system studder help....... please

brokeinside wrote on 5/22/2002, 1:29 PM
Ok well here is my situation, I have VegasV3.0 and the C-Port DSP2000 I/O Card my computer is a IBM Aptive with a AMD Athlon 550mhz, 256mgs of ram and a single 20gig internal HardDrive at 7200rpm with Windows 98SE.... Basically I know im pretty limited with the power of my system but what im doing is muti-track recording drums, guitar, bass, vocals, loops, and stuff. Im recording everything at 16/44.1 and well my system gets pretty sluggish so is there any tricks of the trade, or codes I can use to optimize my comp and get more juice out of it. im on a really tight budget right now after getting the software and I/O card but everyones help would be much appriciated... thanks

Comments

Former user wrote on 5/22/2002, 1:55 PM
Okay - here we go:

"Ok well here is my situation, I have VegasV3.0 and the C-Port DSP2000 I/O Card my computer is a IBM Aptive with a AMD Athlon 550mhz, 256mgs of ram and a single 20gig internal HardDrive at 7200rpm with Windows 98SE...."

1. First and best advise I can give is get a real soundcard.
2. The chip is barely useable with today's apps - an upgrade would be paramount
3. Single drive systems are a breeding ground for trouble. You could get by with a few tracks but as you ahve already stated - sluggish is the word that ya heard! One drive for the OS and one for the audio - 7200 RPM EIDE by Western Digital/Maxtor with ATA 100/133 would do just fine.
4. If you have anything else installed on this box (Office, apps, games etc) you will never achieve anything better than you have now. This layout (if you are going to stay with it) begs for a clean environment - basic rule of thumb is - Install only what you need to record with. Nothing else.
5. Win98? Again useable but Win2000/XP is where it's at. The stability alone is worth the price of admission.

To sum up - this rig is severely hampered across the board for anything but a few tracks and minimal processing. You may be able to slide by with a complete reformat/a complete Win 98 tweak session and reinstall of just the essentials. Other than that - I hate to be the bearer of bad news :)

Cash is tight and that's cool. I would keep practicing and save up some jack to make a move when you can afford it. There are a ton of good parts to choose from when the time is right - and for surprisingly less than you think.

Hang in there!

Cheers,

Cuzin B
MJhig wrote on 5/23/2002, 1:20 PM
brokeinside,
I have almost your identical system, AMD Athlon 550mhz, 256mgs of ram and a single 20gig internal HardDrive,Windows 98SE, Cerative Ensoniq Audio PCI and Delta Audiophile 2496.I also must use this system as an internet PC along with my imagery and office apps.

I'll agree that it's not optimum for audio but it runs flawlessly here. In Vegas I never have any issues with 8 or so (never really counted as I don't need more, I don't do orchestras) stereo tracks with at least 2 plugins on each channel. Cakewalk is a little less forgiving with plugins.

Sound Forge never bocks with stereo files and plugin chains containing 2 Wave Hammers,
Acoustic mirror, Noise Reduction and an EQ.

I will admit that I'm some what of a tweak freak but mostly along the lines of OEM recommended procedures.I did not change any virtual memory or swap file settings. I do have my HD partitioned in half with all apps on C and audio data on D. There are tons of good websites and Microsoft newsgroups too numerous to list you (do Google search) should read.

My point in all this is that with proper maintenance keeping unnecessary programs to a minimum and spending minimal bucks on a good soundcard you should be able to function quite well for average use.

MJ