I keep seeing people still having problems with audio crackling and hiccups, so let's bring crucial points here,
it's fairly short and non-bloated list of things which will help tremendously:

1) properly assign CPU sets (physical P cores only, avoid threads and E cores), IO priority, memory access priority for your DAW, windows audio engine, and your audio interface services:

2) completely disable system sounds, disable USB selective suspend and not allow computer to turn off your USB bus controllers to save power, disable useless background apps and processes, temporarily delay/disable windows updates and make sure especially your video and audio drivers are up-to-date

 

I couldn't grasp anything from your post because for all this time I was on this page, I kept looking at your avatar.

Also, on point, why is it so necessary to use updated drivers when the installed versions have no issues ?

 

about those drivers, well their updates are usually done to address flaws, so they are supposed to work better even if you don't have issues with previous version

 

Last edited: Sep 22, 2023

I agree 100% I also kept looking at the avatar ;)
Something had to be done about this:

Jokes aside THANKS for these great videos!

 

AYE MATEY!! Three Cheers for the Young Lassie's!!

 

I'm Simply tired of these things and these videos... as most of them are nonsense.

There's two levels of optimization, Windows level and Bios level, most videos only cover the Windows part so i'll try to make this really quick

- First of all you install the latest Windows version either you download it from the microsoft website or you build it yourself using UUP Dump
> Select Canary channel for the latest beta (could be unstalbe) release (i personally use this one).
> Select Dev Channel to get the latest Beta stable release.
> Select Windows 11>22H2 to get the latest official release with the latest updates, Select the latest (top to bottom) update that doesnt say something like "This update has known issues preventing the creation of a working ISO"
> you could follow the steps (they are easy enough) or just follow a Youtube video.

- Once Windows installed go to this website, select the apps that you need.

- Once that is done go to this Website and download the file Mes_Drivers_3.0.4.exe and run it, your brower will open with a page that has your latest drivers included, download them one by one, then install them one by one, once that's done Reboot your computer.

- Windows 11 will also update your bios in most laptop cases, if that is not done, do it yourself.

- Once that is done go to this website follow the instruction and launch the debloater with powershell.

> GO to Tweaks, select all of the Essential Tweaks expect Disk Cleanup and Disable Homegroup, and chose what you desire from the right list, then Run Tweaks, no worries as this is one of the safest debloater there is and won't break your Windows, updates will still function it will kills services that you don't actually need and sets them to manual so if they are needed they will still function, plus it will create a restore point incase something unforeseen happens...
> Once that's done, reboot then install your favorite audio softwares...

**If you have Windows already installed, just skip to part where you update your drivers...

This part covers the Windows side, the bios side is all these steps: these are on Platform/CPU/Mobo basis they will change between Intel and AMD and between generations so do your home work.

- Tightening the ram timings. (Faster response times)
- Overclocking the Ring or CPU cache. (Snappier overall system)
- Using motherboard manufacturer CPU enhancement. (More cpu horsepower)
- And of course CPU overclocking. (doesn't need explanation)

Again these will depend on your system so google how it is done, and don't be afraid as you probably can't do any damage to your system on the short term so you can try and push your system to find it's limit, so make sure temps are reasonable while you're using Windows, use Coretemp to make sure CPU isn't overheating and good luck...

a tip: AMD gpu drivers are way better for real time workloads as it doesn't tax the CPU as much as Nvidia's, so pick a cheap one like the RX 580 or even lower.

Good luck!

EDIT:
One last tweak that i persoanlly use that has actual advantages:

Going to Settings>System>Sounds then selecting outputs that you don't need and selecing the option "Don't allow" will somehow free up more ressources when it comes to your daw, don't ask me how or why, it's the case for me it could help you too, so do it as nothing bad will happen from doing so.

 

Last edited: Sep 22, 2023

did you watch those videos? they are about prioritizing resources for audio related applications and processes
they aren't about debloating windows,

you suggest using ninite to install software while later suggesting winutil which uses winget anyway,
chris titus winutil is cool, but still has over 100 open "issues", so it's far from flawless, calling it safest is relative

 

Yes i did, but i personally think that only old/dated systems will see the most benefit out of this, latest Windows scheduler is far better and stabler than most other Windows versions especially Windows 10 and especially for newer CPUs...

not sure what's the disadvante of using ninite?

Using Chris's tool will free up enough ressources to render what the guy is saying useless...

The section i mentioned doesn't have as much "issues" as you migh think, as these are just normal settings that being changed that you could be doing manually and will have the most effect on your system and real time performance...

"IT" having a restore point does make it more "safer" is you could always revert the changes.

 

While some stuff is actually good advice, I think people give Windows and Intel/AMD too little credit. Meddle too much into settings and you'll make things worse while trying to optimize. Tons and tons of bad advice that is ancient and passed around since the XP days. If you have to go out of your way to do the job Windows and your CPU was meant to do by themselves, you're probably applying a band-aid fix to a bigger issue. Most often user inflicted.

Thankfully, I've been using the same system since Windows 8 was released. Changed parts, upgraded the OS over the years (hard pass on Windows 11 for off-topic reasons though), everything still works as new. Doesn't stutter, doesn't BSOD, doesn't bother me at all. It really helps when you know what you and the OS are doing.

 

The video tips are straightforward, logical, based on Windows native functions solely and are easy to implement.
And I don't understand people who comment on something they did not bother to try first.
I did try all of the things I haven't tried before (i.e. using Process Lasso for permanent memory and I/O settings for all services and programs connected to audio) and it works, you can hear an improvement in sound quality.

 

The reality of it is we already have a Ga-Zillion threads, videos, sites, and apps all telling the agonizing saga of optimization and almost the same number of opinions on how that optimization should be carried out. Don't really think another one is going to be any kind of ahh-ha moment/game-changer at this point.

 

Sorry, but yours is just another a priori opinion, from a distance, seemingly based on fatigue.
The guy from the video is right in every single point, and even if you knew some (or most) of his tips, it's not a bad thing to get reminded.
There are many people who are newbies on this site, and do no share experience of older members.
For me personally the advice on using Process Lasso was new, I tested it, and found it useful.

 

I wonder, Have you tried it on your M1 Mac Mini?

 

Just set up Win11. No issues apart ftom the FREAKING BS NANNY DEFENDER. Apparently it can only be killed at the registry level. Once I solve that everything will be cherry.

 

not sure what you mean,
M1 uses hybrid P+E core architecture and it's true many apps can't yet properly utilize that,
but MacOS is way too different to do any such similar tweaks,
and it's not possible to boot Windows on M1 Macs either

 

It was a joke, of course
M1 Mac Mini (16GB/2TB), Reaper, ADI-2 DAC << is in your footer, therefore my question
By the way, thank you for your post!

 

As for the scheduling, setting it to "Background" (as shown in a video) is a myth. Unfortunately, many popular tweaking guides just copy/paste this tip without checking it in practice.

 

I didn't watch it all but this is so ridiculous. Most of these CPU tweaks are useful if you are a professional overclocker and doing benchmarking. What do you expect to gain from these? One more track or effect? "Avoid threads?" Hyper-Threading? "memory access priority for your DAW" Oh my. If your audio is crackling i'm pretty sure it's not because of your windows system sounds or background apps. Your USB controller probably won't shut down while you are using it. I have never had any problems with my systems that would've stop me to do music and I have done it pretty long time. Sure I have had occasional crashes but who hasn't. What kind of systems are people running to force you to do all kinds of crazy tweaks and shit? The more you fuck with you OS and CPU and motherboard more problems you'll get (more likely.)

 

Last edited: Oct 2, 2023

it will only be "cherry" if it's OFF the internet.

 

Don't forget to install real-time kernel.

Oh , it's Windows, I see... you should stop equating PC with Windows. I have Linux on my PC, and I had MacOS, and Windows. PC supports all the OSes I know of except AmigaOS and AtariOS, but we have emulators for those. So asking "how to optimise PC for audio?" is very broad... but in any case, it all starts with quality components and optimal BIOS settings, no matter the OS.

I have excellent experiences with W10 SuperLite (can't remember if it's PhoenixOS or Gen2). It's nicely tweaked for performance from the get go. All you have to do is install drivers and a few other tweaks. If you want to have a good and responsive Windows computer without breaking too much sweat, this is the solution. Cheers!

 

Last edited: Oct 3, 2023