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Journeyman
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I guess you have been playing the AkP in VSTi mode, through a host? If that host is set to use ASIO4ALL, the result will probably be about the same as using the standalone set to use that same driver.
Maybe not, though. Worth a try.
The extra RAM must help. A processor running 1.6 is not a negligible thing, even if it sounds a little slow nowadays.
Last edited by allis; 01/19/09 02:41 AM.
Larry
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Allis, there doesn't seem to be much difference. I don't know if I'm running it through a host. I just have Akoustik piano's main program, a midi connection to my Roland, and using the Sound Card that is installed on this ASUS. I have an Intel Celeron M 353 @ 900 Mhz. Realtek HD Audio input and output. Using PC Wizard I found that I was getting 791.65 global performance.
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Using a "host" would mean that you had the Akoustik Piano loaded into something like Sonar or Cantabile, which will let you play the VSTi version Sounds like you were not using VSTi, but what is usually called the Standalone program. Some virtual instruments (like Ivory) don't even have a standalone mode and must always play through hosts.
So I jumped to conclusions, including your processor speed. But if it doesn't hiccup too much now, maybe the extra RAM will still let it play more smoothly. As you say, it's already useful the way it is, so any improvement will be just gravy on the rice.
Larry
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I'd like to see what the Atom processor in the same machine could do with that...
--Mac
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Journeyman
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Me too. One of us may have to give it a try. Any nice, big VI piano running on something that small and cheap would be wonderful.
Joan's Celeron could prove out, with lots of memory. It doesn't sound like it's all THAT far off now.
Isn't the Win XP provided with those net-things supposed to be much slimmed down, with low overhead?
Larry
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Not sure about low overhead but I had to go into settings and tweak how it used the network it made it slow cause it was dropping the network when it was inactive and trying to reactivate it when you touched it next.
I heard the Vista version lets you bump the memory to 5 gigs by using Readyboost, a utility that ships with vista.
John Conley
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All the other AsusEeePC's other than the Best Buy model that I bought are now coming with the Atom processor. But for the closeout Best Buy price of $330 now for my model it's hard to pass up.
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Quote:
... $330 ... hard to pass up.
I should say! And when the Akoustik Piano plays, it must be even more appealing.
Larry
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I just installed 2Gigs of Ram in my Asus EeePC.
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Quote:
I just installed 2Gigs of Ram in my Asus EeePC.
Way to go! What effect does it have on the operation of the piano?
Does that take a single 1-gig DIMM to expand it? Or do you need to use a 2-gig one? Not that the price is much different nowadays...
I have heard that there's one gig soldered permanently in, and you can simply add a second one. But somebody else mentioned he had to throw away an installed DIMM and get a bigger one. Perhaps these were different brands of Netbook...
Larry
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I removed the 1 gig of ram and installed a 2 gig chip. This one came out so easily. I used this YouTube tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKUi0nQFPSwThe only little problem I had was figuring out how to get the bottom panel door open. Here are my notes on the problem: I unscrewed the 2 screws holding the door. They clicked and didn't unscrew totally or easily because on the inside there was a washer of some sort. Then when they were both unscrewed the door didn't seem to come up. I discovered there were 2 side notches along with the 2 back notches that needed to be carefully handled. Midway up the left and right side was a slot that needed to be pressed or moved slightly for the cover to be opened and then resettled in the correct place when putting the cover back on. __________________________________________________ Now I think the start up time is quicker with the 2 gig Ram install. It seems so fast on both startup and shut down. Not sure what else might be improved yet.
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You're rockin'. Thanks for these updates.
That video obliterates mystery. And any sensation of extra speed and smoother running is promising. I see hints that some of those netbooks apparently have a sort of E-Z overclocking feature, too. Perhaps not the Celerons.
Once you have an impression of whether the piano runs better, you'll be getting to the nifty part.
Larry
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I have a question about battery life. I was reading the eee forum about not leaving the netbook plugged in 24/7. How often after the initial break in period (where I discharged the battery several times and let it recharge) should I work using battery power instead of plugged in power?
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I recorded a piece this afternoon using Akoustik Piano on my Eee. I chose the audio driver that is on the netbook--Realtek HD Audio at 44100 yielding 10ms latency. It seemed to have an easy time recording. I tried the Asio4all but couldn't get that to be able to play even at 33ms and higher. Here is Bach's BWV 933 Prelude in C Major on boxnet recorded using my Roland FP-4--Akouskik Piano's Steinway Hamburg D virtual piano and my Eee netbook. http://www.box.net/shared/v0qnq6xrsq
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That sounds fine! The Celeron has made the cut. There are no no dropouts or glitches; the piano sound is terrific. The hard drive is doing well -- no noise from disk-streaming blips. The 10 Ms latency is OK, don't you find? I have no trouble adapting to latency until it goes over 20. Apparently this is a winner, a cheap and good portable piano module for you.
I found a YouTube video that explained the "overclocking" references. Apparently the Celeron 900 was deliberately throttled back in the original Eee, to save battery. In BIOS, you can find a slider to twitch it up to the full 900 MHz.
I can only guess from using batteries in rechargeable power tools, but I bet you should run the battery down and recharge at least once a month or so. Somebody with laptop experience will know better.
Larry
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Allis,
______________________________________________________________
"I found a YouTube video that explained the "overclocking" references. Apparently the Celeron 900 was deliberately throttled back in the original Eee, to save battery. In BIOS, you can find a slider to twitch it up to the full 900 MHz."
_____________________________________________________________
If I were to do this to increase to 900MHz would it create a shorter battery time or create more heat in the netbook. Sounds like something I might like to try to get more speed.
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Quote:
If I were to do this to increase to 900MHz would it create a shorter battery time or create more heat in the netbook. Sounds like something I might like to try to get more speed.
It would very likely do both those undesirable things. But in practice, good effects may outweigh the bad. You may not be able to speed up anyway; evidently only "early models" were underclocked at the factory. I now expect that would not include the 10-inch machines, which came last. If yours is up-clockable in the BIOS, I'd give it a try and see if the bad effects are all that bad. (I have read that the screen gets brighter, too, when speed is set higher. Probably the whole system's voltage is increased a little.) But it's probably not possible.
Some better news: The 900 Celeron Mobile was apparently a more efficient processor than this Atom thing. Atoms -- it says here -- use less power, but they achieve equivalent performance only by using a faster clock speed. So the Celeron is not actually a handicap, in spite of lower MHz.
Mind you, I still know only what I read. Asking some direct questions in the Eee Forum might help more. Those people get right into these things. Their daring modifications to the computers are fun to see.
Larry
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Quote:
...increase to 900MHz...Sounds like something I might like to try to get more speed.
Does that imply you actually WERE getting glitches in the playing? I couldn't hear anything attributable to lack of processor power, but maybe you can feel things the listener can't hear. Or maybe you mean loading samples takes a long time, or something like that?
Larry
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Lappy designers also like to use CPU throttle-back as part of power saving scheme.
Check your Power settings in the Control Panel carefully, for music making I like to set all AC power settings to "Always On" or the like, leaving only the battery side for CPU rampdowns and throttlebacks.
Often, the CPU cannot throttle up in time for audio creation stuff like that piano.
--Mac
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Quote:
Lappy designers also like to use CPU throttle-back as part of power saving scheme.
That's surely what it was for, Mac. In the Asus Eee, they set those first 7" ones underclocked to a fixed maximum speed of 600, a huge throttle. But that maximum is controllable by a simple slider, and you don't have to know anything about clocking.
If Joan enjoyed any success (as she has), I was thinking about getting a totally-cheap 7" Eee for a vest-pocket instrument module, since keyboard and screen size don't matter for that. But it's so small there's no space to upgrade drives sensibly. I guess the tiniest Eee is out, as a sample player.
Larry
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