if you are running on battery, instead of plugged into the charger, it may throttle due to bios settings or windows power management.

 

you might be able to do it with a user policy, but a powershell script might be easier. google, it , someone has probably already done it...

 

You should become an admin. Do you already have admin rights? What CPU and DAW do you have? Windows 10? What graphics card?

Tweaking the computer
Modern systems with a fully updated Windows should not need any of the default settings to be modified. However, if certain drivers are not fully optimized and you experience audio drop-outs, it is worth having a closer look. Note that the following settings are often not accessible, especially on laptop systems.

• Disable Hyper-Threading (Intel)/Simultaneous Multi-Threading (AMD) in the UEFI BIOS if your CPU supports it and if your BIOS allows you to modify this setting.
• Disable advanced power-saving and dynamic performance options for your CPU if applicable. This usually needs to be done in the UEFI BIOS of your computer and includes ‘Enhanced Intel SpeedStep (EIST)’, ‘AMD Cool 'n' Quiet’, ‘Intel Turbo Boost’, and ‘AMD Turbo CORE’.
• Disable C-States in the UEFI BIOS if this is accessible. C-States allow your CPU to sleep when idle, which may interfere with real-time applications such as audio. This option is often called ‘Disable CPU Idle State for Power Saving’.

Third-party applications
Try avoiding them as much as possible. Install only, what is really needed to work with a DAW.
No additional virus scanner (use the Windows Defender instead), no tweaking utilities, no printer software, streaming clients or management tools (e.g. Asus AI Suite) etc. should be installed let alone running in background constantly.
It is advisable to deactivate these programs and slim out your auto-start. Again, see 'clean boot' for details.

Graphic card settings
Obviously, driver settings depend on the manufacturer, the graphics card model and the driver version. But as a rule, options that boost graphics/gaming performance can be suspected to interfere with real-time audio processing.
If you have to use the additional software coming with the GPU, try whether switching off high/ultra-performance modes, overclocking, high-resolution textures/polygon/shader options etc. solves the issue. Restarts might be required and probably some trial and error efforts.

Some graphic cards like the NVIDIA Quadro series offers different profiles to work with.
In rare cases, the default profile for the card caused performance issues. NVIDIA suggests trying the ‘Workstation App – dynamic streaming’ instead. The option can be found in the Nvidia 3D configuration options under <3D settings management>
Also, if a ‘multithreaded rendering’ option is available, turn that off as well! More on this here.

Using LatencyMon to Identify Audio Issues
https://support.native-instruments....1729-Windows-Tuning-Tips-for-Audio-Processing

Further Recommendations
Processor Scheduling
https://support.native-instruments....1729-Windows-Tuning-Tips-for-Audio-Processing

 

As mentioned several times before:
No 'real' asio driver, no low latency on pc. Asio4all is a wrapper that tries to convert incoming asio to wasapi or directx as fast as possible (faster than other general drivers). Asio4all is not a real asio driver that is 'talking in asio' to the hardware.
Get a cheap (real) asio interface. There is a Steinberg ixo for 50 bucks on sale in europe right now, I have 32samples latency with that one and its quite decent too.

Edit // Presonus Audiobox go seems to haver very low latency for a budget interface :
https://community.jacktrip.org/t/presonus-audiobox-go/306

 

Last edited: Apr 24, 2025 at 10:52 PM

oh man that i3 3210m is the culprit. thats a cpu from the past. can you upgrade? i mean, a brand new laptop ?

 

I can't because I may not be able to run MacOSX on the same laptop then. I need this laptop because it's one of the few that is capable of running MacOS too.

Anyway, now adjusting the things I mentioned I can record with my needed plugins at 64 samples. The size of the project might matter but I can always render the song and record over the exported WAV. That way it works without clicks and lagging. This is already a big advancement, because without the adjustments I cannot even start a playback at 64 samples. I could even to go down to 32 samples and it could still record over a WAV with my plugins. I will try to create a dedicated Windows installation for Reaper, I think that way it might be even faster. We'll see. But at least now I can use my plugins in Windows too, to record through the Alesis iO4.

But there is something else that might matter: as I know if the sample rate is higher, the load on the CPU is also less. The Alesis iO4 specs in the manual say 24bit/48kHz max, but in Asio4all and even in Logic the max to choose is 44.1. So how can I force it to record with 48? In Logic you can just choose it, it is displayed in italic though, so not a recommended setting, but in Asio4all, when you open its settings panel you can see Input/Output 16 bit 44.1kHz. Where can you select 48 in Asio4All??? Or instead, I should tick "Request sample rate 48kHz" in Reaper?

By the way I have just checked the performance monitor, and even when the Power Management is on Balanced only, the recording in Reaper in a project doesn't make the CPU usage jump over 30%. So I wonder of this is a performance issue at all. What seems to make the dropouts and clicks disappear is when I disable the integrated sound chip, the WiFi and the virus scanner, and I select to give more power to background processes.

 

Last edited: Apr 25, 2025 at 3:22 AM

Then considering upgrading to a newer Windows. It could noticeably improve buffer size.

(https://pcaudiolabs.com/windows-10-for-pro-audio/)

 

AUDIENT - iD4
Minimum OS Version: macOS 10.13.x (High Sierra) and Later
Windows: Windows 10 and Later

Audient 44.1 / 256 samples or Audient 44.1 / 128 samples
Export mix --> FLAC file --> 24-bit / sample rate 48.0 kHz

Always use the drivers for your USB audio interface; they are always better quality than ASIO4ALL.

ALESIS iO4 Audio Interface
- Four-channel recording interface for Mac or PC, recordings up to 24-bit and 48 kHz possible

iO4 - 4-Channel, 24-Bit Recording Interface (DISCONTINUED)
- ASIO4All - Optional audio device drivers for Windows

ASIO4ALL has its own software where you can adjust the values. (see picture)
https://asio4all.org/getting-started/

Just stick with 128 Samples - or upgrade to Windows 10!

 

Last edited: Apr 25, 2025 at 9:59 AM

I don't see any mention of your Ram, and also if u r using a HDD, but as u mentioned Reaper, ill just drop in my few cents here. When this happens check for the Ram usage in Reapers performance meter \resource monitor and also in your PC task manager, If Reaper shows Ram usage higher than ur PC TM, try disabling the paging file/virtual memory, this might force reaper to utilize the full installed Ram, sometimes this happens when u push the hard drive to its limit.
Check this and let us know

 

Win7 is a perfectly capable system on which to do audio or video production. Of course like all systems (including apple) there must be a substantial amount of system prep out of the box in order to make it happen efficiently. To make a long story shorter, Win7 will have significantly less reverse engineering involved in order to get to that fully optimized goal than newer win systems. Other than the fact that it's an older system and the industry is is carrying out its planned obsolescence policies against it, it is still a perfectly viable production platform in the right hands....

 

I will check. However I have already osberved the Memory, I have 8GB, and during a recording in an existing project with 64 samples buffer, the memory usage is peaking at 1.8GB. So it is way below the max. I did't check Reaper meters though, don't even know where they are, how can you make them displayed? :O The storage is a Patriot SSD.Free space is 118GB from 500.

If there is a dropout or no sound just clicking, what can I see on the meters? That the CPU or memory usage is peaking?

And maybe I already mentioned it, maybe not, but I have no Updates installed on my Windows 7. It is as it was installed from the DVD, and I only added a few update elements manually, if a software was asking for it, like my virus scanner. Can this be a problem in connection with this buffer issue, that an essential update is missing, that the recent Reaper Version might need, and as it it not installed, the latest Reaper cannot function that effectively?

By the way, I ran a test in not optimized mode, so I did none of those settings that were recommended in the articles. Interestingly, when a dropout or click is happening in this case, I still can't see the CPU or the Memory peaking even that way either. The computer is in lazy mode, yet the performance doesn't reach the maximum, however the recording is not going smooth. It does seem like as if it was some kind of task priority issue. If it was a resource issue, I guess I would see peakings in performance when the glitches happen, wouldn't I?

 

Last edited: Apr 25, 2025 at 10:20 PM

This was also my assumption, so I am glad that you mentioned it.

 

ctrl+alt+P is the default shortcut i believe, its in the action list open it and type in performance meter

Performance meter shows u the system resources used, sometimes reaper uses less resources than its installed and it looks for a paging file to do the task, as u mentioned its peaking at 1.8 the rest is left out, thats why i mentined b4 to try and disable the paging file, so it forces Reaper to use the rest of the ram. i donno why it happens, but there is a possibility. But make sure to check that if and how and do and do nots b4 attempting anything.

 

just because you have 8gb of ram, and reaper is using 1.8gb, doesn't mean that 6.2gb of ram is available, windows is in that ram,and any other programs you are running are also in ram. Computer programs have to be in ram to execute and run.
If that computer supports more ram, I'd max it out, its much cheaper than buying a new computer. its probably ddr3. I upgraded my brothers macmini to 16gb, it cost about 18$ from amazon, in January of this year.

 

max ram is 16gb ddr3 sodimm



For best performance and stability (dual channel support) it is best to install two exactly the same sticks of RAM. There are kits (2x8GB) available online for good prize especially designed for this purpose.

16$ at amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Timetec-1600MHz-PC3L-12800-Unbuffered-SODIMM/dp/B0145WDNF2?crid=1XNCN38C7SUA4&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9hyPXaXeDqxMu23-jlNmVcB9QzFhdxUE4uL1j5_co1VYfzYiRQsmKseJtaxqwIHlJ_ZaoS4IyZTRQFVVf_VhZ0-OCZ4KvUStUgPk9nkfdvZRHlVAFDCrw36hCniKWm8v5UL75qDCUwDHl6y9bjK8elaVeSBizYg4uEkVgkbBh6VJTpzTcOmi24N_hCRSvPe_15uGw8AtmREs71WHjpnpChMv3JYd5GcJDOUfEHzq4tQ.GdfyjEk9DrBzNDi44J4RZUkpHQdxdukfXwpePvOaOjs&dib_tag=se&keywords=16gb+ddr3+1600+sodimm&qid=1745616187&sprefix=16gb+sodimm+ddr3+1600,aps,156&sr=8-2&th=1

 

s mostly 1.5 to 2gb is used for os alone and for other process ? how is it possible it shows 1.8 its a wonder.

 

No. I have Windows and Reaper running. No other apps open, except for some needed default startup items. That way when I set the buffer to 64 and press recording in a project in Reaper, I get 1.8 as max memory usage and 27% as max CPU usage.

If I open Chrome as well, I get almost the same results. When I am doing stuff while the recording is going, like opening various apps and windows, I start getting lags and clicks, but still no peaking in resources.

Of course, when I am recording I am not doing other stuff, I know if you press record and you do other stuff you get glitches. I just mention this 'extreme' situation to confirm that no memory and CPU peaking is happening that way either.

 

When I select Switch off the Virtual memory, I get a warning that switching it off will cause the system to get faulty.

Are you sure I can switch it off without wrecking Windows?

 

Ok, understand the confusion. Did u check performance meter in reaper, and also right click on it and check whatever u need.

if u are not sure, first try setting custom size first, adn uncheck "automatically manage paging file" set a smaller min value 1000 mb and 4000 mb

Edit: if u are using the pc for other stuff like games and other, it might crash without paging file. The method is to try and figure out what the underlying issue is, that too for a short while. under controlled situations i.e running reaper alone without the internet, reason internet keeps the malware or antivirus active.

 

Last edited: Apr 25, 2025 at 11:34 PM

THIS is the actual correct answer for what OP asks,

lags in playback are caused by DPC latency spikes,
the only "workaround" I know of is to manually allocate certain cpu cores to certain tasks,
ideally you want few cpu cores that handle audio stuff not to be queued with anything else,
it's called "cpu affinity", go ahead and do some research