XITE-1 PC CONFIGURATION REFERENCE

[HUROLURA]

Forgot to provide info here about my own setup (inspired from Bud for the description layout).

XITE-1 and SCOPE 5.1 32Bit Setup on a Thinpad R61 (8944) from 2007 with Expresscard hookup (mobile setup):

OS: Win XP Pro SP 3
Processor: Intel (R) Core (TM) 2 Duo T7100 processor (1.8 GHZ, 2 MB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB)
Mobile Intel GM965 Express
Graphics: Intel GMA X3100
RAM: 2GB

Internal harddrives: Hitachi HTS542580K9SA00 5400 RPM SATA 80 GB
Optical drive: LG GCC-T10N, Slim CD-RW / DVD-ROM Combo Drive
USB 2: 3 ports (mouse)
XITE-1 Expresscard connection.

This machine runs SCOPE 5.1 32Bit and is under external MIDI control (mainly from a DAW running on iMAC).
Mixing everything from scope and final mix recorded using Audacity 2.0 as a simple stereo mix down recorder.

(also Scope 5 SDK setup for now)

Not the most powerful setup but enough to handle smoothly the Xite-1 which is responsible for the main job .

[jksuperstar]

I'm only updating here so I don't start a new thread. If that's needed, I can branch accordingly.

I got lucky and happened across a 256GB SSD drive for $160US, that is mSata (Crucial M4 256GB). It's the exact same performance and storage as the full sized SSD Crucial (aka Micron) makes, only about 1/3 the size of a credit card. And I happened to have an empty mSata slot in my Lenovo W520 laptop. And my laptop is almost 2 years old now, so it's due for a refresh of windows.

So I reinstalled Windows 7 pro x64 onto the SSD, went through and did all the recommended tunings for SCOPE, tunings for using an SSD (no prefetch/superfetch/restore/logs), formatted my stock HDD, moved the browser cache and some system logs to that drive using "mklink". Then I added AlacrityPC, which disables any service I don't need while making music (but does so only when I make music, so I can leave the camera on for video calls, but unload it before making music).

The system boots in 22 seconds. SCOPE loads are incredibly fast, and my HDD is totally open for streaming audio to/from, with no other data hitting that drive or interrupting it's head positioning.


I also finally received a cable that has a 90degree angle at the mini connector end, so the cable no longer sticks directly out the mouse-hand side of my laptop. Just google "mini hdmi dslr cable"...they are fairly short at 1.5m (good for a laptop/rack combo) and are also coiled, not straight, cable.

[krizrox]

I'll add my new system config to the chorus here:

MSI Z97 Gaming 3 motherboard
Intel Core i5 processor, LGA1150, 3.5GHz, 6MB cache, i5-4690K
Corsair RM650 power supply
Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB Ram, 2x8, DDR3
EVGA GeForce GT520 video card
WD Black 1TB WD1003FZEZ SATA 6 GB/s, 7200 RPM, 64MB cache
WD Black 500GB WD5002AALX, SATA 6GB/s, 7200 RPM, 32MB cache
Crucial M500 120GB SSD, SATA 6GB/s
Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit
XITE-1/Scope 5.1 64 bit

I am using Samplitude ProX Suite 64 bit (v1, there is a new v2 out just now but I haven't jumped on that upgrade bandwagon yet).

This system appears to be rock solid. Way, way, way, better than the old system that I was using. Snappy and solid. I need a few larger recording sessions under my belt before I'll be 100% confident but so far so good.

Some Win/Bios tweak comments: I took into account all of Gary B's commentary about system BIOS tweaks and incorporated them into the mix, along with a bunch of additional OS tweaks from this source:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhQVkv3NM3k

Your mileage may vary of course

Comment about cooling: the Corsair power supply uses a fan system that doesn't turn on until it needs to. I don't know how hot the internal temperature needs to be before the fan kicks in, but I've been running the system for a good long while now and it hasn't turned on. So I consider it to be completely silent. The store where I bought all the parts (Tiger Direct) didn't have any 3rd-party CPU fans in stock so I was forced to use the fan that came bundled with the Intel processor. I plan to replace it at some point with a 3rd-party low-noise fan (there are some fanless heatsink options out there but they are actually more expensive than the models with fans - go figure). Actually the stock fan is very quiet. I have no real problem with it for the time being.

Comment about the motherboard: I'm not a gamer. Not at all. The MSI Z97 was a recommendation from a salesman at TigerDirect. I was a little concerned about the fact it was a motherboard geared towards the gaming community but really, it rocks. I don't know much about MSI or their quality (I'm more interested in long-term reliability than gaming features), so time will tell if this was the right option for me. The Intel board I was using previously served me well for 5-6 years. What was kind of interesting was the inclusion of 3 old fashioned PCI slots. This might be a nice board for those Scope PCI cards. I thought PCI was dead or dying. Apparently not.

[jksuperstar]

New Configuration:

Asus Maximus VII IMPACT Z97 (mini-ITX form factor- 6"x 6")
i5-4690K (3.5GHz, can do 4GHz, using standard cooler)
DDR3-2400 (mobo provides the overclocking above the usual 1600MHz DDR)
Samsung XP941 128GB
SanDisk 64GB SSD
WD Blue 1TB

The XITE is connected directly to the CPU, which also has the DDR controller. The system overall has extremely low IRQ/DPC latency (6usec typical, with occasional spikes up to ~30usec). I did not install the modular sound card...because XITE. The Samsung also uses a few lanes direct to the CPU.

The only drawback, is that I am running x86 Windows 8.1, inorder to have maximum compatibility with Modular + sequencers. Because of this, the Samsung cannot be used as a boot drive (because UEFI). It does boot x64 just fine, and incredibly fast!

However, the Sandisk 64GB SSD can shutdown or boot in about 6 seconds, so I have no complaints.

I have not run the XITE with any settings other than the lowest ULLI setting for any audio rate. I do have more experiments to push ASIO use further and ensure stability with all programs. The only program I had issue with was Arturia's Moog V, which just doesn't like to run at lowest latency. Ableton is fine, though.

[dawman]

i7 4790k has proven to be a worthy CPU for adding powerful single core synths like Zebra2 HZ to Scope projects.
After having issues with Z170 chipsets, I built another Z97 replacing an older proven ASRock Z97 Extreme 6.
Now just built a 3rd as a spare and it runs with Windows 7 and the NVMe update.

ASRock Z97M Anniversary
i7 4790k
Silver stone 550watt Strider 80 Plus Gold
Corsair DDR3 1600 CAS 9 32GB
Samsung 850 Pro SSD x 3
Plextor 512GB NVMe
Windows 7

Rock solid.
Fast.

No PCI-e overflow crap

Lowest DPC Score on Z97
No frills industrial workstation design.

[fraz]

ASRock Z97M Anniversary


Just out of interest - I noticed this motherboard only has 1 x HDMI for the integrated graphics - Do you use a separate graphics card? - Or is there another way for you to obtain 2 x monitor for the setup? - Or are you on 1 x monitor with this?

[Striker10]

My normal computer crashed every single time because of scope - multiple times. That was an MSI motherboard msi z68a-6d65 (b3). It's was an Intel i7 chipset - all updated including bios. It was 8gig ram. I've since determined it wasn't a hardware error since when it's not running, it never crashes but I didn't have the patience to diagnose the problem. I thought it might be an issue with the card so I put it in another computer. Its an Intel i3 chipset. A MSI H55M-ED55 motherboard running at just over 3ghz. I installed the 8gig in this system. I've only had a chance to run it once but I tried it for nearly an hour and the system seemed stable. I'm confident enough to have made it my main system. It's a decent board.

[garyb]

btw-
i3 and i7 are CPUs. the chipset is what controls the flow of information on the motherboard.

the first MSI board is the dreaded socket 1155. they don't work. it WAS the motherboard. the chipset here was Z68.

the second board is socket 1156. it's a little older, but 1156 motherboards work great. there are socket 1156 i7s that will work with it(an i3 is perfectly fine, just a little less power). the chipset is H55, a good one.

[Sounddesigner]

I have a new computer wich works fine so far with XITE-1. I'm using Socket 1150 wich seems to now have many Motherboards that work with XITE-1 so it is proven to be a very safe and reliable Socket with its Z97 chipset. And it has a VERY powerfull CPU that's compatible with it the i7 4790K so SCOPERs can still enjoy a VERY powerfull top-of-the-line computer. Even the most recent computers released by intel are only a tiny bit more powerfull than i7 4790k so we are good to go until the next compatible chipset is discovered.

So far everything works just fine with XITE-1, but if I do run into a problem I'll come back and edit this post to reveal any problems. My build specs are below.

CPU: I7 4790K
Motherboard: MSI Z97-A SLI KRAIT LGA1150/ Intel Z97/ DDR3/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard
RAM: 4GB (1 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600MHz (PC3 12800) Dual Channel (HIGH PERFORMANCE)
• (1X) MEMORY .
POWER SUPPLY: Corsair 600 WATT
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GT 730
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional, 32bit version.
DSP INTERFACE: SCOPE XITE-1

This new computer is smaller and much more quieter than my last one (I used a smaller mid-tower case wich was also better designed to be quiet) and is far more powerfull since this new i7 4790K runs at 4 ghz compared to my older first-generation i7 920 wich runs at only 2.67 ghz. Also this new i7 4790K uses far less electricity due to the much lower TDP of 88W compared to 130W of my older i7 920. The Motherboard for the newer i7 4790K has more expansion slots and plenty USB ports wich is great. The MSI Z97-A KRAIT Motherboard I'm using for the i7 4790K has 7 expansion slots ( 3x pcie x16, 2x pcie x1, 2x pci) and the only possible problem is that one of the PCIe x1 slots is too close to my graphics card x16 slot wich might make it too difficult to use both slots simultaneously. So the new computer is definitely better in many way e.g. smaller, quieter, uses less electricity, more powerfull due to higher clock speed, more expansion slots, a little less money spent. This is a system definitely worth looking into for those who want a powerfull computer system that's compatible with XITE-1 .

EDITED

[Paprika]

Anyone tested Xite-1 with Scope 5 or 7 on Z370 Motherboards?

[mathieu]

asus black
intel 990x
12gb ram
plenity of hard drives

bought in 2011, still up to date.

[decimator]

OS is Win 10 Pro 64Bit ( up to date ) on M.2 slot ( Kingston SHPM2280P2/240G )

Motherboard ( 2 years old ) : ASUS X99-A/USB 3.1 ( latest BIOS, and there were many … ) with i7-5960X CPU @ 3.00GHz ( no overclocking )

4 x 4Gb RAM DRAM ( no tweaks - settings below for reference)
Frequency 1066.1 MHz
CAS# Latency (CL) 15 clocks
RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRCD) 15 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 15 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) 35 clocks

Graphic card : AMD Radeon R7 360 Series ( quite plain card )

p.s : I made all the BIOS and windows tweaks suggested to make the system awake at all times.

And it works fine here for a X99 chipset motherboard owner

[Sounddesigner]

decimator, are you using SCOPE 7 or 5.1?

[decimator]

SCOPE 7 only

[Sounddesigner]

SCOPE 7 only

Ok, thanks! I figured it was SCOPE 7 but wanted to be sure. The X99 8-Core platform was tested with XITE in the past and there was compatibility problems. It's great news to see SCOPE XITE-1 working on the X99 platform now. Either you used a different Motherboard that works better than before or it's SCOPE 7 that has it working now, I suspect it's SCOPE 7. Thanks for posting your system Specs!

[Bud Weiser]

...
And it works fine here for a X99 chipset motherboard owner

Hmmm,- x99 ... interesting !!!

thx for posting !



Bud

[decimator]

I took a leap of faith when purchasing the Xite and I would have been quite pissed if I had to change a quite working system ( at last I was warned )
Like you said Sounddesigner there were issues in the past but also many ( Bios ) updates, I said my system was quite working because till one month before the Xite purchase, I had to restart my computer to have a decent internet connection because first boot provided extremely poor browsing habilities.
Also not long ago USB 3 ports delivered the supposed speed at coin tossing probabilities.
Then suddenly after an update, issues disappeared and boot time was halved !
I use as well driver booster ( free edition ) that has updated many small things so maybe the sum of that made the system viable for Xite

[t_tangent]

Well I finally got XITE-1 working in 64bit with no pops or crackles whatsoever. To cut a long story short, I just installed Scope XITE 5.1 x64 on a Dell Vostro 3560 running Windows 7 Pro 64bit, and it works perfectly. Got the Vostro from my brother in law after he upgraded his laptop, and seeing as it had an expresscard slot, so I thought I would try it with Scope XITE. No optimisations yet either and it works beautifully. Havent tried a Masterverb test yet but have several audio tracks and VSTi's running on Cubase, several Scope synths and effects devices. No glitches, no pops. Fantastic.

I had originally been using XITE in 32bit on a Dell Precision M6500 as XITE-1 didnt work on that with Win 7 64 bit. Lots of pops and crackles. I tried everything I could and eventually traced it to the PCI express cardbus on that laptop workstation which shares the same IRQ as the SATA AHCI Controller. Unfortunately this cannot be disabled as that controls the Hard drives. Looking at the Windows Performance Monitor I found that the Pops and Crackles occurred every few seconds when the system accessed the drives, so basically Precision M6500 is not compatible. What a POS.

But yes, Dell Vostro 3560 running Windows 7 Pro 64bit and Scope for XITE64 works very well. Will report back with masterverb test results.

Edit: Oh yeah, forgot.

masterverb tests only matter to PCI cards...

On that note I will install Scope XITE v7 64 bit next and see how well that fares.

[garyb]

a client of mine just built a new computer. he reports happiness....

Supermicro X11DAi-N (Intel® C621 chipset)
Two Intel Xeon Silver 4110 8Core 2.1GHz Processor(yes, dual processor Xeon Scalable!)

this is about as new as can be found...

[JoPo]

So ! Another (after X99) chipset that works with Scope 7, right ?

I must confess that I'm completly lost with CPU !

I read that for a workstation application computer like us = audio, Xeon is the better choice...

I know that here, there are people who have a vast CPU knowledge and I'd really like to ask them to help me to make a choice.

The Two Intel Xeon Silver 4110 8Core looks impressive ! What do you think about ?