Hey all,

how would you build a pc + interface for minimum latency?

What has to be considered concerning parts, bios, OS and so on?

 

I heard so far that ryzen processors are really powerful for the money but concerning latency there seem to be different opinions.
Something I also found really interesting was that some nvidea graphics cards seem to greedily hog processor computing time for as much as 0.5 ms at a time, which would be awful for latency. Someone told me that he could manage to get a 1.5ms RTL with bios settings concerning such stuff, but he didn't go into detail.
Also the right OS version seems to be important so there are as little requests from the system as possible. I would consider running everything else (coding, gaming,surfing,...) in a virtual machine or on a second OS on the same computer to keep the DAW-OS as lean as possible.

As far as I know, concerning parts a pcie-ssd would be nice for speed. Fast RAM are recommended but does the brand and price really make a difference?
Where I am also a little lost is what exactly the bus speed of a motherboard is and what motherboards have good bus speed? Also the memory controller of a motherboard should be important because it manages acces to the processing time of the cpu but how to choose a good one?

 

Useful links so far:

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com
https://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/info/audio-pc-processor
http://dawbench.libsyn.com/
https://www.dawbench.com/audio-int-lowlatency2.htm

I am just starting to work through them

 

Spectrum 48k with a Campston interface and joystick is great for playing Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy, Scuba Dive, Skool Daze, and all other great stuff with very low latency. Just saying what other people said. Very low latency.

 

Gigabyte Z390 Designare with native thunderbolt port
Intel Core i9-9900K
Noctua NH-D15S CPU cooler
Minimum 32Gb DDR4 3200MHz memory (I prefer Corsair Vengeance)
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB SSD
Corsair RM750i power supply
Fractal Design Define R6 USB-C case without TG
MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (nice to have a graphic card so you can play some games and edit video)

Thunderbolt audio interface like Presonus Quantum; fast and stable asio driver for Windows.
As for OS either Windows 10 version 1809 or 1909.

This is a tried and tested combination of hardware and software. This build has become the standard over at gearslutz.com. You can also go the AMD route even though there are some troubles with bios optimization for the time being.

 

Last edited: Dec 8, 2019

^^this is a good starting point, also easily compatible for hackintoshing which is a big plus,

few changes I would do:
1) Noctua NH-U14S (it's smaller, only one cooling "ribs", so may fit better in certain builds, and cools almost as good as dual-ribs NH-D15S)
2) 970 EVO Plus is too expensive for what it offers imo, better check ADATA XPG SX8200 PRO or Corsair Force MP510 (both are NVMEs speeds)
3) EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G3 as fully modular power supply, amazing quality
4) for nVidia graphics, EVGA or ASUS before MSI
5) audio interface definitely PCIexpress - something like RME HDSPe AIO or RME HDSPe RayDat with additional I/O through ADAT - this prevents any ground/electricity issues, and is superior in terms of latency than any "external" device like Thunderbolt/USB/Firewire etc..

 

This is not correct, Thunderbolt is basically a PCIe slot in a cable. Thunderbolt audio interfaces is far superior (practical, inputs, outputs, mobility) to anything you can get on PCIe. All the major audio interface companies make thunderbolt interfaces not PCIe interfaces

 

I do have 2 pci-e interfaces ( MOTU and RME) and have tested most existent ones. How do you deem a pci-e interface superior to a TB interface? Thunderbolt IS a PCI-e conection.
"Thunderbolt combines PCI Express (PCIe) and DisplayPort (DP) into one serial signal alongside a DC connection for electric power, transmitted over one cable."
And that is why all serious audio interface manufacturers have targeted their high end models to a TB connection.
Cheers

 

Don't forget the Currah Microspeech, the original virtual vocalist. 10 Let S$="(oo) soo per ma an"

 

One thing up front. Wait until after Namm (1st quarter of 2020) if you are not in a rush. The newer products will be showing up & USB 4.0 should be closer to reality (especially standards). By then we should know where Intel is headed with 10nm and, on what platform. B550 AMD boards should be available.

Stay with the newest motherboards for whatever platform you decide on.

AMD or Intel. The trick with either is to get the highest frequency that you can afford that makes sense for what you are doing. Generally a system built for Video production or Graphics designing (modeling/CAD/etc...), will give good performance for audio production.

A good motherboard (fast USB and/or Thunderbolt 3) & memory are key. Ryzen works better with quality memory. Not expensive, quality.

For graphics, either on board CPU or Quadro level graphics. You can get a 4GB Quadro that will deliver years of solid performance.

Another option for graphics that I just remembered is the AMD Radeon Pro WX series. These cards tend to outperform their Quadro equivalent. Starts @ 2GB GDDR5 below $159 to $179 U.S. new.

 

Last edited: Dec 10, 2019

You'll need an Intel CPU if you want a Thunderbolt audio interface.

 

Kernel DMA Protection for Thunderbolt™ 3
because basically kernel-level security is the problem, thoroughly explained in Microsoft documentation:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...tection/kernel-dma-protection-for-thunderbolt

 

390 channels (in total) on PCIexpress, and ability to accurately reClock, released more than 7 years ago, rock-solid:
https://www.rme-audio.de/hdspe-madi-fx.html

don't remember seeing comparable Thunderbolt 3 interface yet, just sayin'

 

professors clash

 

Please tell me more about it. I want to build an Ryzen system and use with my TB audio interface.

 

Thunderbolt is Intel's tech. Until a minute ago I thought that no Ryzen motherboards had Thunderbolt but I just saw this:
https://www.extremetech.com/computi...thunderbolt-3-only-supports-intel-cpu-coolers

 

These two motherboards have native thunderbolt confirmed working with Presonus Quantum:
AMD X570 Creator
AMD X570 AQUA

 

You have to buy a lot of extra stuff to get inputs/output on a PCI solution that can compete with a thunderbolt solution. So a PCI solution would cost you more money than a all in one box solution. Like I said a thunderbolt solution is more practical than a PCI solution. By the way I can daisy chain 4 Quantums for a total of 128 channels. Not many people on earth needs more than that.

 

Last edited: Dec 8, 2019

?

 

Last edited by a moderator: Dec 8, 2019

You did not say which boards have native thunderbolt.