What is YOUR buffer size?

[Roman Wisniak]

64 samples - all the time.

I have Windows 10
Ryzen 5800x
16GB RAM
Studio One 5 / Maschine
RME Digiface USB

[rubez]

I am going to boost my 8GB to 16GB RAM but that probably wont help here.

Seems like I shouldn't be getting crackles on 512 if people have much lower setting and is fine.

Here is the latencymon run on the high performance power management setting for 20 minutes:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONCLUSION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your system seems to be having difficulty handling real-time audio and other tasks. You may experience drop outs, clicks or pops due to buffer underruns.
One or more DPC routines that belong to a driver running in your system appear to be executing for too long. One problem may be related to power
management, disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup. Check for BIOS updates.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:22:43 (h:mm:ss) on all processors.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SYSTEM INFORMATION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Computer name: DESKTOP-P6A3GP4
OS version: Windows 10, 10.0, version 2009, build: 19042 (x64)
Hardware: Z97MX-Gaming 5, Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790K CPU @ 4.00GHz
Logical processors: 8
Processor groups: 1
RAM: 8053 MB total


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU SPEED
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reported CPU speed: 40 MHz

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N
Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the
interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a
usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.

Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 1910.50
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 3.984818

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 1893.60
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 1.151038


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED ISRs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.

Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 106.9990
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0.005676
Driver with highest ISR total time: ndis.sys - Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS), Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0.009356

ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 250717
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-1000 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 1000-2000 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 2000-4000 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED DPCs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted
until the DPC has finished execution.

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 1422.674750
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0.038537
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0.073013

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 830601
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-10000 µs): 1935
DPC count (execution time 1000-2000 µs): 2
DPC count (execution time 2000-4000 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The
process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.

NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in
dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit.

Process with highest pagefault count: msmpeng.exe

Total number of hard pagefaults 5453
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 2098
Number of processes hit: 53


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PER CPU DATA
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 21.088832
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 106.9990
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 0.916336
CPU 0 ISR count: 231844
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 1422.674750
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 6.986061
CPU 0 DPC count: 733512
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4.609625
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 35.44550
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0.101717
CPU 1 ISR count: 18523
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 663.391750
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 0.395374
CPU 1 DPC count: 33422
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4.526524
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 45.660750
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0.002721
CPU 2 ISR count: 330
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 284.60750
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0.114891
CPU 2 DPC count: 12660
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3.621401
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 14.779250
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0.000119
CPU 3 ISR count: 20
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 145.3510
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0.031557
CPU 3 DPC count: 3622
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4.738585
CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 4 ISR count: 0
CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs): 305.25850
CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 0.170171
CPU 4 DPC count: 19569
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3.901205
CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 5 ISR count: 0
CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs): 255.30950
CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 0.035139
CPU 5 DPC count: 4283
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4.118238
CPU 6 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 6 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 6 ISR count: 0
CPU 6 DPC highest execution time (µs): 325.157750
CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s): 0.184526
CPU 6 DPC count: 21169
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3.703181
CPU 7 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 7 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 7 ISR count: 0
CPU 7 DPC highest execution time (µs): 134.17550
CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s): 0.048924
CPU 7 DPC count: 4301
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[tor.helge.skei]

128

amd ryzen 5 3600
nvidia 1030
16gb ram

linux mint 20.2
lowlatency kernel
bitwig/reaper

no crackling or xruns

[Bombadil]

64 samples on Logic. Occasionally had to increase to 128 for heavy sample stuff, but 64 works fine. I get only 4.9 ms rt latency with my RME FF.

[BertKoor]

I am going to boost my 8GB to 16GB RAM but that probably wont help here.

You're right, it's not a memory fault, so throwing in more RAM won't do anything.
(no harm as well )

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 1422.674750
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation

So I googled for "DPC Wdf01000.sys" and this thread came up: viewtopic.php?t=505093

Interesting quote:

I've not found a single conclusion on how to disable this wdf01000.sys driver on Google,

Nor will you I'm afraid. WDF is "windows drivers framework" and the catch all for the interaction state between all the various drivers. All it's telling you is that something with a driver is being erratic, which lets face it means bugger all to anyone, including the people who write the drivers.

If it's crashed you can try pulling the log files and see what it was handling at the time.

If it hasn't crashed then the WPA (windows performance analyzer) tool is the way forward, as it lets you drill down a bit into what's being handled by WDF at the time of the fault process, although given that it is a developer level tool, the learning curve in handling it is a little steep to say the least.

So there you go, it's a driver of some kind.

My advice at this point would be to install official drivers of all hardware (motherboard etc) pulled from official websites, to replace the "generic" drivers shipped with Win10.

[rubez]

I'm screwed, basically.

[Guenon]

Not necessarily. It's a bummer that the system doesn't work out of the box, and that the faulty driver is something that gets lumped into wdf1000.sys, BUT try what BertKoor suggested. It may well solve the issue. If it doesn't help, then try disabling absolutely all devices/components you don't need for your audio work (from the device manager). Then, if the DPC spikes go away as a result, try bringing those "less needed" elements back one by one, and see which one breaks the latency again. After that, you at least know what the culprit is.

[Hink]

it was a long time ago but on a previous machine (like my current, didnt even go online, dedicated pc audio workstation) I had issue, ran latency checkers and it was the video card...those were spikes...maybe start there, roll back or update driver?

[newluc]

64. Rme Raydat and I7 6850k at 4.1ghz

[LeVzi]

Buffer size 2048 here

AMD FX 8350 running at 4.4

32gb RAM.

[legendCNCD]

CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790K CPU @ 4.00GHz

CPU SPEED

Reported CPU speed: 40 MHz

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N
Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.

This tells me you have cores throttling or parking or something is changing the frequency of CPU - or theres something more wrong...
Speed Step or anything like it should be off. Could check with QuickCPU64 if they're parked and disable such behaviour.

[EnGee]

64 samples - all the time.

I have Windows 10
Ryzen 5800x
16GB RAM
Studio One 5 / Maschine
RME Digiface USB

Similar CPU and similar buffer on Windows and Linux.

On M1 macbook air it is mostly 128 using Presonus iTwo (sometimes 64 buffer). I use either 44.1 khz or 48k.

[rasmusklump]

INTEL Core i7-9700K 8x3600MHz 12MB "Coffee Lake R"
16GB Ram
Win 10 20H2
RME Fireface UFX
Cubase 11

Buffer is set to 128 no matter how big demanding the project is.
Cubase asio guard is always active and at the highest setting and everything runs smooth, even tracking to a full project.

[Ksamphos]

How much cpu usage in ctrl+alt+del settings is fine? If you put low buffer but the cpu is getting 50 or even 80% all the time is it bad somehow? Does it reduces the lifespan of the cpu or it's a component made for that anyway?
I dont notice much difference in playability when I reduce the buffer, but I notice that cpu usage becomes way higher

[zerocrossing]

Go to google and search for “sweetwater computer music optimization.” Do everything on that page. Report back.