setting up your system
Optimizing audio performance
CPU and processor cache
It goes without saying that the faster the computer processor, the better. But there are
a number of factors that affect the apparent speed of a computer: the bus speed and
type (PCI is strongly recommended), the processor cache size and of course, the
processor type and brand. Cubase relies heavily on floating point calculations. When
shopping for a processor, please make sure that you get one that is powerful in
calculating floating point arithmetics.
Note also that Cubase features full support for multi-processor systems. So, if you
own a computer system with more than one processor, Cubase can take advantage of
the total capacity and evenly distribute the processing load to all available processors.
For further information, see
“Multi processing” on page 24.
Hard disk and controller
The number of hard disk tracks you can record and play back at the same time also
depends on the speed of your hard disk and hard disk controller. If you use E-IDE
disks and controllers, make sure that the transfer mode is DMA Busmaster. Under
Windows, you can check the current mode by launching the Windows Device
Manager and looking for properties of the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controller’s primary and
secondary channel. DMA transfer mode is enabled by default, but may be turned off
by the system should hardware problems occur.
Audio hardware and driver
The hardware and its driver can have some effect on regular performance. A badly
written driver can reduce the performance of your computer. But where the hardware
driver design makes the most difference is with latency.
This is especially true when using Cubase for Windows:
• Under Windows, ASIO drivers written specifically for the hardware are more
efficient than the Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver or a DirectX driver and
produce shorter latency times.
• Under Mac OS X, audio hardware with properly written Mac OS X (Core Audio)
drivers can be very efficient and produce very low latency times.
However, there are additional features currently only available with ASIO drivers,
such as the ASIO Positioning Protocol.
Making settings that affect performance
Audio buffer settings
Audio buffers affect how audio is sent to and from the audio hardware. The size of the
audio buffers affects both the latency and the audio performance. Generally, the
smaller the buffer size, the lower the latency. On the other hand, working with small
buffers can be demanding for the computer. If the audio buffers are too small, you may
get clicks, pops or other audio playback problems.
• Under Mac OS X, you can adjust the size of the buffers on the VST Audio System
page in the Device Setup dialog.
You may also find buffer settings in the control panel for the audio hardware.
• Under Windows, you adjust the buffer size settings in the control panel for the
audio hardware (opened by clicking the Control Panel button on the driver page in
the Device Setup dialog).
!
Again, we strongly recommend that you use audio hardware for which there is a
specific ASIO driver!