Re: Laptops -dedicated to music only?

[kkissinger@kevinkissinger.com]

> On 28/06/07, andy butler <akbutler@tiscali.co.uk> wrote:
>
> PowerMac G5 with a Mobile I/O 2882 firewire interface...
> 29 sample buffer size: overall latency 5.12ms (1.88ms in/3.24ms out)
>
> I usually run at something like 252 samples (overall latency 15.2ms)...

I am running a Toshiba laptop with a Pentium 4, 2 gig, 3.4 Ghz with a  
RME800 Firewire interface.  Here are the latencies with different  
sample buffers:

48  samples 4.9ms
96  samples 6.9ms
128 samples 8.2ms
256 samples 13.5ms

I have been using the 128 sample/8.2ms setting lately.

Before I switch to the RME800, I used a Firepod and the latencies were  
much greater -- in the order of hundreds of milliseconds.  The driver  
and chipset of the interface can have a profound impact on the  
latency.  That is, a "cheaper" interface may place more of the  
processing burden on the driver side and, in turn, place more demands  
on the laptop's CPU.

Before I started live looping, I never noticed the latency with the  
Firepod -- Cubase compensates for it and I just happily worked with  
multi-track recording, sequencing, etc.  However, when I turned to the  
laptop for live looping, the latency (and a few other issues)  
surfaced.  I have been extremely happy with the RME800.

-- Kevin