KVR Audio

golemus · Post by **golemus** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 8:37 pm

Windows 10 is finally here. So lets start discussion about Windows 10 as a DAW OS.

- is it fast?, is it stable?, is it good?
- what new there is in table that might be good for DAW computer?
- which DAWs are currently compatible, which are not there yet?

- how about audio interfaces, will there be problems or is the compability/stability on the same level as with previous Windows versions..?
- is there any new useful features? How about annoyances..?
- are plugins working equally well to previous versions...?
- any other opinions related to Win10..?

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 8:41 pm

golemus wrote: - which DAWs are currently compatible, which are not there yet?

Wondering too. Seems like the companies didn't want to publish a compatibility list yet, as there still could have been changes from Microsoft side. But as it's there now, i'm sure infos about compatibility will come soon now.

golemus · Post by **golemus** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 8:45 pm

My own impression is that it is evolutionary improvement to Win 8.1, but there is really not that much changed. Start menu seems definitely better, but I am under the impression that File Explorer (which I consider very important part of OS) and file management has not really improved from Win7 and Win8, and is still very far away from the experience that you get from OS X finder. If I am wrong, please correct me

Multiple desktops is very welcome development (although I have not yet tried Win10). I assume that multiple desktops might potentially cause problems with DAW GUIs...?

MS should have increased power efficiency of the OS for the purpose of laptops but I wonder if these developments might cause new sorts of trouble for DAW or glitch free audio interface operation.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 8:52 pm

golemus wrote: MS should have increased power efficiency of the OS for the purpose of laptops but I wonder if these developments might cause new sorts of trouble for DAW or glitch free audio interface operation.

The way i understand it, the most influence on that is the hardware itself, and drivers. I don't think you can expect wonders software sided. Run a Linux distro on your laptop, and you'll see that the battery span will be about 60-70% of what you have on Windows, due to drivers, and of course also due to the efficiency of the OS, so it already should be pretty good. If you take a look at how energy consumption has come down on mobile devices, you'll see that the most can be done hardware sided. There's not much to optimize on Windows i would guess.

golemus · Post by **golemus** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 9:26 pm

chk071 wrote:
golemus wrote: The way i understand it, the most influence on that is the hardware itself, and drivers. I don't think you can expect wonders software sided. Run a Linux distro on your laptop, and you'll see that the battery span will be about 60-70% of what you have on Windows, due to drivers, and of course also due to the efficiency of the OS,

Yes you can. Good example is Windows on Macbook Pro. The battery life will be much longer if you use OS X instead of Windows (or so I have read).

I read about 1-2 years ago an article about development of windows 8 and windows 9 (as windows 10 was then known). There was this engineer talking about kernel wakeup calls or something and how Microsoft was working hard to reduce their amount significantly. I am not sure if I remember the units or number right, but it went something like this: in Windows 7 sleep or idle mode the kernel wakes up the processor about 1000 times. In Windows 8 they managed to reduce the amount to 300-400, and their aim was to reduce it in Windows 9 (which is now Win10) to 10-15 wake up calls. I wonder if it is now true...

If I have my laptop (win7) in sleep, the battery will be empty in max. 2-3 days. My Ipad mini could in sleep mode survive 2-4 weeks before its battery is empty (assuming that I do nothing with it).

Dearly Deported · Post by **Dearly Deported** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 9:33 pm

Building a DAW with W10 this weekend, next week at the latest. I'll let you know after I've put some time in.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 9:37 pm

golemus wrote: If I have my laptop (win7) in sleep, the battery will be empty in max. 2-3 days. My Ipad mini could in sleep mode survive 2-4 weeks before its battery is empty (assuming that I do nothing with it).

You can't really compare a laptop to a tablet PC though. SoC's of mobile devices are designed for power efficiency, which will also lead to lower performance though. Screen size isn't as large as on a laptop either. A tablet PC won't even need a fan, with that alone you see how much less energy it consumes. They more and more build in mobile device technology in laptops too though. My laptop has a CPU which was originally built into mobile devices, and it needs a very small battery which still powers the laptop 4 1/2 hours.

Karma_tba · Post by **Karma_tba** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 10:29 pm

All I know is if I have to re-authorize everything I'm sticking to Win 7. I saved all my serials to the Cloud and recorded them in writing in a notebook, but I just can't be bothered. It would be different if I was getting a new computer, but I can neither afford it or justify it.

rod_zero · Post by **rod_zero** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:45 pm

I am going to take the opportunity ti install an SSD on my 5 years old desktop, hopefully it will serve me a couple of years more.

ontol · Post by **ontol** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:54 pm

Googly Smythe · Post by **Googly Smythe** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 1:03 am

Win 7 users - the new XP users?
I'm sticking with Win 7, too. Everything works, no desire to change.

Rajah · Post by **Rajah** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 1:11 am

Well, this article/video show Windows 10 dedication to audio...

http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2015/07/ ... -big-deal/

Karma_tba · Post by **Karma_tba** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 1:19 am

Rajah wrote:Well, this article/video show Windows 10 dedication to audio...

http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2015/07/ ... -big-deal/

Their dedication to audio is not my concern..........convenience is. Win 7 is a proven known option...Win 10 is an unknown. I have an investment in my DAW and I'm not gambling with my kit.

Scottex · Post by **Scottex** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 1:40 am

I'll keep my Win7. Things are running well, no reason to change...

cryophonik · Post by **cryophonik** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 2:26 am

I'm sticking to W7 on my DAW for the time being. I just did a complete reformat/reinstall a few months ago and don't really feel like doing it again any time soon. However, my wife's MacBook Air has Windows 8 running on Parallels and neither of us are crazy about W8, so I'll probably give hers the W10 update and see how it goes.

Windows 10 for DAW