[PlanetCCRMA] Finally - a stable low-latency setup with latest rt-kernel and ffado (fwd)

[Martin Tarenskeen]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:01:21 +0100 (CET)
From: Martin Tarenskeen <m.tarenskeen at zonnet.nl>
To: Orcan Ogetbil <oget.fedora at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [PlanetCCRMA] Finally - a stable low-latency setup with latest
     rt-kernel and ffado



> On Mon, Nov 28, 2011 at 6:06 AM, Filip Hoško wrote:
>> Hello everybody,
>> 
>> I just wanted to report, that after couple of years of trying and
>> tweaking (and waiting, for sure), I was finally able to find a linux
>> setup that will actually perform ok with my M-Audio ProFire 610. I'm
>> able to get really low latencies, under 10ms (about 5ms in Ardour)
>> with NO XRUNS at all. This is for the first time I got such a
>> performance from any linux distro/setup.

Not strictly on topic, but I only recently discovered why I was getting 
disappointing latency/xruns performance using my Dell Lattitude D600 running 
Fedora 16 (but also on older versions). I was using the standard kernel after 
having some problems with the rt kernel, but still I was convinced performance 
could be better.

I especially wanted a better preformance with Pianoteq. But Pianoteq kept 
telling me my 1600 Mhz Dell D600 was running at 600 Mhz. I think it has 
something to do with Intels "Speed Step" technology, but don't understand the 
technical details (Intel Pentium M 1600 Mhz processor)

Solution (commandline):

 	yum install kernel-tools
 	sudo cpupower frequency-set -f 1600MHz

Now I could run Pianoteq with much less xruns and less latency and more 
polyphony.

Does this make any sense ? And does anyone a way to set my CPU to 1600 Mhz 
automatically for best audio performance ? (I guess I could buy a newer and 
faster computer, but my D600 is still good enough for me in most situations.)

M.T.


P.S.

About Pianoteq: Being a Linux user I am used to getting things LEGALLY and for 
FREE. Great stuff like Ardour, Qtractor, Rosegarden, Zynaddsubfx, Alsa Modular 
Synth, Fluidsynth, Phasex, AMsynth, DSSI synths, LADSPA effects, Lilypond ... 
Why would a poor musician spend any money on music software? But Pianoteq is 
one of the very few commercial packages that offers a native Linux version. And 
it is really worth paying for. Download and try the demo at 
http://www.pianoteq.com