FS-What's the best cheap hardware specs for the nowadays?

[martinvicanek]

This is my gear:
tablet (Intel Atom Z3735F, 1.83 GHz, 2 GB RAM)
Tascam US-144mkII audio interface (ASIO driver)
MIDI foot controller
I am using it in a live context as a multi effect processor: tuner, auto wahwah, octaver, chorus, echo, reverb, metronome, compressor, noise gate, and an array of other custom effects. Performance is reasonable. All in all close to 500 Euro, but I can use the tablet also for surfing, reading, viewing pictures, etc.

[kortezzzz]

@tulamide

Yes. I know that already. Thanks for mentioning it, since there are many newcomers that don't know that fact. That's also the reason why the CPU sparkles up like a crazy in some projects: too much burden on a single core... the effort doesn't divided between all the CPU cores. That's bad, but that's what we got presently.

This is my gear:
tablet (Intel Atom Z3735F, 1.83 GHz, 2 GB RAM)
Tascam US-144mkII audio interface (ASIO driver)
MIDI foot controller
I am using it in a live context as a multi effect processor: tuner, auto wahwah, octaver, chorus, echo, reverb, metronome, compressor, noise gate, and an array of other custom effects. Performance is reasonable. All in all close to 500 Euro, but I can use the tablet also for surfing, reading, viewing pictures, etc.

@Martin!!
For god sake, how did you figured out working with the Z3735F ??
That's great news. Really man. I mean it would be dreamy to harness the intel PC stick to my project. Please share the secrets. Is it all about the windows version\configuration? or maybe the platform format it self (tablet or laptop instead of stick pc)? Can't wait to hear the details. I suspect that the reason to my fail working with it is because I've tried to output the audio through the HDMI slot (which is not supported by the asio4all driver). Am I right?

Please speech!

[martinvicanek]

Well, since I wanted MIDI it was clear that I needed an external adapter, so I was looking for a cheap Windows tablet with a USB interface. The Trekstore was one that met this requirement. Now that you mention it, my tablet crashes on ASIO4ALL, never knew why. So you need a USB audio interface with its own ASIO driver. It's a shame they don't make the 144mkII anymore. I also tried the cheaper iUR2 but it didn't work with Win8.

[kortezzzz]

Now that you mention it, my tablet crashes on ASIO4ALL, never knew why. So you need a USB audio interface with its own ASIO driver. It's a shame they don't make the 144mkII anymore. I also tried the cheaper iUR2 but it didn't work with Win8.

Ok, thanks for the answer. Seems like it's not only depended on the output type that you use, but also strongly depended on the ASIO driver that being used. In that case, it's kinda a casino roulette...
Considering the fact that not every audio interface model is being released with a declared minimum system spec's, I guess I would have to put some money on the research to find a decent setup.

Anyway, what's the CPU percentage on your system when all the effects in the rack are on?

On what percentage point pops, clicks and other animals emerge up?

[tulamide]

@Martin:

...and reliably run FS based music applications (synths, effects) and support asio driver decently as well.

For kortezzzz it might also be important to know if the effects you use are FS based ones, or optimized C++ VSTs. And which container you use (the DAW if it is one, or one of the many plugin hosts, which I assume, like rack performer, etc.)

@kortezzzz
With Asio4All it is very simple: It hooks in a WDM driver (see Windows Driver Model for more info about WDM). The thing is that there are generic drivers in Windows, provided by WDM. But any manufacturer can also create its own WDM driver. As long as it is 100% WDM compatible, A4A will work. So either you look for cheap soundchips with WDM compatability, or expensive external solutions with their own ASIO driver.

[kortezzzz]

For kortezzzz it might also be important to know if the effects you use are FS based ones, or optimized C++ VSTs. And which container you use (the DAW if it is one, or one of the many plugin hosts, which I assume, like rack performer, etc.)

Of course. It's extremely important, although FS made plugins rack would be used **only for demonstration** and wouldn't be a part of any final commercial product. I still need it to work flawlessly to demonstrate as best as possible, so my hack should be perfect in terms of drivers functionality and CPU usage.

With Asio4All it is very simple: It hooks in a WDM driver (see Windows Driver Model for more info about WDM). The thing is that there are generic drivers in Windows, provided by WDM. But any manufacturer can also create its own WDM driver. As long as it is 100% WDM compatible, A4A will work. So either you look for cheap soundchips with WDM compatability, or expensive external solutions with their own ASIO driver.

Thanks for the clarification. I prefer the professional external solution (with it's own ASIO driver) for this project. Maybe one of those mini Focusrite interfaces that always have great drivers that kept updated very often. "Stereo mix" feature support is also top important! It allows the driver to stream external background sound sources (internet) to your project while your ASIO driver is turned on. I really need that.

[martinvicanek]

I am using a standalone exe. All effects are created with FS and are optimized, with heavy use of SSE. I'll do some performance measurements and post results in the next days.