What external soundcard can i use for my laptop to handle all my DAW & VST /processing to take all the weight off my laptop processor.
I will be making music such as house & techno,.,. i will not be recording.
I want to use the soundcard to handle everything....
I dont want to worry about latency or any slowdowns using multiple vsts...
Please suggest Thanks
Laptop Music Production //External Soundcard to handle all the work ,.,.,
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UltimateOutsider UltimateOutsider https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=216800 - KVRian
- 824 posts since 5 Oct, 2009 from Portland, OR
You mention two different goals: 1) Low Latency and 2) VSTi processing offloading.
Regarding the latency that occurs between when you press a key on a MIDI controller and when you hear the sound in a VSTi or external synth, different interfaces can offer different latency times depending on your settings, but you don't necessarily need a hardware interface for low-latency performance if you're working completely in-the-box. On Windows, the free ASIO4ALL will deliver much lower latency times for computers using built-in audio than the ASIO drivers that ship with Windows or the computer.
Regarding VSTi/processing offloading, audio interfaces only provide high quality analog or digital audio inputs and outputs. They do not offload audio processing duties for things like rendering music entirely from VSTis and/or pre-recorded audio/samples.
There is a tiny bit of offloading in the sense that if you play music back through your audio interface, the interface handles the D/A conversion instead of your PC's internal sound subsystem... but again, that has nothing to do with rendering music from in-the-box sources, and if you're only playing back 2-channel stereo audio the processing load is really insignificant.
Since you asked, though, I think the Roland Duo-Capture and QuadCapture are really nice, solid, reliable, inexpensive interfaces. Getting one of those would get you low latency at reasonable settings, as well as good-sounding headphone jack and balanced stereo outs.
But to get the best possible no-glitch audio performance, the most important ingredient is your computer.
Regarding the latency that occurs between when you press a key on a MIDI controller and when you hear the sound in a VSTi or external synth, different interfaces can offer different latency times depending on your settings, but you don't necessarily need a hardware interface for low-latency performance if you're working completely in-the-box. On Windows, the free ASIO4ALL will deliver much lower latency times for computers using built-in audio than the ASIO drivers that ship with Windows or the computer.
Regarding VSTi/processing offloading, audio interfaces only provide high quality analog or digital audio inputs and outputs. They do not offload audio processing duties for things like rendering music entirely from VSTis and/or pre-recorded audio/samples.
There is a tiny bit of offloading in the sense that if you play music back through your audio interface, the interface handles the D/A conversion instead of your PC's internal sound subsystem... but again, that has nothing to do with rendering music from in-the-box sources, and if you're only playing back 2-channel stereo audio the processing load is really insignificant.
Since you asked, though, I think the Roland Duo-Capture and QuadCapture are really nice, solid, reliable, inexpensive interfaces. Getting one of those would get you low latency at reasonable settings, as well as good-sounding headphone jack and balanced stereo outs.
But to get the best possible no-glitch audio performance, the most important ingredient is your computer.
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- KVRAF
- 6323 posts since 30 Dec, 2004 from London uk
UltimateOutsider gave good advice. Its the PC/Laptop that does the work. You wont get a cheap device to do it all.
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 3 posts since 10 Jul, 2013
No his advice is very good & thank you for it i appreciate it %1000
Just like a desktop where you can get a soundcard for your production that has a dsp -- looking for a laptop version..
Just like a desktop where you can get a soundcard for your production that has a dsp -- looking for a laptop version..
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UltimateOutsider UltimateOutsider https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=216800
- KVRian
- 824 posts since 5 Oct, 2009 from Portland, OR
It wasn't clear from your post what kind of hardware you were talking about (when people say "soundcard" they usually mean internal PC audio or an external audio interface).
There's a small handful of external plugin hosts which can do what you're looking for (offload VST processing), but they tend to come with limitations, and are often as expensive as a new computer.
You might look into the SM Pro Audio V-Machines or the Muse Receptor series.
It sounds like you're aware of some desktop-specific products that do what you're looking for... for my own education, I'd like to know which products you're speaking about?
There's a small handful of external plugin hosts which can do what you're looking for (offload VST processing), but they tend to come with limitations, and are often as expensive as a new computer.
You might look into the SM Pro Audio V-Machines or the Muse Receptor series.
It sounds like you're aware of some desktop-specific products that do what you're looking for... for my own education, I'd like to know which products you're speaking about?
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- KVRian
- 806 posts since 1 Sep, 2008 from US
Only real option is Apollo if you want dsp and low latency (2ms thru their console?), but then you still have latency to deal with on soft synth.
V-machine is way underpowered, Receptor is great concept but every single person I knew of end up selling it. They all said it worked but PITA... ymmv. Either way no cheap option. In fact running two laptops and sync them over ethernet or via VSL Ensemble probably cheaper...
V-machine is way underpowered, Receptor is great concept but every single person I knew of end up selling it. They all said it worked but PITA... ymmv. Either way no cheap option. In fact running two laptops and sync them over ethernet or via VSL Ensemble probably cheaper...
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- KVRAF
- 3402 posts since 6 Nov, 2006
what you are looking for does not exist. if it did it would be more expensive than a fast computer.
you should just buy a newer/faster/better computer w/more CPU power and forget about trying to do it all outside of the computer.
you'll just complicate your life.
sure, there's the UAD stuff but not for VST instruments... other than things like receptor which isn't really the same thing.
but.. good luck on your search.
you should just buy a newer/faster/better computer w/more CPU power and forget about trying to do it all outside of the computer.
you'll just complicate your life.
sure, there's the UAD stuff but not for VST instruments... other than things like receptor which isn't really the same thing.
but.. good luck on your search.
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- KVRist
- 236 posts since 3 May, 2006
There did used to be such thing, ie. soundcards with DSPs onboard that did a bunch of the crunching, but I think processors have gotten much faster, and soundcards with DSPs, which would have required hardware-specific code have disappeared in favour of CPU-based processing, which as the previous poster suggested will make your life far more convenient.dayjob wrote:what you are looking for does not exist. if it did it would be more expensive than a fast computer. ...
A slight correction to an earlier post: ASIO4all is good, but if you can get an ASIO-driver from the manufacturer of your soundcard is almost always better than ASIO4All. However, most internal soundcards do not have ASIO drivers from the soundcard manufacturer - you're stuck with the *non*-ASIO drivers provided by windows etc., which will generally have much higher latency.
So - for low latency, you do indeed want to make sure you have an ASIO driver. If you can get one made for your specific soundcard, usually by the soundcard maker, that is the best. If not ASIO4all is the way to go.
Last edited by mfb on Sun Jul 21, 2013 4:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- KVRian
- 1055 posts since 19 Feb, 2003
And if you want to make sonic decisions based on a set of chips worth lessarkmabat wrote:ASIO4ALL helps a lot with my stock soundcard
than a candy bar that are really made for beeps, boops and light gaming....
well go right ahead.
But if you're serious you'll want to get something better.