This is the default on a new installation, but you are expected change it to whatever value is suitable to the project at hand.

Basically, you're correct. You'll get pops when you're pushing the system to hard for the current buffer size.

The lowest permissible setting is the lowest setting that works!  We can't really help you more than that.  When you need minimum latency (which, as you recognize isn't always) take the setting down until you get glitches.  While recording MIDI data but monitoring a virtual instrument you could even tolerate the odd clock and pop - it isn't getting recorded on the MIDI track after all!

Every system will have limits.  Even my hot-rodded 4.2GHz i7 system has a ceiling at 32-Samples (where I run the PCI MADI card for all tracking).  I could get MUCH more power from the system if I ran at 128 or 256 samples, but I prefer 32 for my own drum tracking and it generally stays there until I'm actually rendering the final mix (I'm always assured I can drop into Record mode w/o latency or system resource issues).

A modern LGA1366 or Sandy Bridge system is sure to increase overall performance if your current system is a generation or more behind.  Faster RAM/QPI/CPU all adds up to a higher low-latency throughput for your digital audio needs...

With regards to Latency and Tracking - MAKE SURE you aren't using any plug-ins that have an inherent latency "built in".  Most any "linear phase" plug-in will introduce silly amounts of latency (Waves Lin-EQ, etc), and thinkgs like "lookahead limiters" will also have a small latency of their own (L3, Sonnox Limiter, etc).  Either disable these while tracking, find lower-latency alternatives, or "Constrain Plug-in Delay Compensation" in your DAW (sounds "yuch" IMO!).  These "latent" plug-ins will make a screaming fast system set to its lowest ASIO buffers seem like a sloth with regard to Latency and feel/timing...

I dedicate a separate PC to VSTi's as they can demand a lot of resources, and I prefer to keep my main tracking DAW at 32-Samples for low-latency monitoring.  Even with a full mix and a dozen or more busses and loaded full of VST plug-ins @ 32-Samples of ASIO, I could still run 2-3 Amplitube/GuitarRigs at high quality, but I decided to also put Amplitube on the secondary VSTi PC - this way the guitar player can use that PC/LCD to tweak his guitar sounds and leave my main DAW alone :-) .  The VSTi PC connects to the main DAW over ADAT and MIDI - Works like a charm!

This might be something to consider if you have sizeable VSTi demands from your Tracking/Monitoring DAW (BFD2, Battery, etc).  There are programs that will effectively "link" 2 DAW's over Gig-E Ethernet, and I believe there are ways to remote-control the second PC from the main PC over the same Gig-E connection.  Someone else will need to chime in with more details on those solutions as my setup is a bit more straight-forward with ADAT/MIDI as the link.

Filling up a single PC with oodles of RAM might help (you won't get 48GB into 6 slots anyways 24GB is the max for 6-slots, and both the 4GB modules and running all 6 slots will be pretty hard on the IMC) - but you'll still have a finite CPU/RAM/QPI bandwidth cap that will still get divided up between all active applications.  A second PC effectively doubles everything (CPU/RAQM/QPI bandwidth), and then feeds the lower-bandwidth audio back and forth as needed.

Hi Ranyman,

finally we have build us two computers like said:

INTEL DX58SO2 / Intel Core i7-960 / Kingston HyperX 1600 24 GB

Indeed a powerful, relieable machine.

You proposed in a post a bit later here,
to connect two computers via ethernet and have cubase on one machine,
and the latency hungry plugins (as standalone) on the other machine,
like bfd2, guitar rig etc.

could you give me some more details, how this connection must be configured?

i think you wanted to record audio from the plugin machine to the cubase machine.

sorry my bad english.

thanks for your assistance

:-)