Despite running Windows 10, an intel(R)Core(TM)i7-4510U CPU @ 2.00GHz, 8Gig of Ram, A Samsung 860 QVO 4TB SATA 2.5" Internal SSD, and a Steinberg UR22C - USB 3 Audio Interface, the play back of my chord structures can sometimes be terribly jerky, glitchy and unreliable.

Also the Notation window struggles to keep pace with the chords changes, refreshing to the next bars of notation long after the section has finished. I do not have this problem with other software, in fact I'm seriously considering dumping Band in a Box because the performance is so poor and unreliable and cannot really be used in any serious capacity.

Is there a way of checking and optimizing the system resources and how they are being used to function more effectively and efficiently?

What sample rate and buffer size is your Steinberg audio interface configured for? If your buffer size is down around 64/128/256, try changing it to 1024 or 2048 and see if that helps. Sample rate should probably be 44.1 KHz. I don't think you need to set it to 48 KHz for BiaB.

Hi Jyde, if buffer settings do not help you..... From the specs you listed, 8 Gig of RAM seems a little low for a music machine. First thing I would check while you have issues is to look in Task Manager, pull up the "Performance" Tab, and click on Memory and see if it gets maxed out when you have the issue. You could also spot check CPU and Disk while you're in there but those should be good.

D.
most times these probs are settings related.
please post large pics/and/or type back the following info.
(i'm vision impaired)
1. post a pic of the UR's CONTROL PANEL SETTINGS.
BUFFER size included. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
OFTEN INCORRECT BUFFERS CAN CAUSE "glitches".
also post your project sampling rate and bit depth.
eg 44.1/16 bit should be set.
2.post a pic of your biab audio settings. from the audio prefs.
3.WIN SOUND DEVICES SHOULD SHOW THE STEINY AND 44.1/16.
AS DEFAULT. DOES IT ??
the above will help people help you.

WHAT OTHER SOFTWARE IS WORKING WELL WITH YOUR SET UP ?

FYI your processor would not be my first choice.
on cpubenchmark.net it has a rateing of 2500.
normally for studio work i recommend a rateing of at least 5000. but you DO have ssd. thats good.
it might also be a video setting.
but please post back the info requested.
best.
muso.

lol. we all posted replies same time.

Also, could you advise exactly what version and build you are running of Band In A Box?

The Task Manager in your version of Windows 10 may have a Resource Monitor feature (easily accessed from the Task Manager > Performance Tab). That application can show you a great detail of resource usage, including from the Overview Tab.

Also what else is running in the background? I have gotten into the habit of disabling my either net card, turning off my anti-virus, cCleaner, and anti-malwarebytes. Even with my system sometimes they can cause problems like you are experiencing.

You mention "jerky, glitchy" and some of the above ideas address this. You also request a way of "checking and optimizing the system resources". That's a good idea. You can use the Windows utility Performance Monitor.

I prefer a free visual utility called DPC Latency Checker. You just let it run and observe any red bars that indicate something else is running in the background that causes glitches in digital audio. Note that the utility has not been updated for Windows 10 but it works fine, and has directions. Just consider a reading of 1000 to be normal, not zero, and it works.

Do you have a laptop? Make sure the system power settings are turned to maximum power - no power saving.

Also keep in mind your CPU is seven years old and with a relatively low speed does not score all that well. See this: https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/SpeedTest/10660/IntelR-CoreTM-i7-4510U-CPU---200GHz

BIAB can run on much slower CPUs but we have learned through experience that the CPU is the most important component by far in regeneration times. What surprises me is that you say you see these problems on playback, which does not take much computer power. So perhaps you are seeing the program begin playback before all tracks are regenerated, and if so, you should go into Song Settings Ctrl+N and check the checkbox that says This Song Has Playback Problems.

LatencyMon (Home Edition) from Replendence Software is free and coded for Win10 64-bit.

Not the prettiest of interfaces, but it works great. Been using it for years.



LatencyMon Download

Yes, that’s another good one.

I second the suggestions of checking with DPC Latency Checker and LatencyMon, but most likely increasing the ASIO buffer will do the trick. If it doesn't, try switching driver type to WAS instead.



I think the CPU should be fine for this. Technically our system requirements for BIAB are a single core 1ghz CPU which would have a rating in the 3 digits; while I wouldn't actually want to own a computer that slow, BIAB should work fine.

So, what driver is being used by the interface?

In most cases, the ASIO driver is the preferred driver. It will, however, grab the MME or other driver unless you specify ASIO as it's default.

Steinburg says this: Our UR-Cs are compatible with all major audio software supporting the ASIO, Core Audio or WDM standard, providing a fully integrated, DSP-based monitoring setup wherever you are and with whichever DAW you use. Integrating seamlessly with Cubase and almost any other DAW, UR-Cs deliver latency-free monitoring with DSP-powered FX, via the onboard SSP3 DSP chip and latest dspMixFx technology.

Be sure you download the latest ASIO driver ( not wrappers and other codec based things) and use it and see if it makes a difference.



What you are describing is often caused my using a less optimal driver in windows. It can also be sampling rate... be sure everything is set to 44.1khz and adjust the latency and buffers if you need too. Often, with sampling and drivers being set properly, everything else works well at default values.


Edit: If you open a DAW for example... it will grab the ASIO driver and when you open BB, it will have to use MME or whatever else is available. This happens to me when I'm working and not thinking about what was already open. MME will give you that kind of crappy performance every time on a good machine.

Simon. re cpu rateings. my 5000 minimum recommend.

normally i agree with you on lots of studio topics, but on this topic i respectfully disagree.
for the following reasons.
for someone brand new to recording and daw work it gives them a false sense of security.
"oh boy i can just use my aunties old hand me down pc , and all will be good".
"ooh , what are plug ins ? " "think i'll add a few" or "think i'll add my friends orchestral sample lib".
and suddenly things start going "pear shaped". see what i mean ?
when i was buying computers for industry, the same thing would happen.
we would be assured by vendors a certain low end piece of hardware would work , but reality was problems ensued in day to day operation after a while.

then end users would get on the backs of the IT staff.
the problem being end users wanted a low end hardware price, but also wanted high end performance. wasnt going to happen.

you can see in recording forum after recording forum the problem useing low end pc hardware.
in summary, little leeway for "growth" as the new user wants to use more and more features.
frankly simon, when a great nice refurb with a powerfull processor , lots of ram, and ssd's can be had for paltry sums now, its a doddle compared to years past.
loads of refurbs for a few hundred buks.
best.
muso.
ps. heres a PROPER RECORDING PC I LUST AFTER>>
WOW ! rack mountable too.
these would eat biab alive lol.
page down for lots of info. the type of system used by big recording studios.
https://pcaudiolabs.com/rok-box-mc-x-series/

Jyde.
could you please post the pics requested up thread.
it helps people help you.
every happiness.

If you are going to run BIAB with a reasonably slow CPU, Simon says it will work, but there are several settings that can really help. I cited one essential one above. If you want others, write back.

I certainly do see what you mean, though take a step back for a sec.

When running BIAB alone, our system requirements are perfectly adequate. BB on it's own uses a couple hundred megs of ram and is perfectly happy even on a single core CPU. When you're running plugins in BIAB, you have to follow the system requirements of those plugins - Komplete for example needs a minimum of 4gb ram and an i5 CPU. If you're using the BIAB plugin in Pro Tools, then you'll be subject to their minimum requirements of 16gb of ram (recommended 32gb) - you see what I mean.

There's no reason that BIAB on it's own can't run on a computer with the OP's cpu rating, and as Matt mentioned there are some settings that can help. ASIO buffer is probably the main one, but you can set the time stretching quality to Low as well which can help - that's in Realtracks Preferences.

Simon.
my wife just bought a lottery ticket.lol.
if we win , i'm gonna get the biggest baddest wildest craziest custom built computer system like the big studios use plus one of these lol.
https://audient.com/products/consoles/asp4816/overview/


best
muso.

If you win, buy me one too! I'll put it up against my DDA console, hopefully it wouldn't completely blow it out of the water