CPU for music production

logic7 said:
The majority of M-Audio interfaces don't have Win8 drivers yet. The M-Track and M-Track Plus are the only two I saw that had Win8 drivers.
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They're actually the only interfaces in their current product lineup. I'm just wondering whether or not they'll drop some of the "legacy" stuff at some point...in other words, I'm just a bit hesitant to recommend something that might not be useable in the near future. But the bottom line is that I simply don't know :)
 
If you are looking at M-Audio and have at least one old PCI slot (not just PCIE) you might be able to pick up a Delta 1010LT for peanuts, it is an old PCI card but I think they still have drivers for it, best of all it does not use USB which tends to introduce unnecessary latency and jitter, it might not have a long life ahead of it as most people tend to go for USB shit now even if they are smart enough to use a tower system, granted it's not the best interface in the world but it might suit both your budget and needs depending on what they are?
 
hollandturbine said:
If you are looking at M-Audio and have at least one old PCI slot (not just PCIE) you might be able to pick up a Delta 1010LT for peanuts, it is an old PCI card but I think they still have drivers for it, best of all it does not use USB which tends to introduce unnecessary latency and jitter, it might not have a long life ahead of it as most people tend to go for USB shit now even if they are smart enough to use a tower system, granted it's not the best interface in the world but it might suit both your budget and needs depending on what they are?
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"USB Shit" ? Well you obviously have not used a quality interface like the fireface or any of the motu's
 
Tad said:
"USB Shit" ? Well you obviously have not used a quality interface like the fireface or any of the motu's
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Any kind of audio interface can be the same as any other in respect to the quality of it's preamps and converters, but that is beside the point, the point is that USB is a shitty protocol running on top of another protocol and as such it introduces unnecessary latency and jitter compared to a card based system.

Granted there are ways to compensate for latency but this only works by shifting the playback of prerecorded tracks and has absolutely no effect when monitoring a VST instrument while you are playing it or when monitoring an audio input such as a guitar through VST effects like a virtual stomp box or an amp simulation as opposed to using zero latency monitoring which allows you to hear what you are playing before it goes through the converters.

Naturally connecting an audio interface directly to the PCI bus is going to be better than connecting an audio interface to some shit designed for printers that then connects to the PCI bus, but as most people opt for USB it's quite possible that there are more options and better preamps available at a low price point vs a card based system at the same low price point, but once you get into the really high end shit it's all about the cards.
 
Pci slots are being fazed out on new boards. PciE is the new standard, but its about 300+ what u pay 4 a decent USB interface. I agree that in box connect is better, but til the companies catch up to the computers it will prob be more. I had a m-audio audiophile but had to get a USB when I got my new desktop with a i7 chip & board, and just bout all the slots were pcie.
 
re

there are benefits to a pci or pcie over usb or firewire, but prob not important to most people. Also I know the delta1010, and I would guess the ap192 maudio cards, work under win 8 64 if you use the win 7 sp1 drivers. you might have to boot into unsigned drivers mode when you install but shouldnt be a big deal.
 
We are kind of right in the middle of this strange transitional phase where the average non-music making consumer dictates the future of the predominant external protocol and the manufacturers of professional products dictate the future of the internal interfaces, what this means is the prosumer is kind of left in the lurch, I mean basically people in the middle are getting pushed in the direction of USB because FireWire ports are going extinct (I can't see ThunderBolt being all that important to consumers either) so USB is definitely the safest bet for the long term.
 
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