Time to upgrade? Troubleshooting 'tickiness'... is it my PC or my interface?

[hemlockforsocrates]

Hey all,
I'm experiencing a problem when using Tracktion Waveform that I'm pretty confident is due to my PC, ADA interface or both. In brief, when playing back projects I frequently get a 'ticking' sound and playback is often randomly stopped. I've also found a couple really weird ways to stop the problem.

I'm trying to narrow down the issue to make smart upgrade purchases, if necessary, or flip the magic switch that makes it go away. I realize this might be more of a general PC / audio interface question when it comes to what and how to upgrade, but I wanted to post here first to see if anyone has had similar issues or a software-based solution.

My current setup:
-Windows 10 PC
-AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 965 Processor 3.40 GHz
-Biostar TA970 motherboard
-8gb DDR3 Ram
-Several SSD hard drives
-Echo Layla3G ADA interface

I've experienced this problem here and there with just about every version of Tracktion (since T1) through to Waveform 11. It's gotten increasingly worse over the years, particularly on track-heavy, VST-heavy projects. However, it sometimes manifests itself on fairly lightweight projects, and frequently doesn't happen on some track-heavy, VST-heavy projects. Sometimes a project that stutters to a stop consistently one day works just fine another day. It doesn't seem to be related to any specific VSTs. It happens with both MIDI track based projects, recorded audio and a mix of both.

Here are some of the most peculiar parts: on a project I was recently working on the problem consistenly happened almost instantly whenever I soloed a track. The project would playback just fine if all tracks were enabled, but if I soloed a track it would 'tick-tick-die', playback would stop. That already seemed odd to me... why would it struggle more to playback soloed tracks than it would to play back the entire mix? I decided to do a screen recording to send to Tracktion as a possible bug, since the behavior was so specific and reproducible... however, when I turned on the screen recording software (I was using OBS), the problem went away. When I went back to just using Waveform by itself it went back to ticking and stopping. I eventually ended up recording the behavior with my phone camera to send along. Why would screen recording mitigate the problem? Seems really strange...

I don't think the issue is Waveform. I just can't imagine that if Waveform was to blame there wouldn't be other people experiencing the same problem. And the issue's been 'livable' for years, it's only recently gotten bad enough that it's actually interfering with my workflow.

So the other day I was frustrated enough that I tried just using the PC's built-in audio for monitoring. The problem went away completely. I couldn't reproduce any of the issues I've been experiencing. With that in mind it seems most likely to me that I'm dealing with compatibility issues between Waveform and the audio interface? The Layla's like, 15 years old, and the company doesn't really exist any more, so driver updates stopped a while ago.

The PC's also over a decade... I'm sure upgrading would be a great idea, but I'm thinking I should start with a new interface first? Or is there something else I should try?

[Dark Lane]

I can't say I've experienced the same problems, but upgrading your audio interface seems like a good first step, especially if you've isolated it as a possible cause of the problems you are getting.

For what it's worth, I use a W10 PC with Scarlett Solo USB audio interface and iLoud micro monitors. All perfect for my limited desktop space and all very affordable.

[chk071]

@hemlockforsocrates: Have you made sure to try the optimization recommendations, which are for example stated here: https://helpcenter.steinberg.de/hc/en-u ... orkstation

The most important part is the energy saving mode/power plan.

[Peter Widdicombe]

The other thing that could cause issues is Windows system tasks - check disk, defrag, updates (OS and browsers), Windows/Antivirus activity. I do find Windows unresponsive for 3-10 minutes when I turn it on - not just for Waveform. Randomly after that.

More memory helps, particularly on some of the memory-hungry sample player VST's. Use task manager periodically to see what disk/memory hogs are out there; and if resources at a SYSTEM level approach the 100% threshold. At the same time, look at the Waveform upper right, and see if resources (allocated to waveform) approach limits.

[hemlockforsocrates]

Thanks all! This is exactly the kinda stuff I was looking for.

@Peter Widdicombe I've always kept the computer 'clean,' it's only ever been used for audio production and I've made sure only necessary background functions are running. Memory usage has never seemed to be a problem, but Waveform's CPU-o-meter is frequently in the yellow on larger projects, and goes red in some of the problem projects... which is why for a while I've been debating a computer upgrade. Then when I tried switching to windows audio and the problems disappeared, it made me suspect the audio interface... though maybe it's just that the windows audio drivers have such high latency that Waveform 'catches up' before the information needs to be delivered?

However, After I made all the optimization changes I could follow from the link that @chk071 posted things have seemed to improve. As it stands I haven't been able to reproduce any of the issues in any of my problem projects. I'm holding my breath... maybe it's just because the computer's in a good mood... but unless I post a disappointed update, maybe the problem's fixed?

The biggest change I made were to adjust the power optimization settings in Windows to 'best performance', as chk071 suggested.