Pentium 4 vs Athlon XP
Here’s my problem. I’ve been running n-Track for 2 years with no problem, but as it is a family PC, more and more junk has been placed on it, making n-Track not work well at all now (slow and certain plugins freeze it up). I acquired an older pc and need to decide which to set up exclusively for recording.
I have been running WIN XP on a Dell 4500 Pentium4 1.8Ghz 382mg 40G HD and it ran fine in the beginning (11 tracks with many effects). I could do a fresh install of XP and use this machine exclusively for recording, or…
My other choice is an AthlonXP 1700 (still trying to determine motherboard manufacturer, does it make a difference?). It currently has 128mg, but will add more, and it has a 4GB HD.
Which is the better machine for n-Track?
I’ve read enough on the forum to know I need a second 7600rpm hard drive to hold my music, regardless of which pc I use.
Hi Val,
Go with the Athlon for sure. The 1700+ will run cool allowing you to put on a very quiet fan/heatsink combination. N-track has no issues with AMD chips- thats a myth and a fairytale which I have have tested and confirmed numerous times.
Of course your Dell is already better equipped so if you have no problem doing a clean install you won’t have to spend money on anything but another drive. Put the 7200 RPM drive on your secondary IDE controller as opposed to being a slave on the primary channel.
Either system should do just fine. You really only have to consider your expenses in outfitting both systems so find out exactly whats available on both motherboards before choosing. If you’ll be recoding or mixing in the same room as your computer definately consider the noise it generates and look into some reduced noise fans and cooling devices.
no cents
Go with the Athlon for sure. The 1700+ will run cool allowing you to put on a very quiet fan/heatsink combination. N-track has no issues with AMD chips- thats a myth and a fairytale which I have have tested and confirmed numerous times.
Considering your other posts I don't see how you can say this. Which is it, do you have major problems on an AMD machine with V4 or not?
Val, Look through the forum and see which systems folks are running that post with the most problems then get the other one. I think you'll find that most folks having problems are running AMD machines, including nocents.
Considering your other posts I don't see how you can say this. Which is it, do you have major problems on an AMD machine with V4 or not?
Val, Look through the forum and see which systems folks are running that post with the most problems then get the other one. I think you'll find that most folks having problems are running AMD machines, including nocents.
nocents, you’re sort of right about audio having trouble with the amd chip being a myth. It’s not really a myth, but more of a misunderstanding, you see, the problem lies with the motherboard’s chipset, not the cpu.
Originally many AMD boards were using the VIA chipset and audio was a problem because the chipset couldn’t handle it. and many driver releases later the problems have mostly been resolved. But if your board is one of those older boards (as assumed based on the low ram and harddrive specs…) I’d recommend the P4.
Pentium boards use INTEL chipsets more often than not, and those have no real problems known running audio.
so, you need to find out whether or not your amd board has via chipsets, if it does, you may prefer going with the p4.
I ran a p4 for a while and never had any hardware related issues. Though technically the AMD has better floating point processing it may not be worth it if your amd’s motherboard causes problems.
A quick upgrade to Ram (1 gig is preferable-no more though, windows starts to use it less effeciently and performs WORSE with over a gig) and maybe a dedicated fast harddrive for audio and you’ll be smoking on that P4.
The ONLY problem with P4’s sometimes is their ability to handle quiet sounds… the chip switches into a fine tuning mode to determine the numbers for quiet sounds which is good for many things, but causes the cpu usage to sky rocket sometimes. you can avoid this with some plugins that are well designed, or there are some that add an insignificant amount of noise to keep the quiet sound above the switching threshold. The noise is MUCH lower than your perceivable noise floor in an average home so it isn’t a problem. older pentium chips switched at a lower signal level and so the problem wasn’t noticed as much previously.
Put the 7200 RPM drive on your secondary IDE controller as opposed to being a slave on the primary channel.
Nocents, I have 2 CD roms on the secondary IDE. Should I put the new HD on one of the CD plugs? Does putting the second drive as slave on the primary IDE make it slower?
you need to find out whether or not your amd board has via chipsets
69, there is no name on the motherboard, except: 1st. I'll hunt for a utility to read the board to find this out.
Nocents, I have 2 CD roms on the secondary IDE. Should I put the new HD on one of the CD plugs? Does putting the second drive as slave on the primary IDE make it slower?
you need to find out whether or not your amd board has via chipsets
69, there is no name on the motherboard, except: 1st. I'll hunt for a utility to read the board to find this out.
Beware of VIA chipsets - they can be hit-or-miss. I know that Echo Audio hardware is NOT guaranteed to work with VIA boards. They strongly recommend away from anything VIA. I guess some are okay, others are dodgey at best. Something to do with the IRQ controller, I really don’t know much more.
Other than that, the Athlon series has better floating point performance over the P4. But don’t be fooled by the 1700+ part, my Athlon 2800+ actually only runs at 1.9Ghz. I’ve had better performance with my P4 (1.6/1Gb Ram) than the AMD (2800+/1Gb Ram) But it’s not really a fair comparison - the AMD runs Linux/Jackd/Ardour/Zynaddsubfx while the P4 runs Win2K/N-Track/Fruity. The P4 has an Intel based Mobo, the AMD has nVidia nForce2 - So again not really fair.
I regularly mix 22-24 channels on n-track on the P4 box - with 6-8 plugs running (Wave Ren./Izotope Ozone) and runs about 80% CPU reliably.
Thermal issue - AMD runs hotter than Intel especially in the latest chip packaging (Socket 478/A). Intel Retail has a heat sink as big as yer head on a chip the size of yer thumbnail. The AMD has aftermarket Heatsink/Fan about the same size but runs 5-8 C hotter.
A 7,600RPM Drive??
Either way you choose, you’ll probably be fine if you keep drives clean/defragged and don’t install kazaa Zango or any other crap-ware. If either machine has dual channel memory bus use that for a 15-20% Performance bump, check board specs.
.-=gp=-.
Val,
the best thing you could do is get a USB box and put your CD drives in them and run them that way. Not only does this solve your problem but it will also allow you to use them with other machines.
In my system there is an onboard RAID channel where I have my data drives. I put two optical drives on the secondary channel where they can’t slow anything down. But the USB box is a good solution if your don’t have or don’t want to add a RAID card or IDE controller card.
Putting both hard drives on one channel won’t actually slow them down assuming they are the same specs. The problem is when data needs to go to both drives it has to go across the same cable and thats the bottleneck. Some people go so far as to install a separate controller for each drive, but using the primary for the system drive and the secondary for data is probably 99% as efficient.
no cents
ps- don’t believe or worry about all the chipset BS. I’ve had lots of different audio cards from low end to high end reside in my VIA based motherboards and there was never any problem. This chipset “debate” is like the mac vs PC and AMD vs Intel “debates.” CPU chipset manufacturers work with audio CODEC manufacturers and the only “problems” were drivers, which like all device drivers have bugs, and are constantly being debugged and improved. If any company has an audio card that really won’t work with a VIA chipset (or any other chipset for that matter) DON’T BUY IT!. It only means that the company did a poor job in their design because most audio card companies use generic CODECS and audio chipsets (ICE, Crystal, AKM, etc.) that were designed and tested with all major CPU chipsets. So go ahead and use whatever suits your needs and budget best!
I've had lots of different audio cards from low end to high end reside in my VIA based motherboards and there was never any problem
Well, help the rest of us out and list the cards and the motherboard brand/model so we can make some informed decisions in the future.
Willy.
Well, help the rest of us out and list the cards and the motherboard brand/model so we can make some informed decisions in the future.
Willy.
BTW, I figure you’ve got to be able to record multiple tracks (4-8) for several hours glitch free to call a soundcard/pc combination "stable"
Willy.
Well, pretty much everything below on MSI 6XXX series boards. VIA rocks, as they say.
Of course the only built-ins I’ve used were the AC97’s on the board, no TDIF, MADI or Fiberchannel boards. Also none of the EISA or ISA boards for obvious reasons. I’d still like to give the Mykerinos by Merging Technologies a try but they haven’t been very forthcoming with a sample.
What cards have passed your musterd test?
no cents
4Front Tech. Virtual Mixer Pro
4Front Technologies Input Multiplexer (IMUX)
4Front Technologies Loopback MIDI device
A-Plus Sound of Music (OPL3-SA)
A-Trend Harmony 3DS724 PCI
A-Trend Harmony 3Ds751 (PCI)
ALI M5451 onboard-audio
ALI M5455 AC97
AMD Athlon64 AC97
AMD786 AC97
ARC Probook
ATI IXP AC97
AW32 Pro (R2.2-W2)
AW35 (CS4237)
AW37 Pro (CS4235)
AcerMagic S23
Actech PCI 388-A3D
AdLib ASB 64 4D
AdLib FM synthesizer card
AdLib MSC 16 PnP (CS4235)
Adaptec AME-1570 (UNSUPPORTED)
Analog AD1848/1845/1847
Audiotrak Prodigy 7.1
Aureal AU8810 PCI
Aureal Vortex PCI
Aureal Vortex2 PCI
Avance Logic ALS300
Avance Logic ALS300+
Avance Logic ALS4000
Aztech AZT1008 Sound Device
Aztech AZT2320 Sound Device
Aztech AZT3000 Sound Device
BT878 Audio (Linux Only)
BT878 Audio (Linux Only)
BTC Mozart Sound System
BTC-1831 Sound card (ES 1688)
Bull PowerPc builtin audio
CDR4235-6
CDR4235-8
CMedia CM8338A
CMedia CM8338B
CMedia CM8738
CS32-3DI
Cardinal DSP 16 (UNSUPPORTED)
Compaq Armada 1750 builtin audio
Compaq Deskpro XL integrated Business Audio
Conexant Riptide PCI (Linux Only)
Conexant Riptide PCI (Linux Only)
Creative Audigy2 NX USB (BETA)
Creative EMU8000 add on (PnP)
Creative EMU8000 add on (PnP)
Creative EMU8000 add on (PnP)
Creative Phone Blaster 28.8/33.6
Creative Sound Blaster 16
Creative Sound Blaster 16 ASP
Creative Sound Blaster 16 PnP (type-1)
Creative Sound Blaster 16 PnP (type-10)
Creative Sound Blaster 16 PnP (type-11)
Creative Sound Blaster 16 PnP (type-12)
Creative Sound Blaster 16 PnP (type-13)
Creative Sound Blaster 16 PnP (type-2)
Creative Sound Blaster 16 PnP (type-3)
Creative Sound Blaster 16 PnP (type-4)
Creative Sound Blaster 16 PnP (type-5)
Creative Sound Blaster 16 PnP (type-6)
Creative Sound Blaster 16 PnP (type-7)
Creative Sound Blaster 16 PnP (type-8)
Creative Sound Blaster 16 PnP (type-9)
Creative Sound Blaster 16 Vibra
Creative Sound Blaster 32/AWE
Creative Sound Blaster 32/AWE PnP (type-1)
Creative Sound Blaster 32/AWE PnP (type-10)
Creative Sound Blaster 32/AWE PnP (type-11)
Creative Sound Blaster 32/AWE PnP (type-12)
Creative Sound Blaster 32/AWE PnP (type-2)
Creative Sound Blaster 32/AWE PnP (type-3)
Creative Sound Blaster 32/AWE PnP (type-4)
Creative Sound Blaster 32/AWE PnP (type-5)
Creative Sound Blaster 32/AWE PnP (type-6)
Creative Sound Blaster 32/AWE PnP (type-7)
Creative Sound Blaster 32/AWE PnP (type-8)
Creative Sound Blaster 32/AWE PnP (type-9)
Creative Sound Blaster AWE64 (type-1)
Creative Sound Blaster AWE64 (type-10)
Creative Sound Blaster AWE64 (type-2)
Creative Sound Blaster AWE64 (type-3)
Creative Sound Blaster AWE64 (type-4)
Creative Sound Blaster AWE64 (type-5)
Creative Sound Blaster AWE64 (type-6)
Creative Sound Blaster AWE64 (type-7)
Creative Sound Blaster AWE64 (type-8)
Creative Sound Blaster AWE64 (type-9)
Creative Sound Blaster AWE64 Gold (type-1)
Creative Sound Blaster AWE64 Gold (type-2)
Creative Sound Blaster Extigy (BETA)
Creative Sound Blaster MP3+ USB (BETA)
Creative Sound Blaster PCI128 (older revisions (ES1370))
Creative Sound Blaster PCI64
Creative ViBRA16C PnP
Creative ViBRA16CL PnP
Creative ViBRA16S PnP (type-1)
Creative ViBRA16S PnP (type-2)
Creative ViBRA16X PnP (HALF DUPLEX ONLY)
CrystaLake Crystal Clear Series 100
Crystal Audio (CS4235)
Crystal Audio (CS4235)
Crystal Audio (CS4235)
Crystal CRD4236B-1E
Crystal CRD4237B-5
Crystal CRD4237B-8
Crystal CS4231/4231A/4248
Crystal CS4237 (type-1)
Crystal CS4280 PCI
Crystal CS4281 PCI
Crystal CS4281 PCI
Crystal CS4614 PCI
Crystal CS4615 PCI
Crystal CS4624 PCI
Crystal CSC0B35 (CS4236B)
Crystal CX4237B-SIDE
Crystal Onboard PnP Audio (CS4235)
Crystalizer TidalWave128
Cyrix MediaGX builtin audio NOT SUPPORTED
Dell Latidude builtin audio
Diamond Crystal MM PC/104
Diamond Monster Sound MX300
Diamond Sonic Impact S70
Diamond Sonic Impact S90
Digital AXP builtin audio
Digital Audio Labs CardDeluxe (not supported yet)
Dream 94PnP Home Studio NOT SUPPORTED YET
EGO SYStems RoMI/O USB MIDI interface (BETA)
EON Bach SP901 (A3D)
ESS Allegro ES1988
ESS Canyon 3D ES1990
ESS Canyon 3D-2 ES1992
ESS ES1868 Plug and Play AudioDrive
ESS ES1869 Plug and Play AudioDrive (type-1)
ESS ES1869 Plug and Play AudioDrive (type-2)
ESS ES1878 Plug and Play AudioDrive
ESS ES1879 Plug and Play AudioDrive
ESS ES1968 Plug and Play AudioDrive
ESS Maestro-1 PCI
ESS Maestro-2 PCI
ESS Maestro-2E PCI
ESS Maestro3 ES1998
ESS Maestro3 ES199A
ESS Solo-1 PCI
Echo Personal Sound System (UNSUPPORTED)
Ectiva ES1938
Ego Systems Juli@ (NOT SUPPORTED YET)
Ensoniq AudioPCI97 (ES1371)
Ensoniq Soundscape Elite
Ensoniq Soundscape PnP model 1
Ensoniq Soundscape PnP model 2
Ensoniq Soundscape S-2000
Ensoniq Soundscape VIVO
Ensoniq Soundscape VIVO90
Ensoniq Soundscape VIVO91
Epson ActionNote 880 C/CX
ForteMedia FM 801
ForteMedia FM 801-AU
Generic AC97 codec
Generic AD1815 based soundcard (PnP)
Generic AD1816 based soundcard (PnP)
Generic AD1816 based soundcard (PnP)
Generic ALS007 based soundcard (HALF DUPLEX ONLY)
Generic ALS100 based soundcard (HALF DUPLEX ONLY)
Generic ALS100Plus based soundcard (HALF DUPLEX ONLY)
Generic ALS120 based soundcard (HALF DUPLEX ONLY)
Generic CMI8330 based sound card (PnP)
Generic Crystal CS4232 based soundcard or motherboard (non PnP)
Generic Crystal CS4232 by Acer (PnP mode)
Generic Crystal CS4232 type-1 (PnP mode)
Generic Crystal CS4232 type-2 (PnP mode)
Generic Crystal CS4232 type-3 (PnP mode)
Generic Crystal CS4235
Generic Crystal CS4235
Generic Crystal CS4235 type-1
Generic Crystal CS4236 (type-1)
Generic Crystal CS4236 (type-2)
Generic Crystal CS4236 (type-3)
Generic Crystal CS4236 based soundcard or motherboard (non PnP)
Generic Crystal CS4236A (type-1)
Generic Crystal CS4236A (type-2)
Generic Crystal CS4236B
Generic Crystal CS4236B
Generic Crystal CS4237 based soundcard
Generic Crystal CS4237 based soundcard or motherboard (non PnP)
Generic Crystal CS4237B (type-1)
Generic Crystal CS4237B (type-2)
Generic Crystal CS4237B (type-3)
Generic Crystal CS4238 based soundcard or motherboard (non PnP)
Generic Crystal CS4239 based soundcard or motherboard (non PnP)
Generic ENVY24 based device
Generic ENVY24HT based sound card
Generic ESS ES16xx based soundcard or motherboard
Generic ESS ES1788 based soundcard or motherboard
Generic ESS ES1869 based soundcard or motherboard (non-PnP)
Generic ESS ES1887 based soundcard or motherboard
Generic ESS ES1888 based soundcard or motherboard
Generic ESS ES688 based soundcard or motherboard
Generic Envy24PT based motherboard audio
Generic MPU-401 compatible MIDI port
Generic MPU401 MIDI port (UART mode)
Generic Mozart soundcard (OAK OTI-601 chip)
Generic PSS (ESC614/ADSP2115/AD1848) soundcard (UNSUPPORTED)
Generic PowerPc builtin audio
Generic SoundMAX (AC97) codec*
Generic Soundscape based soundcard
Generic USB audio device (BETA)
Generic Windows Sound System compatible
Generic Yamaha OPL3-SA (YMF701) based soundcard
Generic Yamaha OPL3-SA2 (YMF715) non-PnP
Generic Yamaha OPL3-SA2 based sound card (type-1)
Generic Yamaha OPL3-SA2 based sound card (type-3)
Generic Yamaha OPL3-SA2 based sound card (type-4)
Generic Yamaha OPL3-SA3 based sound card
Generic Yamaha OPL3-SA3 based sound card (type-2)
Generic Yamaha OPL3-SAx (YMF719) non-PnP
Generic nondetectable device. Select the right driver manually.
Genius Sound Maker 3DJ (CS4237)
Genius Sound Maker Live
Guillemot ISIS NOT SUPPORTED
Guillemot Maxi Sound MUSE
HP OmniBook 2100 (CS4236)
HP9000 built in audio device
Hercules Game Theater XP
Hercules Game Theater XP*
Hercules Gamesurround MUSE Pocket (BETA)
IBM Audio Feature (CS423X)
IBM Personal System 8xx (PowerPC) builtin audio
IBM RS6000/40P builtin audio
IBM RS6000/43P builtin audio
IBM Thikpad 770Z (CS4239)
Intel Atlatis built in audio codec (CS4232)
Intel ESB
Intel Endeavour builtin audio (SB16 Vibra)
Intel ICH
Intel ICH (440MX)
Intel ICH (Rev 1)
Intel ICH2
Intel ICH3
Intel ICH4
Intel ICH5
Intel ICH6
Labtec LCS1040 Speaker System (BETA)
Logitec Quickcam Pro 4000 (mic) (BETA)
Logitec USB Headset 20 (BETA)
Lynx AES16 Studio Interface (BETA)
Lynx AES16-SRC Studio Interface (BETA)
Lynx-L22 Studio Interface
LynxONE Studio Interface
LynxTWO-A Studio Interface
LynxTWO-B Studio Interface
LynxTWO-C Studio Interface
M Audio Audiophile 2496
M Audio Delta 1010
M Audio Delta 1010LT
M Audio Delta 410
M Audio Delta 44
M Audio Delta 66
M Audio Delta DiO 2496
M Audio Delta TDIF
M Audio OmniStudio USB (BETA)
M Audio Oygen8 MIDI keyboard (NOT SUPPORTED YET)
M Audio Revolution 5.1
M Audio Revolution 7.1
M Audio Sonica Theater USB (BETA)
M Audio Sonica USB (BETA)
M Audio USB MIDISPORT 2x2 (BETA)
M Audio USB MIDISPORT 2x2 (BETA)
M Audio USB MidiSport Duo (BETA)
M Audio USB MidiSport Quatro (BETA)
MIDIMan DiO 2448
MSI K7T266 motherboard builtin audio
MSI KT3 Ultra series motherboard builtin audio
Maxi Sound 32 PnP (analog audio only)
MediaTrix AudioTrix Pro
MediaTrix Audiotrix 3D XG
Microsoft Windows Sound System board
Motorola PowerStack II builtin audio
Motorola PowerStack Series E builtin audio
Motorola PowerStack builtin audio
Motorola RiscPC builtin audio - CS4231A
MultiWave AudioWave Green 16
Music Quest MIDI connector card (MCC)
Music Quest MQX-16 MIDI adapter
Music Quest MQX-16S MIDI adapter
Music Quest MQX-32 MIDI adapter
Music Quest MQX-32M MIDI adapter
Music Quest PC MIDI card
NEC Harmony
National Semiconductor Geode CS5530 Audio
National Semiconductor Geode SC1200 Audio
Neomagic 256AV NMA2
Neomagic NM2200 PCI
Neomagic NM2200ZX PCI
Neomagic NM2360 PCI
Nvidia CK8S
Nvidia nForce
Nvidia nForce2
Nvidia nForce3
Orchid NuSound 3D
Orchid SoundDrive 16EZ
Orchid SoundWave 32 (UNSUPPORTED)
Paradise DSP-16 (UNSUPPORTED)
Philips ToUcam Pro (mic) (BETA)
Pine PT201
RME Digi32
RME Digi32 Pro
RME Digi32/8
RME Digi96
RME Digi96/8
RME Digi96/8 PAD
RME Digi96/8 PRO
Rockwell WaveArtist chipset
Roland MPU IPC-T MIDI adapter
S3 SonicVibes (audio only)
Shark Mako
Sharp PC8800
Shuttle Sound System 48
SiS 7012
SiS 7018 onboard-audio
Sonorus STUDI/O
Sound Blaster 5.1 (Dell)
Sound Blaster Audigy LS
Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum
Sound Blaster Audigy/Audigy2
Sound Blaster Audigy2 Value
Sound Blaster Live
Sound Blaster Live 1024/Platinum
Sound Blaster Live 5.1/Platinum IR
Sound Blaster Live family
Sound Blaster PCI / Ensoniq AudioPCI (ES1370)
Sound Blaster PCI1024
Sound Blaster PCI512
SoundBlaster CT5880
SoundBlaster PCI128 (5880A)
SoundBlaster PCI128 (5880B)
SoundBlaster PCI128/PCI16 (ES1371/ES1373)
Spacewalker HOT-255 PCI 3D (PCI)
TerraTec 128i PCI
TerraTec Maestro 32/96
TerraTec PCI BASE II
Terratec Aureon 7.1 Sky
Terratec Aureon 7.1 Space
Terratec Aureon 7.1 Universe
Terratec DMX 6Fire
Terratec DMX Xfire 1024
Terratec EWS88D
Terratec EWS88MT
Terratec EWX 24/96
Terratec PHASE 28
Terratec Sound System Base 1 (AD1816)
Terratec Sound System Base 64 (AD1816)
Terratec XLerate (A3D)
Toshiba Libretto 110CT
Trident 4DWave-DX
Trident 4DWave-NX
Turtle Beach Malibu (analog audio only)
Turtle Beach Monte Carlo 928
Turtle Beach Montego
Turtle Beach TBS-2000 (NOT SUPPORTED)
Turtle Beach Tahiti (PRERELEASE, playback only)
Turtle beach Daytona (audio only)
TurtleBeach SantaCruz
VIA VT5432B motherboard builtin audio
VIA VT8233 AC97 audio
VIA VT8233A AC97 audio
VIA VT82C686 AC97 audio
VideoLogic SonicFury
Videologic SonicStorm
Wearnes Beethoven ADSP-16 (UNSUPPORTED)
Wearnes Classic 16
Western Digital Paradise DSP-16 (UNSUPPORTED)
Yamaha PCI 192 XG
Yamaha YMF724 PCI
Yamaha YMF724F PCI
Yamaha YMF734 PCI
Yamaha YMF740 PCI
Yamaha YMF740C PCI
Yamaha YMF744 PCI
Yamaha YMF754 PCI
Zefiro Acoustics ZA2 NOT RECOMMENDED
Zenith Z-Player
As far as software, aside from nTrack 3.3, I’ve had (or have) Samplitude 6,8, Sonar 3,4, Saw Studio, Zynewave Podium, Vegas 4,5, Acid 4 & 5 pro, Tracktion (the Mackie giveaway), Audacity, and about 50-60 other lesser known audio applications. All run (ran) great together and in combination on an AMD/VIA system. So far only N-track 4.x has the distinction of acting up. Samplitude 8 runs as smooth as silk.
no cents
The VIA Issue was with the VIA Apollo chipset, the problem was a IRQ scheduling problem that wouldn’t work well in a low-latency environment. VIA have since cleaned up their act and are sticking to the standards published by the CPU manufacturers. I was under the impression that the original poster was choosing between two systems that he already owned. The VIA issue has bitten me before, with a Tyan motherboard built in '99.
The VIA MVP chips are the first generation to correct this issue. Anything built since 2000 is probably okay.
.-=gp=-.
Well, I’m a big fan of samplitude, done some good work in it, from v4 - v6. Liked the eq in ntrack better than samp5.x, so I moved over.
But, I’m gonna have to ask for clarification on what you do exactly. I was really impressed thinking about how much typing you had to do looking at that list of soundcards you’ve supposedly used on your via board to record with no issues whatsoever, but then I found that it was a cut and paste from this site here:
http://www.opensound.com/osshw.html
Which is for running soundcards under Unix, as I understand it. If, perchance, you have tried those cards on your motherboard (uhyeah), the issue isn’t whether they work, but more if the card/via combination actually works in the multitrack area. Via has been know to have issues in the past with bandwith and buss mastering, hence the type of patches at http://www.georgebreese.com/net/software/
I’m open to the idea that you work at 4Front, but just having a soundcard work with a motherboard is much, much different to recording stable audio. Until then, ask the South Park Kids would say, "Shennanigans!"
Willy.
From breese’s own readme from his patch:
<!–QuoteBegin>
| Quote |
| PCR files for VIA KT266 George E. Breese, October 2001 (edited March 2003) Legal Disclaimer: I can’t promise that these files are fully accurate. License: By using these files, you agree to never sue me for any reason, ever. Instructions: Place these .PCR files into the same folder as WPCREDIT.EXE, then launch WPCREDIT. |
I rarely touch 3rd party configurators unless they are really tried and true, like ATI tool. If you want the facts on VIA go to www.viaarena.com. I never needed to “fine tune” or patch any VIA drivers and since the 4 in 1 came out they’ve all been excellent. This guy is delving into something he’s not qualified for and his “patches” likely end up causing a lot more headaches than problems solved. Besides, if it ain’t broke it don’t need to be “fixed” (or screwed up to be more precise).
Whats the beef with VIA? - its almost like its personal or something. Its a chipset, it may (or may not) have had problems (long, long, ago in computer years), its transparent to the user (including the highest of high end) and the drivers are continually being improved and updated. More importantly VIA has never given me a moments trouble. To sum up- no problems.
I worked for an A/V company specializing in security systems, R & D, and high end video. The company built all its machines with MSI boards based on VIA (they may well have changed that since I left). So not only did I try out most of those audio cards (and many more- even the Seasound junk, Soundscape Mixtreme, Digigram,etc.). I tried out many high end video capture cards (you want to buy some ISA TARGA boards?). Some clients needed simultaneous high frame rate capture along with 24/96 multichannel audio I/O. So those VIA boards went through #### in terms of data I/O. Some of the frame capture boards worked at 2048x 2048 with 6 channels of high res audio so I have no problem with VIA. As I explained, they all have to meet the CPU mfg. specs, and VIA works closely with AMD so this “issue” is not even a thought for me. And they were dirt cheap (my boards) so I’m not complaining.
This is all completely beside the point. I only came on the board because N v4.x has problems that make it irritating to use. If you used Samp 6 you know that graphically it functioned well. I’m referring to the proper functioning of its user interface- not what it looks like. What the programmers created works pretty much the way they intended it to. The resizable mixer is not perfect but its not erratic like the much simpler Nv4 mixer. You don’t see lots of flickering and many superfluous redraws, which you do see in v4. V3.3 had these same problems but they were much less pronounced.
V3.3 was much cleaner overall and what it presents to the user is not cluttered. There was still a lot that could have been improved upon, but unfortunately we see pretty much the same program with some new and useful features, but in some areas I think its gone backwards- especially the treatment of the UI. None of this has anything to do with systems or performance like some people are vainly trying to suggest.
no cents
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Cool. I think I’ve been owned.
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So far what we’ve figured out is that n-Tracks V4 may may have graphic problems if you have an MSI motherboard that was released with upper limit support for an AMD +1700, but has had a bios update and is running an AMD +2100, and are using an ATI Radeon 9300 (?). And that these problems have persisted though all OSes since Win98, all other video card (I don’t remember a list of those. Sorry. which ones?), and all builds of n-Tracks, but the combination of WinME and V3.3 1615 is most stable by far, and is stable enough to use, yet it too has these problems even though V4 is a lot worse.
I still think the fact that nocents motherboard was not made for any AMD above +1700 originally to be at the root of the problem, in spite of the bios update. It has an AMD +2100 (+2200?) in it. Yet, I can’t say n-Tracks isn’t at fault for pushing the limits, but if this was strictly an n-Track software problem it would be more widespread across more systems.
So far the only nocents is having these kinds of video problems, at least to the extent he’s having. Tom’s problems don’t seem related to me. Consistent problems, yes, but here are two distinct sets of symptoms at work between Tom and nocents. Tom’s problems seem very audio driver related, or there is a plug-in that’s acting up, but done seem to be the same as nocents in any case.
| Quote (phoo @ Feb. 10 2005,00:49) |
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So far the only nocents is having these kinds of video problems, at least to the extent he's having. Tom's problems don't seem related to me. Consistent problems, yes, but here are two distinct sets of symptoms at work between Tom and nocents. Tom's problems seem very audio driver related, or there is a plug-in that's acting up, but done seem to be the same as nocents in any case. |
Right, our problems are different now that the obvious huge flashing effect has been fixed for the "Channel Settings Dialog Box". We're getting down to the root. But the initial ghosting effect is still there when songs load and for some reason I believe that compounds other lesser problems. But not so much that it isn't a very workable and impressive program. I'll have a look at some of my plug ins, you have a good point there as usual, thanks phoo!
I used to run v3.3 on an AMD 400mhz motherboard with 64 megs of ram. I could master a dozen tracks with effects and was amazed at the tenacity of that little computer. Sometimes it was a bit of a balancing act but the processor impressed me everyday! The only thing that I didn't like about it besides it obvious small size, was the intragrated soundcard. Other wise, it was likr a wired haired terrier, upfrunt and ongard! From a musicians point of view I thought AMD was impressive!
Howdy, original poster here. Gotta love this forum!
I have decided to use the Pentium Dell for recording, mainly due to the Athlon’s fan noise sounding like a 747 in my den. And, I know the Dell ran n-Track well, and it’s quiet. Several benchmarking tests also gave the edge to the newer Pentium.
One more question, My Athlon is in need of a video card (has 4 MB PCI card). Should I get a PCI or AGP card? What are advantages/disavantages of each? I have 1 AGP and several PCI slots.
I’d go with the PCI card, AGP sucks up too many resources which could cause latency. (I actually had to buy a new PC just for recording because I had an AGP card that I couldn’t re-arrange in a way that the IRQ didn’t conflict with my soundcard)