• Registered: 2023-01-20
  • Posts: 9

Topic: Digiface USB pops and glitches on Windows 11

Hi,
I have a brand new Digiface USB that I attached to my Hp 15-cx0002nl laptop. It has a i7-8750H cpu with 16GB of RAM and Windows 11 OS, so a good amount of power.
When setting buffer size to 128 and below I experience lots of clicks and pops, even with just the headphones active on main system audio.
I checked lots of guides about LatencyMon and such, had some improvements in latencies but clicks are always there.
I need that low buffer sizes because I'm using virtual instruments with usb keyboard, so I need the least amount of latency possible.
I updated all possible drivers that I found.
Here's the output of LatencyMon:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONCLUSION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your system appears to be having trouble handling real-time audio and other tasks. You are likely to experience buffer underruns appearing as drop outs, clicks or pops. One or more DPC routines that belong to a driver running in your system appear to be executing for too long. At least one detected problem appears to be network related. In case you are using a WLAN adapter, try disabling it to get better results. One problem may be related to power management, disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup. Check for BIOS updates. 
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for  0:01:05  (h:mm:ss) on all processors.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SYSTEM INFORMATION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Computer name:                                        LAPTOP-MPCQ85KE
OS version:                                           Windows 11, 10.0, version 2009, build: 22621 (x64)
Hardware:                                             HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop 15-cx0xxx, HP
BIOS:                                                 F.28
CPU:                                                  GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8750H CPU @ 2.20GHz
Logical processors:                                   12
Processor groups:                                     1
Processor group size:                                 12
RAM:                                                  16264 MB total


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU SPEED
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reported CPU speed (WMI):                             2208 MHz
Reported CPU speed (registry):                        2208 MHz

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.

Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs):   3192,60
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs):   7,075660

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs):       3177,40
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs):       2,140893


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 REPORTED ISRs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.

Highest ISR routine execution time (µs):              3,250906
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time:       Wdf01000.sys - Runtime framework driver modalità kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%):          0,000042
Driver with highest ISR total time:                   Wdf01000.sys - Runtime framework driver modalità kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%)                          0,000042

ISR count (execution time <250 µs):                   139
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs):                0
ISR count (execution time 500-1000 µs):               0
ISR count (execution time 1000-2000 µs):              0
ISR count (execution time 2000-4000 µs):              0
ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs):                 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED DPCs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs):              3182,343297
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time:       ntoskrnl.exe - NT Kernel & System, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%):          0,010860
Driver with highest DPC total execution time:         ndis.sys - NDIS (Network Driver Interface Specification), Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%)                          0,027752

DPC count (execution time <250 µs):                   33193
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs):                0
DPC count (execution time 500-10000 µs):              117
DPC count (execution time 1000-2000 µs):              1
DPC count (execution time 2000-4000 µs):              1
DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs):                 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.

NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit.

Process with highest pagefault count:                 svchost.exe

Total number of hard pagefaults                       1245
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process:          583
Number of processes hit:                              21


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 PER CPU DATA
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       1,244395
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs):                3,250906
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,000328
CPU 0 ISR count:                                      139
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs):                3182,343297
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,192413
CPU 0 DPC count:                                      27870
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       1,361831
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0,0
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,0
CPU 1 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs):                67,337862
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,001051
CPU 1 DPC count:                                      156
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       0,717576
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0,0
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,0
CPU 2 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs):                65,714674
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,013726
CPU 2 DPC count:                                      2369
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       1,430560
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0,0
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,0
CPU 3 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs):                19,543478
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,000950
CPU 3 DPC count:                                      191
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       0,430539
CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0,0
CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,0
CPU 4 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs):                65,832428
CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,002201
CPU 4 DPC count:                                      474
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       0,628204
CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0,0
CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,0
CPU 5 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs):                12,807971
CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,000066
CPU 5 DPC count:                                      27
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       0,420647
CPU 6 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0,0
CPU 6 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,0
CPU 6 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 6 DPC highest execution time (µs):                17,963768
CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,000799
CPU 6 DPC count:                                      233
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       0,415147
CPU 7 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0,0
CPU 7 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,0
CPU 7 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 7 DPC highest execution time (µs):                39,580616
CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,000572
CPU 7 DPC count:                                      136
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 8 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       0,401459
CPU 8 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0,0
CPU 8 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,0
CPU 8 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 8 DPC highest execution time (µs):                72,866848
CPU 8 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,003739
CPU 8 DPC count:                                      913
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 9 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       0,376544
CPU 9 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0,0
CPU 9 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,0
CPU 9 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 9 DPC highest execution time (µs):                0,0
CPU 9 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,0
CPU 9 DPC count:                                      0
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 10 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       0,409884
CPU 10 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0,0
CPU 10 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,0
CPU 10 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 10 DPC highest execution time (µs):                15,528986
CPU 10 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,000481
CPU 10 DPC count:                                      132
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 11 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       0,385805
CPU 11 ISR highest execution time (µs):                0,0
CPU 11 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,0
CPU 11 ISR count:                                      0
CPU 11 DPC highest execution time (µs):                66,139493
CPU 11 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,002448
CPU 11 DPC count:                                      811
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hope someone can help me track the problem,
Thanks,
Frank

2 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
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  • Registered: 2007-04-06
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Re: Digiface USB pops and glitches on Windows 11

Is Windows set to use the High Performance power scheme?

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

3 Reply by francoalberganti (edited by francoalberganti 2023-02-01 08:39:31)

  • Registered: 2023-01-20
  • Posts: 9

Re: Digiface USB pops and glitches on Windows 11

Yes, high performance is active, I also checked with the QuikCpu utility that relevant settings are at 100% for what I know.
I also disabled what I could, for example the ethernet card driver which I do not use.
I must say that all these settings helped a bit but glitches are still there after every tweak that I tried.
I'm quite desperate..
Thanks,
Frank

4 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
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Re: Digiface USB pops and glitches on Windows 11

You tried all 4 USB ports? Maybe you're lucky and one of them works. Otherwise the results from LatencyMon are no good base for a low latency capable system...that would require all latencies to be significantly below 1000 µs (1 ms).

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • mkok
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  • Registered: 2020-11-04
  • Posts: 633

Re: Digiface USB pops and glitches on Windows 11

You don’t show where latencyMon identifies the cause. Some may disagree but laptops are notorious for having bottle necks or video drivers that cause these problems without the ability to swap components out. That’s why I say always buy a laptop that has been tested for audio and not just off the shelf.

What does latencyMon identify? Are you using the windows video driver or a full package installed on a new machine. I know when you buy a laptop it comes with all sorts of rubbish that could cause problems. What’s in the startup folder? Can you stop anything that you don’t need from loading. Have you stopped the usb ports from going to sleep?

Babyface Pro Fs, Behringer ADA8200, win 10/11 PCs, Cubase/Wavelab, Adam A7X monitors.
  • Registered: 2023-01-20
  • Posts: 9

Re: Digiface USB pops and glitches on Windows 11

Thanks for the replies.
I'll run latencymon tonight again and post the results, which often are variable.
I tried all the usb ports with no luck unfortunately.
The video card is an Nvidia dedicated, that was one of the reasons I bought this laptop, I thought that it could free power for audio stuff.
Basically it's a gaming laptop, the specs were promising for a good audio platform to my knowledge but I'm probably wrong.
Thanks,
Frank

  • From: Sweden
  • Registered: 2013-12-25
  • Posts: 190

Re: Digiface USB pops and glitches on Windows 11

francoalberganti wrote:

The video card is an Nvidia dedicated, that was one of the reasons I bought this laptop, I thought that it could free power for audio stuff.
k

Try setting the laptop up NOT to use that graphics card, but the built in intel, and chances are you will be fine.
I have an MSI with pretty much the same spec as you, and with integrated graphics I get much better audio performance.

Babyface Pro FS, MSI GS66, Studio One
  • Registered: 2023-01-20
  • Posts: 9

Re: Digiface USB pops and glitches on Windows 11

Hi,
Here's some screenshots of the Latencymon results as they were yesterday:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zc8mryscs6pni8e/bef01.png?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uetysnybw1l2p4j/bef02.png?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/prtkxd82iavglyq/bef03.png?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/n8or73zmae10qpp/bef04.png?raw=1


I then tried to disable the NVidia card but there are still problems and glitches in audio:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ob4nirtpwup7iof/aft01.png?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/baivxgv15o1cgyt/aft02.png?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/m2kxkfmbi72c6gt/aft03.png?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/aqcqpml3bco9l8x/aft04.png?raw=1

I disabled lots of processes and deactivated auto turn off of usb. There are way less glitches but still there are some.
Here's a screen of my settings:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vvh2spz1hh4ex4n/sett.png?raw=1

Thanks,
Frank

  • mkok
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  • Registered: 2020-11-04
  • Posts: 633

Re: Digiface USB pops and glitches on Windows 11

One of the reports mentions the network driver. Have you tried disabling it and wi fi to see if that works?

Babyface Pro Fs, Behringer ADA8200, win 10/11 PCs, Cubase/Wavelab, Adam A7X monitors.
  • Registered: 2023-01-20
  • Posts: 9

Re: Digiface USB pops and glitches on Windows 11

Yes, I disabled the ethernet with a small improvement.
Disabling the wifi does not have significant impact on the glitches.
Unfortunately Latencymon does not always detect the same problems, if I run it twice it will find different things each time.
Thanks

  • mkok
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  • Registered: 2020-11-04
  • Posts: 633

Re: Digiface USB pops and glitches on Windows 11

It not sure.that’s why I would always choose a laptop that has already been tested for no DPC problems. Just buying a powerful laptop with plenty of memory is not enough to guarantee good audio performance. Same goes for a desktop but at least you can swap out component’s.

Have you removed all garbage stuff that you get with new laptops? Have you ditched a virus killer program and just use defender? Have you checked what programs startup as mentioned earlier?

Babyface Pro Fs, Behringer ADA8200, win 10/11 PCs, Cubase/Wavelab, Adam A7X monitors.

12 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
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  • Registered: 2007-04-06
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Re: Digiface USB pops and glitches on Windows 11

Apart from disabling the nVidia - I am afraid that the other two mentioned causes are related to BIOS. If so no tuning whatsoever would fix this. Only the manufacturer could. And maybe this is indeed the best option - contact HP support and confront them with these measurements.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • Registered: 2023-01-20
  • Posts: 9

Re: Digiface USB pops and glitches on Windows 11

Thank you guys, I'll see if I can find a solution.
Frank