NI interface seems to produce CPU spikes even iddle

Configure and optimize you computer for Audio.
RELATED
PRODUCTS

Post

Ok, I bought the audio kontrol 1 used because it has superb multi-client asio drivers.

Now the problem is that it pegs the CPU like crazy, in spikes like this:
Image
I can imagine the constant polling is the cost of the great multi-asio..
I've read somewhere here that NI drivers are CPU hogs.

Has anybody experienced something like this? Should I spend time fixing it or learn to live with it? (NI own forums are very disorganized, I trust KVR more).

Post

Looks like that over here as well, I worried at first, but I read somewhere that's due to Windows CPU measurement or something like that. I have no issues with the interface at 64 samples.

found it in the knowledge base (german), about some (unrelated) Windows 7 hotfix:

Hinweis: Der Hotfix wird die Leistungsspitzen, die Sie in Ihrem Windows Task Manager sehen, nicht beheben. Diese werden durch die Art erzeugt, wie die Prozessorlast gemessen wird, und reflektieren nicht die tatsächliche Prozessorlast beim Auftreten der Leistungsspitzen.

(http://www.native-instruments.com/de/su ... arbeitung/)

(It basically says those spikes do not reflect the actual CPU load ).

I say, don't worry about it.
Sei wachsam

Post

What Heathcliff says. If you're having crackles or dropouts, look for a DPC issue; otherwise, you can ignore it.

ew
A spectral heretic...

Post

Awesome. Happy I posted this on KVR before spending hrs debugging, and happy with my purchase! Thanks Heathcliff and ew.

Post

Hmm, maybe I spoke too soon?
I do hear clips... at 256 samples. Listening to spotify or soundcloud.

The diagnostics on the driver shows all green. Sample rate 44.1khz. This is on a decent i7 2.8. No DPC issues.

I've gone up to 512 samples; I think I still hear pop and clicks. I thought it was DJ Koze adding that to his music as an effect :)

Post

It seems counterintuitive, but try dropping the buffer sizes; not make them larger. Try 128 or 96 samples and see what happens. My NI interfaces are happiest when running at 128 samples or smaller; YMMV.

ew
A spectral heretic...

Post

Here's the same NI support page in english, take a look at USB hot fix, it might applies to you.
http://www.native-instruments.com/en/su ... rocessing/
Soundbanks for Serum, Bazille, Diva, lush-101, Zebra2, Monark... Here

Post

@Blue-eyed Blonde Ape : I tried that fix, the link MS sent me doesn't contain the hotfix anymore, it says
The resource you are looking for has been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.
@ew:
Hmm, 96 got some clips, but fewer. Testing 128 now.
Funny how this happens to quite a few people:
http://www.native-instruments.com/forum ... 807/page-6

And not much of a solution that I could find yet. Only one person solved it by buying another usb card (not possible with a laptop):
http://www.native-instruments.com/forum ... st-1204494

Oh, oh...

Post

The NI ASIO driver has an "USB buffer" setting. Maybe play around a bit with that one ?
Sei wachsam

Post

I am having the same problem since I got the AK1, although I must add that I worked with this interface a lot (ASIO), and it worked quite well. With WDM there are occasional drop-outs (watching movies, listening to music), but most of the time I work with the ASIO driver, so it hasn't been a big issue for me.

I probably won't buy interfaces from Native Instruments anymore. After so many years and about 10 updates without resolving the problem, it looks like a bad hardware design to me. I'm still using it, I just wouldn't recommend it. There are other interfaces with similar price and features and with better drivers/reliability.

Post

After playing with buffers etc... I still get pops and crackles on WDM. What the hell? How can companies produce such substandard units and get away with it? I did probably a solid week of research online, and others were discarded with similar (or worse) problems. And NI has a good reputation?

Post

Unpluging and pluging again seems to fix it, but only for a few hrs. If there was any justice in the world, these units should be recalled, or NI taken to court.

Post

Do you use another USB cable than the one supplied?

Post

Are you sure it is not a DPC problem?

I had a problem drove me crazy till I discovered that the crappy WiFi driver was the reason. When I disabled it, my problems were solved. I was lucky to find a driver that doesn't cause problems with audio.
Well, just an idea to re check your hardware and disable them one by one in the device manager and see.

Post

My wifi card is disabled; I wish it was that easy.
There's a button on the computer to disable it (nice, HP). I could disable it in the bios. DPC checker shows all green, latmon shows some round times around .3 but this is nothing to worry about.

Post Reply

Return to “Computer Setup and System Configuration”