The my i7 920 3.7Ghz runs like crap with Ableton Live 8 with hyperthreading on in a demanding mix. So go in bios and turn it off.

Install malwarebytes its free and will check your computer for addware it only runs when you click its icon so it can run along side antivirus software.

Update your antivirus software and get it to do a full scan.

Just get a Mac?

Macs now use the same hardware as PC.

Your CPU sounds plenty fast, but I noticed you didn't mention whether or not you have a sound card.

If you don't have a nice, aftermarket sound card with solid ASIO drivers, you're probably going to have bad latency and a lot of crackling. My guess would be that no sound card is why it sounds bad.

I upgraded to an i5 and bought an EMU PCI express card to replace my old M-Audio Audiophile 2496 PCI card that would no longer fit on the motherboard.

From my experience, the sound card and drivers make a HUGE difference.

EDIT: Also, with custom builds, the parts seem to crap out a little faster. A friend of mine who builds custom CPUs all the time claims you usually get 2-3 good years out of a custom build before your hardware starts deteriorate. A bad motherboard can give you all kinds of intermittent, crazy, seemingly unrelated problems and can be very hard to diagnose.

I still think you should look into a nice sound card if you don't already have one.

All I'm using for all sound whether recording, music, or whatever is my yamaha hs 80s and m box pro

Avira as antivirus (several database updates daily) and TuneUp utilities is great IMHO.

Custom builds should last longer. Brands always put in the cheapest PSU and motherboard. Maybe the plugins you are using and the mixes are just getting more demanding.If you reinstall Windows you need to choose the long install because the fast install is for new hard drives the fast one will leave old data on and mix it with the new install.

Not always. a decent brand with something other than the cheapest model that the manufacturer puts together- especially a 'gaming' or 'workstation' model- is going to have a better PSU.

If you use the computer primary as a daw you should consider this:

- Use Win7 X64 if you have more than 4gb of ram

- disable windows updates (but install the service pack(s) if you want your pc to stay as fast and quiet as it is after a fresh install. Yes, i know, it's not the most popular ideea ever expressed, but try it. It might considerably improve your computer's speed and reduce the noise/heat/power consumption.

- if you don't like to run any piece of .exe you find on the internet, you could live without an antivirus who slows down the computer (yet i don't recommend it to novice users). If your computer have more than one user, i guess you'll be safer with an antivirus. If you have to use an AV, choose a light antivirus (like nod32) instead of a suite (like Norton).

- if you know what you're doing, try to install only the drivers (without the apps from the install bundle) for the components in your pc. to do this go to device manager, choose your device, right click, update drivers, browse computer, and choose the folder with the drivers (usually containing a .inf file)

- use as many fast & portable apps as possible (sumatra pdf, pidgin, xnview, notepad++, open office, see portableapps.com for more)

- extended your browser: adblock plus for firefox/chrome, tab menu for chrome, session saver, etc. (but keep it as light as possible)

- if you need something to open .iso/.cue/.bin images use winrar and Universal Extractor instead of daemon tools

- as media players i preffer foobar, aimp.ru, kmplayer and vlc (all have portable versions)

- get Oracle Virtualbox (free) and use a virtual machine to install and test software you don't know, don't turn your everyday pc into a testing platform

- if you use your laptop as a desktop, try to remove the battery (charged @ about 40%) and keep it in a cold place (not the fridge, tho) because heat is the no1 enemy of the battery life. Also, make an empty/full recharge cycle once a month.

- don't get a mac if you: like free software / don't like to be forced into ways of doing things / like to use alternative software

i hope this helps.

That could be your problem. Have you not thought of simplifying? Or if you run other software not music related you could try a dual boot install of the OS so one is for only music and the other for everything else.

I just popped in windoes 7 cd again and installed new copy. Fresh start, although I had to go into my programs x86 and etc and delete everything so I got up to 1.77 TB of 1.81 back. Then I started installing studio one 2.

When I went into bios I saw I have american megatrends - 1985 2009

what is that? Also everything in my bios is like too advance for me to understand.

I can only tell you cause this really stood out that I have 6 drives. The first 5 sata drives are empty the 6th is mine.

--- IPDT64 - rev 1.22.0.0 ---


--- Start Time: 06/22/2012 14:39:46---


--- Skipping Config ---


--- Reading CPU Manufacturer ---

Expected --> GenuineIntel
Detected --> GenuineIntel
Found --- Genuine Intel Processor ---

--- Temperature Test ---

Temperature Test Passed!!!


Temperature = 5 degrees C below maximum.


--- Reading Brand String ---

Detected Brand String:
Intel Core i7 920 2.67GHz

Brand String Test Passed!!!


--- Reading CPU Frequency ---

Expected CPU Frequency is --> 2.67


Detected CPU Frequency is --> 2.67279

CPU Frequency Test Passed!!!


--- FSB NOT Supported on this Processor ---


--- Running Base Clock test ---


Detected Base Clock --> 133
Base Clock test Pass ---

--- Running Floating Point test ---


Million Floating Points per Second, MFLOPS --> 230.4
Floating Point Test Pass ---

--- Running Prime Number Generation Test ---


Operation Per Second--> 3.98747e+006
Prime Number Generation Test Pass ---

--- Reading Cache Size ---

- Detected L1 Data Cache Size --> 4 x 32
- Detected L1 Inst Cache Size --> 4 x 32

- Detected L2 Cache Size --> 1024
- Detected L3 Cache Size --> 8192


Cache Size Test Passed!!!


--- Determining MMX - SSE capabilities ---


--- CPU FEATURES DETECTION FOR ---
--- MMX SSE ---
MMX - MMX Supported --> Yes
SSE - SSE Supported --> Yes
SSE2 - SSE2 Supported --> Yes
SSE3 - SSE3 Supported --> Yes
SSSE3 - SSSE3 Supported --> Yes
SSE4.1 - SSE4.1 Supported --> Yes
SSE4.2 - SSE4.2 Supported --> Yes
--- MMX SSE - capabilities check complete ---

MMX Test Result --- PASS
SSE Test Result --- PASS
SSE2 Test Result --- PASS
SSE3 Test Result --- PASS
SSSE3 Test Result --- PASS
SSE4.1 Test Result --- PASS
SSE4.2 Test Result --- PASS
MMX SSE Testing Passed !!

--- Determining AVX AES PCLMULQDQ capabilities ---


--- CPU FEATURES DETECTION FOR ---
--- AVX/AES/PCLMULQDQ ---
AVX - Advanced Vector Extensions Supported --> No
AVX OS Support - AVX Operating System Supported --> No ---> No Test Required
AES - Advanced Encryption Standard Supported --> No ---> No Test Required
PCLMULQDQ - Polys Carry-Less Multiply Supported --> No ---> No Test Required
--- AVX AES PCLMULQDQ capabilities check complete ---

AVX Compare Test Result --- Not Tested
AES Test Result --- Not Tested
PCLMULQDQ Test Result --- Not Tested
No AVX AES PCLMULQDQ Tests required

--- Reading Memory Size ---


Detected Memory Size is --> 12.00GB


--- Integrated Memory Controller Stress Test ---


--- Integrated Memory Controller Stress Test Pass!!! ---


Integrated Memory Controller Test Pass!!!

..Platform Controller Hub Test not supported curent chipset..
..Skipping Platform Controller Hub Test..

Skipping Platform Controller Hub Test


..
..Query 3..
..
--- Querying for Intel(R) Integrated Graphics Device (IGD) ---
..Intel(R) Integrated Graphics Device not supported on this processor..
..Skipping Intel(R) Integrated Graphics Device Presence Test..
..

--- CPU Load ---


--- Load Level = 8


CPU Load Passed!!!


--- Temperature Test ---

Temperature Test Passed!!!


Temperature = 6 degrees C below maximum.


--- Test End Time: 06/22/2012 14:43:47---

Built 2 years ago with a 3 TB hard drive? What's the disk speed? I don't remember there being 3 TB 7200 RPM hard drives 2 years ago. You might actually have a 5400 RPM 3 TB hard drive, which could explain a lot.

In any case, drop in an SSD as your primary hard drive. I'd suggest a crucial m4. Best upgrade you'll ever do. Most people don't realize their disk can be just as limiting as RAM and CPU.

I may just go get my computer checked out and go from there. Also when I restart my computer or even when it loads everytime I get an error saying cpu over heat and I have to press f1 to continue. That's getting annoying as hell, any ideas.

Have you checked that your heat sink is correctly attached and that all fans are working?