Xite-1 PCIe card considerations

[krizrox]

Hi Mister XITE newbie here.

My motherboard contains 3 or 4 available PCIe slots. Is there any science to choosing the appropriate slot for the XITE pcie card? I have noticed a few random pops and clicks since installing XITE. They don't show up as lost ASIO buffers so I assume it's something to do with the PCIe bus. I thought to just experiment and move the card around until the problem goes away. But I thought I would check here first to see what others have encountered. Perhaps a rude USB connection that shares IRQ with the PCIe slot? If that's the case, how do you determine which USB IRQ is the culprit? You can't live without USB these days so complaining about it isn't going to help lol

[dante]

Plug it into any of the smaller PCIe slots simply because it's a snug fit. It doesn't matter if you choose a faster one because it will run at x1 speed anyway.

For specific IRQ can you post a pic of them showing the IRQ with the XITE card and the entries above and below and GaryB will answer. Also give your mobo and cpu details... I think you did before but saves another few mouse clicks.

Plus any info about the crackle and pop... Is it all the time even when DAW idle ? Or only when CPU under load ?

How often ?

What's plugged into your ADAT ports ?

What's your ULLI set at ?

And study this : http://www.hitfoundry.com/tsg/tsg_mast.htm

[krizrox]

Thanks for the suggestions Dante.

System specs:
Intel mobo DG965RY
Intel Core 2 Duo processor E6600
8GB DDR2 PC2 5300 Crucial RAM
EVGA GeForce GT520 graphics card 1024 DDR3
Crucial 120GB SSD (used only for the operating system)
2) Seagate sata hard drives

Windows 7 Home Premium 64

There are three (3) PCIe x1 slots. Currently the small Xite board is plugged into the slot which is farthest from the CPU (identified in my tech data as the first PCIe slot). This mobo also has three (3) standard PCI slots. None of them are being used as I have removed my Scope Pro and XTC cards from the system. There is a PCIe 2.0 graphics card plugged into the only available PCIe x16 slot. That's the configuration inside the PC.

To answer the other questions: only getting random clicks when I'm recording and not very often so it's hard to tell. Never when idle. I'm using Z-Link at the moment. No ADAT connections between A16 and XITE. ULLI is configured for 4ms (I only record at 44 or 48K).

I will look at the link you provided and check the IRQ sharing. Thanks dante!

PS - I just looked at the IRQ resources connections and noted that XITE was sharing IRQ with the graphics card. Knowing that can't be good (lol), I am going to move the XITE card to a different PCIe slot and check again. This was more than likely the reason for the clicks. Beyond that XITE is working wonderfully on my system and in my studio. I know the Scope software has some minor issues but they are not posing a problem for me.

[krizrox]

This is a print out of the IRQ sharing with Xite. Can I remove the USB/USB2 IRQ's?

Just curious - once you remove or disable an IRQ resource, can it be easily re-enabled? I don't see a way to do it unless I'm missing something.

Thanks!

by the way: I tried installing the Xite card in all three available PCIe slots. One was being shared with the graphics card, the other with what looked like SATA ports. This was the only PCIe slot that didn't appear to be shared with anything important other than a couple of USB connections which I could live without (I think).

[jksuperstar]

It is easy. From the device manager, right click on a device, open properties, and you can disable it there. Just as easily, you can enable them.


Also, google Latency Monitor, its a PC tool that runs some tests and can show you what services and programs taking CPU time. So if its software/unneeded is services, you'll know.

[garyb]

that's correct, it's that easy.

the PCI Express root port probably does not need to be disabled. it may well be the port that the XITE is connected to anyway.

[krizrox]

I removed (disabled) the USB IRQ's but it didn't help with the random pops. I'm still getting them even on small track count projects. The pops don't show up in the audio clips - just on the output from Scope to the monitors. I'll keep looking but IRQ sharing wasn't the problem. Any other ideas? Thanks!

[garyb]

how is the XITE connected to the monitors?
what jacks are used?

did you do these tweeks?
http://forums.planetz.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=31345

are you using Wave Drivers? these will pop or click randomly in 64bit.

[krizrox]

Win 7 Home Premium - all known audio tweaks are in place including all those power configurations. I drew inspiration from 2 or 3 sources on the web related to audio tweaks in Win 7. I was checking processor activity during playback and saw nothing there during random pops so it's not hitting the processor. Using ASIO 2 drivers.

Audio out from Scope is routed through the Z-Link B destination module (just a left/right mix signal from the STM2448 mixer). A pair of balanced cables from the rear of the A16 (channels 9 & 10) are routed to my Mackie mixer and then on to my monitor system. This setup worked fine with the Scope PCI card. Never had a problem with random pops. BUT.... seeing as how Xite is a new element in my studio, there could be an issue there (as in... not inside the PC). I was planning on experimenting with some different routing options outside the box to see if anything there has an impact.

[garyb]

web sources and other opinions be damned, the processor must always run at 100%. the most important tweeks are to turn off EIST and hyperthreading. since your tracks are click-free, that makes me think it's the firewire cable going TO the A16 FROM the XITE since that cable carries the clock signal, or that the problem is after the A16....

have you tried using the XITE's analog outs, just to see what happens?

[krizrox]

Excellent suggestion Gary - I will try running from the analog outs and see if the problem goes away. I still have my eye on a new A16 from Ferrofish

[krizrox]

I spent a considerable amount of time yesterday afternoon trying various things to make the pop noises go away.

I tried Gary's suggestion about running from the Xite analog outputs instead of the A16. That seemed to improve the situation. I was mixing songs all afternoon and didn't hear any pops (the pops are usually low level and sometimes hard to distinguish from actual music). Which seems to put focus on the A16. I have been considering replacing my A16 with a new Ferrofish unit so that might be my next step in the process. This older A16 had some issues. In fact, it had been to Germany last year for repair so it's already suspicious.

The popping stuff didn't start until I installed Xite though. So I'm not sure. The last ditch option is to upgrade my PC. The guts are around 5-6 years old (it was new when Vista was still around). Probably time for an upgrade.

Oh, and to add insult to injury I broke one of those little plastic doors on one of the ADAT connectors on the back of Xite. I was inserting an ADAT cable and heard something snap. The little plastic door broke and fell down to the floor. It's a very small part and the hinges are just little plastic fingers that extend off the side of the door. When you insert an ADAT cable the door sort of swings upwards and presses against a small metal spring. When you remove the cable the door just swings back down into place. Has anyone ever broke one of these and managed a repair? It's always something lol Normally, with cables inserted, the door wouldn't have any real function. I assume it's only function is to keep dust out. But I had a hard time inserting a cable into this connector without the door in place. I think the door actually helps to keep the cable end inserted.