Has anybody tried this optimised version of Windows for DAW work? It's aimed at gamers, and I see they have just released a more flexible update on their website (v0.4).

https://atlasos.net/

 

Last edited: Apr 8, 2024

I've used it for over a year now, so I'm on an older version, but I have been very happy with the results. I had weird latency issues with this system (ryzen 5700g w10 h22h2) that are now completely gone, and the features that were missing (phone link app when I got an android comes to mind) I was able to add back with some fiddling. Breathed new life into my wifes aging lenovo yogo laptop, and my dads ancient walmart laptop. it would benefit really any latency dependent performance intensive workflow. having used Windows since XP I absolutely love it, I don't think I could go back to stock windows at this point.

 

What Atlas version are you using?

 

if you think you need something like this, you should probably upgrade your system in the first place. get the strongest CPU you can get

 

The last version of Atlas I used was 1.5.0 (20H2) when they still provided the ISO's, just install and be done with it. Since then they started providing some weird notebooks and for the life of me I can't figure out how to install and setup those. I think they did this for being legit and not providing ISO's anymore. But that's not all, after users complained this is not working, that is not working, they started to keep more and more stuff not needed nor wanted (ex:Hyper-V) that in my opinion defies the entire logic behind the lite builds.

I also use to make lite builds for Windows 7 and 8.1 and whenever somebody complained to me about something missing, I always told them to use stock Windows or make their own.

Since then I have moved to Oprekin's builds and among all the modified lite builds, these are I like best. I haven't used newer Atlas so can't comment on how they compare with Oprekin's but since I have used one of their builds, I can attest the team behind Atlas make quality stuff (or at least use to)

 

Last edited: Apr 8, 2024

I agree, but I'm still looking for the best way to cut all the OS bloat as Windows does does some weird stuff under the hood. I've blocked nearly everything from connecting to the internet, but I can see all the stuff that is trying to connect, so it would be good to remove some of this stuff.

 

have you tried using a open source debloater tool. stuff to remove telemetry, etc

 

isn't atlas also open source??? well, at least it has a github page

 

That's what Atlas is, isn't it?

 

i meant simple tools that do what what Atlas does without reinstalling and removing critical security features. https://docs.atlasos.net/getting-started/post-installation/atlas-folder/security/

a safer alternative is Chris Titus Tech's winutil.

the 'performance gains' from Atlas is negligible. for music production if u want performance gains. get a better CPU

 

I use an outdated Mac that struggles to run Win 11 (Parallel Desktop). I'm now testing Atlas and it works! The system is actually more responsive.
They claim that the difference with stock WinOS in performance is notable and this is their benchmark:


I'm not a security expert so I don't know about vulnerabilities, however there is an Atlas forum for those interested
https://forum.atlasos.net/

 

you are showing video game performance to advocate for Atlas? video games mostly rely on GPU while music mostly relies on CPU. Can you do a test with music applications? have you compared Atlas with other tools that do mostly the same things?

 

As mentioned I use Mac, my only reason for having Windows installed is to use Replay, an AI voice cloning app (it doesn't work on Catalina). Following your advice, I did a test: I installed 2 versions of Windows, a completely original Win 11 and a customized Win11 Atlas and this is my benchmark:

Win11 original ---> Startup time - 25sec
Win11 Atlas ---> Startup time - 23sec
Win11 original ---> Replay: cloning a 20sec voice - 2:12sec
Win11 Atlas ---> Replay: cloning a 20sec voice - 2:09

Win11 Atlas makes better use of my computer's resources, as well as making the graphic experience less choppy: this is all I need. It's obvious that if I'm looking for a more drastic improvement, I'll have to increase the computing capacity and upgrade the hardware

 

The latest Atlas version that was released 2 days ago allows you to turn stuff back on. I agree with Chris Titus though, and he was instrumental in the Atlas people having a rethink about their strategy. Hopefully someone who has used the new Atlas v0.4 update will comment on these changes with regards to DAW use.

 

Last edited: Apr 8, 2024

If anybody is interested, KLiteOS team makes wonderful builds, extremely wonderful in fact. And they come in many flavors to chose from based on your needs. Highly highly recommended.

https://kliteos.boards.net

I'm not sure but you gonna need an account on the forum to be able to download from Mega and Gdrive.

 

Looks promising and the idea is good, i dont still think my OS win7 plays a significant role on performance right now. Stability and me knowing everything this os does is more important to me

If one wants stable midi etc then one should go back to the atari-sts and etc og samplers

 

Unfortunally uhose customs are LTSC-based so are not-so-good for multimedia usage...

We've collected some open source Windows customization projects (Atlas too) on our Opendows project: https://github.com/forart/Opendows#open-source-custom-windows-isos

Anyway, for those who are interested in a more specific tool, we've recently discovered this interesting (even if a bit dated) Windows service manager designed to maximize performance for digital audio workstations: https://github.com/simplysound/AMP

It would be *extremely* interesting to have a DAW-oriented Windows ISO customization/optimizer tool...

(idea: what about audiosexOS ? )

 

Last edited: Apr 30, 2024

These kind of things are gods work. Well done

 

I think its not about bulk performance gains but reducing errors and possible timedrift (i made that word up), you know when you want midi to play but your operating system prioritizes doing everything else. I think these people are trying to minimize or remove that "everything else"

Not sure but i think it could affect everything that happens live after you press play

 

Download link for Atlas?