Do SSDs reduce latency in Music Production...???

[BoomR]

My advice would be get yourself a real sound card, like the soundblaster in my sig, for example,(note, this one down there is an exception; other SB carss do not work all too well with Voodoo, but some do), because this reduces latency much more.

Curious as to why you would recommend him to get a SoundBlaster sound card when he's got a kick-ass Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 pro-quality Firewire audio interface?? SB is a quantum leap backwards for pro-sumer, semi-pro, or pro audio production like what blazer55555 appears to want to do.

blazer55555: When you were having your bad MIDI latency on a PC - were you using a separate MIDI interface with your Windows machine? Or were you using the MIDI built into the Saffire Pro 40?

Regardless, with the Pro 40 on a Mac, you'll be using Mac built-in CoreAudio for MIDI, and that is rock-solid. I had a LiquidSaffire 56 and the MIDI was **tight** on that machine.

Another possible option: does the MIDI keyboard that you're using have USB built-in? That would be another option for near-zero latency MIDI...

 

[blazer55555]

Could you please help me in selecting my motherboard(Z77 chipset) which has a firewire port..?

The Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H has a Firewire port and would be a good choice for you.
There is a DSDT in Tonys DSDT database.

SSDs a good for quick loading Samples in N.I.Kontakt - take a look in Samsung 830 series.

Thanks Frankylan. But tony tells that the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H is an early recommendation. I think it would be good if i buy that board after tony includes that board after the release of Mountain Lion...
Thanks for your suggestion man!

 

[blazer55555]

My advice would be get yourself a real sound card, like the soundblaster in my sig, for example,(note, this one down there is an exception; other SB carss do not work all too well with Voodoo, but some do), because this reduces latency much more.

Onboard sound for music production is croppa-tastic, but maybe not for what you do, best check it out first.

Thanks for the reply shibirian
I've used a creative sound blaster sound card earlier. IMHO it increased the overall audio quality by high SNR ratio. And it decreases the latency a little bit(not much useful to a producer, but it sure helps an audiophile). Yes i agree it is crap to use onboard sound chips. I will be using my Focusrite saffire pro 40 for monitoring. I think creative sound blaster wont help me in production. I am still using the sound blaster on my old pc . please correct me if i am wrong ..I will suggest that to any audiophile.. But anyways thank you very much for the suggestion...

 

[BoomR]

The Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H has a Firewire port and would be a good choice for you. There is a DSDT in Tonys DSDT database.

Thanks Frankylan. But tony tells that the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H is an early recommendation. I think it would be good if i buy that board after tony includes that board after the release of Mountain Lion...
Thanks for your suggestion man!

Sorry - I mis-spoke earlier (or wasn't clear). While that may be an early recommendation for the "latest greatest" chipsets, the FireWire on the GA-77X-UD5H is VIA chipset - NOT GOOD for Mac + FireWire + FW audio interface. **IF** you decide to go with that board, you will need to purchase an additional PCIe Firewire 400 or combo 400/800 add-on card that features the Texas Instruments FW chipset.

If you're looking to start your build soon, then see if you can find a GA-Z68X-UD5-B3 somewhere. That Gigabyte motherboard a) has TI FireWire chipset onboard, b) is in the Tonymacx86 DSDT database, and c) is forwardly compatible with Ivy Bridge CPUs.

 

[Stork]

A great SDD bargain is the SanDisk Extreme as it uses Toggle NAND which is the fastest NAND chips to date. Currently, Amazon has VG prices on them in various sizes.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006EKJCWM/

I've got 3 120GB SanDisk Extreme from Amazon over the past month for $100 USD shipped. The prices go up and down so you have look at them almost daily. Right now, the 120GB is $120; the 240GB is $247; and the 480GB is $438 USD. But, I've seen Amazon price them lower, so watch for them.

 

[blazer55555]

The Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H has a Firewire port and would be a good choice for you.
There is a DSDT in Tonys DSDT database.

The most important thing to note about that board (vs other Gigabyte boards with on-board FireWire) is that the FireWire on UD5H is Texas Instruments (TI) chipset. This is a MUST for any audio work if you have FW audio interface.

Hi BoomR
Good to hear that the UD5H Firewire port chipset is a Texas instruments chipset
I agree with you! i've tested the focusrite saffire pro 40 in my friend's studio...That thing is a BEAST !
The quality is awesome when recording vocals and drums, obviosly focusrite is great for preamp like the one you have (LIquid saffire). That thing really beats mine !
Well i was using a pc earlier, i can't even play a tune on my MIDI keyboard on time. It goes out of beat because of latency I was using FL Studio 10 and M-AUDIO Axiom 61 second generation keyboard at that time. I've also tried to reduce the latency by installing ASIO drivers and set the buffer level to 256ms, if reduce than that i get clicks(very sharp click sounds) but it didn't helped me much. Yes the keyboard is having inbuilt USB port..and i connected with a USB cable.

 

[blazer55555]

The Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H has a Firewire port and would be a good choice for you. There is a DSDT in Tonys DSDT database.

Thanks Frankylan. But tony tells that the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H is an early recommendation. I think it would be good if i buy that board after tony includes that board after the release of Mountain Lion...
Thanks for your suggestion man!

Sorry - I mis-spoke earlier (or wasn't clear). While that may be an early recommendation for the "latest greatest" chipsets, the FireWire on the GA-77X-UD5H is VIA chipset - NOT GOOD for Mac + FireWire + FW audio interface. **IF** you decide to go with that board, you will need to purchase an additional PCIe Firewire 400 or combo 400/800 add-on card that features the Texas Instruments FW chipset.

If you're looking to start your build soon, then see if you can find a GA-Z68X-UD5-B3 somewhere. That Gigabyte motherboard a) has TI FireWire chipset onboard, b) is in the Tonymacx86 DSDT database, and c) is forwardly compatible with Ivy Bridge CPUs.

No problem BoomR ! Its okay .. I think if tony and macman builds a DSDT for UD5H mobo after the release of Mountain Lion then the firewire port would work even its a VIA or a TI chipset. If i use a PCIe Firewire card i may get into problems.. :? I just want to make it simple instead of making my hackintosh work and do my production. I would be very happy if experts like you guide me in selecting my mobo, which i can work with my Firewire interface Out of the Box... please correct me if i am wrong(I dont know much about Mac OS X)..

 

[blazer55555]

A great SDD bargain is the SanDisk Extreme as it uses Toggle NAND which is the fastest NAND chips to date. Currently, Amazon has VG prices on them in various sizes.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006EKJCWM/

I've got 3 120GB SanDisk Extreme from Amazon over the past month for $100 USD shipped. The prices go up and down so you have look at them almost daily. Right now, the 120GB is $120; the 240GB is $247; and the 480GB is $438 USD. But, I've seen Amazon price them lower, so watch for them.

Thanks for the reply Stork
Sure i will check that while buying..What's your opinion on Corsair Force GT series, OCZ vertex 4 and Kingston HyperX series. Are they having toggle NAND chip? What would be the best SSD in them for fast loading my plugins sample libraries..? Please help me selecting them..

 

[BoomR]

No problem BoomR ! Its okay .. I think if tony and macman builds a DSDT for UD5H mobo after the release of Mountain Lion then the firewire port would work even its a VIA or a TI chipset. If i use a PCIe Firewire card i may get into problems.. :? I just want to make it simple instead of making my hackintosh work and do my production. I would be very happy if experts like you guide me in selecting my mobo, which i can work with my Firewire interface Out of the Box... please correct me if i am wrong(I dont know much about Mac OS X)..

No...you don't understand. It doesn't matter if Tony builds a DSDT for the GA-Z77X-UD5H, it STILL has the WRONG chipset for trouble-free Firewire audio use on Mac. Sure, VIA chipset Firewire will work, but you risk getting pops & clicks (artifacts) in your recorded audio. Also, the VIA chipset has problems waking after sleep. This is well-documented in many places all over Tonymacx86. A new board with Z77 chipset will not change the fact that anything OTHER than TI firewire chipset will not work for audio on Mac.

Do a search of this board for all the people using firewire for audio. EVERYONE will tell you that Texas Instruments (TI) chipset is the magic formula with Apple for audio. TRUST me... I've been doing this for YEARS.

**IF** you decide to use the GA-Z77X-UD5H, there are several PCIe firewire cards that work right out of the box (no drivers, kext edits, etc needed). Read through this thread (and the links inside of it) VERY carefully... and you will have more information and a good recommendation on PCIe Firewire card: viewtopic.php?f=22&t=45039

You are free to do whatever you want, but you posted questions & wanted help on the forum.

 

[denmanjum]

My advice would be get yourself a real sound card, like the soundblaster in my sig, for example,(note, this one down there is an exception; other SB carss do not work all too well with Voodoo, but some do), because this reduces latency much more.

Onboard sound for music production is croppa-tastic, but maybe not for what you do, best check it out first.

His Focusrite saffire pro 40 isn't a real sound card? I don't understand.

I use a Focusrite Liquid Saffire 56 and it works amazingly with my Hackintosh.Very low latency. I installed 2 PCI firewire cards with TI chipset. Always use firewire cards with TI chipsets.