I see others post comments about how they get a BSOD with every third boot, or that their PC hangs on shutdown, but that’s ok because they just live with it. I’m not saying you need to be a software developer or have a soldering iron at the ready, but I see far too many musicians talked into building PCs, who then get stuck trying to tweak and stabilize that build instead of just making music. But you have to be technical enough to diagnose the issues, and not just rely on others. In most cases, these can be worked around by using different configurations, BIOS settings, driver versions, and more. Or maybe that Thunderbolt audio works better with CPU and chipset A vs chipset B. Or you may find that the USB controller in version X of a chipset is more reliable for USB audio than the one in version Y. As a result, you may find that combination A has higher DPC latency than combination B, or if you happen to use a specific SATA or NVMe port, or a particular graphics card, you will have more glitches in your audio than if you had chosen a different configuration. Even some tested combinations change on-board components over time. In addition, the massive number of choices out there for everything from motherboards and processors to memory and power supplies means that there are plenty of combinations which have not been tested for gamer PCs, and far more which have never been tested for a DAW PC. Many PC component manufacturers who sell components in the retail market are catering to the gamer market, which is optimizing for FPS (Frames Per Second), not real-time audio. You also have to consider that not all hardware works well together at this level. If you are going to chase every millisecond of audio latency, and try to work that number down as much as possible, you need to be disciplined (test after changes, back out individual changes each time) and technical enough to debug the problems you will encounter. But building a stable high-end dedicated DAW PC from parts is more challenging. Even building a multi-purpose PC, including DAW use, can be fine, as long as you have the right expectations. Building a working PC for general use or gaming is not very difficult, as components are mostly interchangeable these days. In general, it won’t save you money vs buying a mass-produced desktop, but it’s nice to put into the box exactly what you want. Be wary of building your own DAW PC if you aren’t technically-mindedīuilding your own PC can be fun and rewarding. Let’s start with hardware, like I did in part 1. The latter is a stronger recommendations than the first because the changes there rarely have an upside, or have downsides that are really significant. I’ve separated this into two main sections: “Be wary of” and “Stay away from”. Most of these go beyond simple premature optimization and into solid “that’s not a good idea” territory □ So I feel the need to explain why that’s not a good idea in most cases. That said, tweak lists often have these listed as things you should do right away. So, I have these here, but as with any others, if you know what you are doing, understand the downsides to a tweak, and most importantly, have actually measured a positive impact of a specific tweak, then go for it. Just like with the tweaks that are recommended, it can be a challenge to provide a comprehensive list of “do not do” tweaks that would apply to all PCs, Windows versions, and software. Agree, disagree, or otherwise have an opinion on anything here? Please drop me a note in the comments. As with any list of “tweaks”, use these at your own risk and expense. I’ve put this out based on my own experience and research. The tweaks and tips here are not necessarily supported by or recommended by Microsoft, the Windows teams, or the companies involved in building the hardware and software you are using. It’s important to note again that this is an unofficial guide. It’s very important for you to understand the nature of this tweak guide, its support status, and how it is intended to be used. Part 3: What not to do when tweaking your digital audio workstationįor all the caveats and other things to be aware of, please read Part 1.Part 2: What to tweak proactively, and what to consider doing.Part 1: Introduction and PC picking/building.Unless noted, everything covered in the three parts of this series applies to both Windows 10 and Windows 11. This has been a long-running series, and has spanned both Windows 10 and 11 timeframes. December 20th, 2021 1 1 Windows 10 and 11 tweaks, optimizations, and build tips for pro audio workstations / DAWs – Part 3
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