is 8GB enough not to get audio crackling?

[reggie1979]

Question: If I'm already getting really good performance, is there anything "ultimate" will do that is noticeable?

You might notice your fans will run at full speed all the time

No thank you.

[zzz00m]

Nobody mentioned DPC latency yet. DPC (Deferred Procedure Call) is a method that some drivers use to lock onto the CPU to assure that the driver gets serviced.

Unfortunately, a badly behaved driver can monopolize the CPU, causing DPC latency, and if that happens when the audio buffer needs to be fed (which is constantly with real-time audio), that can interrupt the audio stream with a buffer under-run (dropouts).

It doesn't matter how fast and powerful your CPU is when this happens. If the buffer runs dry due to this issue, you will get clicks and pops, etc. in your audio.

There is a free utility called LatencyMon that will analyze your Windows system for its real-time audio capabilities. The report may help you identify drivers that are heavy hitters.

LatencyMon v6.71 https://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

Devices connected to the system may interrupt on a connected CPU and cause their interrupt service routines to execute. An interrupt can occur on the same processor that an audio program is running on. Any thread that was running on the processor on which an interrupt occurred will be temporarily halted regardless of its priority. The interrupt service routine (ISR) is executed and may schedule a DPC (Deferred Procedure Call) to offload an amount of work. The DPC will most likely run immediately on the same processor which means the audio application will halt until both the ISR and the DPC routines have finished execution.

Note: this DPC latency problem is a completely different topic than audio latency, which sometimes causes problematic delays in your audio signal, but isn't actually related to dropouts. For more on that please see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latency_(audio)

[dellboy]

I recently upgraded my PC to an i5 8400 with 32GB ram and now have pops and crackles. My previous PC was an old i3 with 8 GB ram and I never had any problems with that one. Before I upgraded the i3 from 4 GB ram to 8 GB it was good. Go figure.

[zzz00m]

I recently upgraded my PC to an i5 8400 with 32GB ram and now have pops and crackles. My previous PC was an old i3 with 8 GB ram and I never had any problems with that one. Before I upgraded the i3 from 4 GB ram to 8 GB it was good. Go figure.

I would start by testing your DPC latency. Even the most powerful CPU on the planet can be impacted by it. You cannot crunch your way out of that problem.

[reggie1979]

Didn't we cover that? It's the power scheme more than likely. Or are you pulling my leg?

[zzz00m]

Didn't we cover that? It's the power scheme more than likely. Or are you pulling my leg?

No kidding, or leg pulling...

There is more than 1 problem and 1 solution to real-time audio performance.

Everything has to work together. Windows was not designed to be a real-time OS. So it can require tuning & optimizing various things in the system to solve all issues. One persons problems may actually be quite different from another. But the symptoms could be the same. Popping and crackling.

All of the hardware components, their drivers, and the software have to work together. Anything that prevents the audio buffer from being supplied with a continuous stream of audio data can cause popping and crackling (some examples, but not limited to: a throttled down CPU based on power scheme, or DPC latency).

[zzz00m]

The best video on the subject that I have seen:

CPU Performance vs. Real-Time Performance in Digital Audio Workstations (DAW)