Menu
What's new
By:
Filters

Windows 10 settings / stuff you can turn off for music?

Great stuff.

USB Power saving settings is another one, didn't spot it on the list.

Device Manager > Right Click on USB Device > Properties > Power Management and Unchecked "Allow this computer to turn off to save power"
 
cqd said:
just built an i9 gigabyte system, and I'm underwhelmed by it's performance..might be nvidia bcc card
Click to expand...

I am using onboard (from motherboard) graphics instead of Nvidia. I hear Nvidia have improved their drivers, so you could try bird-dogging it with Latencymon (run at least 5-15 minutes with a sequence playing).

Or you could experiment: ditch the card for a different one / use onboard graphics and see how it does.

I have two i9 machines and they perform far better than what I had (including an i7-7700k, which was far from terrible).
 
If you use your iGPU, keep in mind that the CPU produces more heat and this could lower your performance / makes more noise. I use a GTX960 from MSI and have no big problems with it regarding latency.
If you measure your latency on Windows 10 use LatencyMon instead of DPC latency Checker.
 
Ben said:
If you use your iGPU, keep in mind that the CPU produces more heat and this could lower your performance / makes more noise. I use a GTX960 from MSI and have no big problems with it regarding latency.
If you measure your latency on Windows 10 use LatencyMon instead of DPC latency Checker.
Click to expand...

Hi Ben -- honestly, I doubt it makes much difference compared with the problems some GPU drivers produce. Since I substituted onboard graphics for the cards, it's night and day -- no comparison.

And good advice to use LatencyMon. Pretty sure there is actually a little guide on Native Instruments' website on how to use it to measure your system's performance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ben
JohnG said:
I am using onboard (from motherboard) graphics instead of Nvidia. I hear Nvidia have improved their drivers, so you could try bird-dogging it with Latencymon (run at least 5-15 minutes with a sequence playing).

Or you could experiment: ditch the card for a different one / use onboard graphics and see how it does.

I have two i9 machines and they perform far better than what I had (including an i7-7700k, which was far from terrible).
Click to expand...

I've been running latencymon, and it seems its the nvidea driver that's the worst offender anyway..new card should be with me within a day or two..
 
For whatever reason, Windows superfetch suddenly started interfering two days ago spiking CPU and disk I/O on projects that otherwise had been running fine. I turned off the service.

This affected projects on Cubase 10. My guess is that Kontakt, Play, and Cubase do this on their own anyway.
 
I just discovered a really helpful advanced tweak that helped me getting lower latency and better performance. The deal is to set Interrupt priority in the registry, since graphic cards like to fight with your audio interface.
http://www.sensomusic.org/forums/viewtopic.php?id=2463 (Im a link)
 
Divico said:
I just discovered a really helpful advanced tweak that helped me getting lower latency and better performance. The deal is to set Interrupt priority in the registry, since graphic cards like to fight with your audio interface.
http://www.sensomusic.org/forums/viewtopic.php?id=2463 (Im a link)
Click to expand...

These "hacks" are from 2010! I would not recommend to use these on Windows 8 or above. And not for any modern CPU.
If you don't have any Firewire device, it is not useful to prioritize it.
Also you should not give more CPU time to foreground applications, because you will take the CPU time from the drivers that must deliver the next buffer to the audio output hardware. It may have made sense back in 2010, but with modern CPUs this is a bad idea.
 
i spent 250 bucks on WIN10 EnterpriseLTSC Licence.
i asked on the forum if anybody had experience but i got no reply. i took a jump and asked myself why i didnt do this before. i got more CPU power now not alot but still enough and the whole system feels lot more snappier. there are NO!! automatic updates!!. updates are delivered on a 2-3 year basis and only once. there are no apps installed its nothing but the windows operating system utterly naked without bleebs and bloatware and it feels like i am on what Win7 used to be.
there is almost nothing i need to turn on or off.
its heaven here!
i recomend LTSC for turning of everything.
and you have to wipe out your os drive and reinstal everything cos it cant be upgraded from pro.
 
Ben said:
These "hacks" are from 2010! I would not recommend to use these on Windows 8 or above. And not for any modern CPU.
If you don't have any Firewire device, it is not useful to prioritize it.
Also you should not give more CPU time to foreground applications, because you will take the CPU time from the drivers that must deliver the next buffer to the audio output hardware. It may have made sense back in 2010, but with modern CPUs this is a bad idea.
Click to expand...
Good advice. I would definetly not recommend this as do by default tweak but rather if you are frustrated try it.
In my case it helped but I am on Windows 7 and use a firewire card (Sapphire Pro40)!
Also my graphic card is old (Radeon HD5830), so this may cause problems as well.
As to the foreground priority. There seems to be a mistake in the post. The value he states is not boosting foreground application but rather is the same as setting priority to background in the normal system setttings.

Win32PrioritySeparation DWORD

2 = Default (same as programs)
26 (hex) or 38 (dec) = Programs
18 (hex) or 24 (dec) = Background services
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Ben
Among various software I have tried to boost my audio production performance in Windows 10, the most efficient has been System Mechanic by Iolo.

It adds an extra option to the Power Options called Ultra Performance, that can be specifically set to audio production mode.

It has made a very noticeable improvement in my DAW performance!

So, if you feel that some extra boost is needed, that is a highly recommended option.
 
These are just some power/performance settings you can set on your own in the advanced power management settings. I'm sure you will also find the correct settings in this thread.
 
Last edited:
CoffeeLover said:
i spent 250 bucks on WIN10 EnterpriseLTSC Licence.
i asked on the forum if anybody had experience but i got no reply. i took a jump and asked myself why i didnt do this before. i got more CPU power now not alot but still enough and the whole system feels lot more snappier. there are NO!! automatic updates!!. updates are delivered on a 2-3 year basis and only once. there are no apps installed its nothing but the windows operating system utterly naked without bleebs and bloatware and it feels like i am on what Win7 used to be.
there is almost nothing i need to turn on or off.
its heaven here!
i recomend LTSC for turning of everything.
and you have to wipe out your os drive and reinstal everything cos it cant be upgraded from pro.
Click to expand...
LTSC certainly is a solutio, but it is a set and forget license. Any upgrade means a new license.
Also, applications which have a current W10 as a prerequisite, such as Cubase 10, officially don't support these versions.
AFAIK you will not be able to run Adobe Cloud at all on it, as it will want the latest W10 incarnation.
 
Tha lack of updating on LTSC is great for offline systems but anything online I wouldn't risk it because of the amount of 0-Day exploits that come out and require patched. This is especially true if visiting websites that may run malicious scripts without the owner of said site even knowing the scripts are on there.
 
both Mystic and Dawplus are right.
i was thinking of using the windows server but i went with this choice

its offline all the time
cubase 10 might not be supported but i havent had issues yet
i use it only for creating music and nothing else is being done in it.
no cloud although i do have my own cloud with my synology router i use for sharing
the router has decent security features for web browsing
that i use with other devices for the internet,phone,laptop.
i might hook it up with my cloud through the local network at some point.
and of course there can always come issues .
at least the experience has been very good so far.
 
Here's a screen cap of the services active on my system. Please note that the machine is air gapped, hence this might not be for everyone.

Note that the list is truncated but shows everything nonetheless. Further tweaks render a DPC latency of <20 according to LatencyMon
 

Attachments

  • services.PNG
    services.PNG
    185.9 KB · Views: 29
My advice would be that c state and power scaling is cpu specific, or at least socket specific. Ryzen constantly scales and it's thermal performance is more like a modern GPU. On an Intel chip it's usually a no brainer.

I think these days all you really need to do all of the time is adjust your power plan, disable sleep options on drives and peripherals and disable auto updates if in Pro.

For better or worse, Win 10 is mostly solid and I've not found magic bullet in current times.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom