This article refers to VSTi instruments in general
While nowadays even the cheapest low-power notebooks (see above) or laptop computers have enough
cpu power to run virtual instruments (VSTi) they nevertheless need some optimization
for this application since they are optimized for office use and lowest power consumation
out from the factory and not for the use of virtual instruments.
In unoptimized state the sound output can produce crackling even when using ASIO drivers
and even if the cpu power is more than sufficient.
The optimization however is easy to do and includes these three measures:
1. Use ASIO drivers instead of windows system drivers
2. Switch the power management to high performance
3. Switch the processor scheduling to background services
Here are these three measures described in detail:
1. Use ASIO drivers instead of windows system drivers
Windows system audio drivers aren't suited for playing virtual instruments since
they produce too much audible delay and aren't optimized for this job. That's why
you need to install dedicated ASIO drivers which aren't included in the system.
So if you don't use an external audio interface and just use the onboard
sound then download and install the free ASIO drivers from Asio4all:
http://www.asio4all.com/
Once installed choose them as your used audio drivers in the audio properties of your
vst host. They should show up as "ASIO: ASIO4ALL v2". If you can choose a buffer size
then choose 512 which should give you a reasonable low latency. You also could try 256
which would result in lower latency but higher cpu load.
If Asio4all should deliver no
sound when it's active then do the following to prevent the windows GS wavetable synth to be always active and blocking asio4all if not
wanted: Open the Control panel->Hardware and Sound->Sound->doubleclick on Speakers->Advanced->uncheck exclusive mode. If you have several
playback devices do this for each of them. Now reboot your system and check if it works now.
If there's still no sound and the playback device in the Asio4all panel's expert settings is marked red saying it
could be in use by another device then check if really all other applications that use audio are closed including
web browser. If you have windows 8 this also could be a metro app still running in the background like e.g.
"Video". You could see this too in the task manager. To launch this one press "ctrl + alt + delete" and then
choose task manager. Here you can see all running apps including metro apps. You could directly close it from
here by selecting the app and choose "end task". But you also can close a metro app by going to the metro area, grab
the app on the top and drag it to the bottom until it disappears. In windows 8.1 there should appear a top bar when moving the mouse
into the top right corner of the app which allows you to close it like a desktop app by clicking the cross icon at the top right.
If there's still no sound
then open the advanced settings of the asio4all control panel and here check "always resample 44.1kHz <-> 48 KHz".
This trick still should fix possible sample rate incompatibilities.
However note that even if asio4all with onboard sound works well a dedicated external usb
audio interface in most cases still will allow for lower latencies when it offers its own
dedicated ASIO drivers and last but not least in most cases too offers a far better and more
transparent sound since it normally includes far better digital-to-analog converters than
computer internal onboard souncards. So if you're serious about sound and want to get the
best out of a virtual instrument then get a decent external audio interface. But for basic
needs the asio4all drivers will do the job.
However even using ASIO drivers there can be crackling when your laptop hasn't been optimized
for running virtual instruments. This however is extremely easy to do:
2. Switch the power management to high performance
Power management to high performance: Open the control panel (win 7: start->control panel, win 8:
charmbar->settings->control panel), and here choose "system and security" -> power options, and here
check the "high performance" option. Once it's chosen click on "change plan setting" and set all
time fields to "never".
3. Switch the processor scheduling to background services
Processor scheduling to background services: Open the control panel (win 7: start->control panel, win 8:
charmbar->settings->control panel), and here choose "system and security" -> "system" and here doubleclick
"advanced system settings" on the left side. In the settings window choose the "advanced" tab, and in the
"performance" section click on the "settings" button. In the performance options window choose the "advanced" tab and
here in the "processor scheduling" section select "background services" instead of programs and apply.
This will do the trick and your laptop is ready for playing vst instruments.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Note that you always should connect your laptop
to the power supply when playing the synth and not run it from the battery since in battery mode even when optimized
there are power-saving processes active which limit the performance. Furthemore the laptop then also won't deliver enough power
to the USB bus to supply the attached MIDI keyboard with the needed power. So always connect your laptop
to the power supply when playing the synth.
Further related questions:
How can I play a VST instrument like a standalone instrument?
If you need a very light and easy to install VST host which allows to play a VSTi like a
standalone instrument then have a look at Hermann Seib SaviHost. We have the download
link and an installation guide on the demo version page of OP-X PRO-II (check the "VST Host" box):
Download Savi Host
For pure stand-alone application the best install the instrument to an easily accessible non protected place like
your documents folder and not to the default path. After installation is finished you then should find a folder
called "SonicProjects" in your documents folder. Place the SaviHost file into this folder then and rename it to the
name of the plugin. Doublecklicking it then should launch the plugin as standalone, and you then still only need to
set your audio and midi devices from Devices->Wave and Devices->MIDI.
For details check the description and the video
on the page above. For easy access you can create an alias on the desktop by right-clicking the red diamond icon and choose
send->desktop (shortcut). Then you easily can launch the instrument from the desktop.
What system specs (cpu/ram) are needed to run OP-X PRO-II?
As said to simply play one instance of OP-X PRO-II (which is our most demanding plugin
cpu-wise) today even the cheapest and most basic laptops should suffice. Regarding operating
system everything from Windows XP SP2 up (so also windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 etc.) will work fine.
Regarding RAM more always is better, but for just playing one instance like a standalone
instrument RAM is no topic at all (one instance maybe needs 30mb at the maximum). But for sequencing
using several tracks and instruments a minumum of 2GB (better 4GB) is recommended.
The most critical point is the CPU since a virtual analog synth like OP-X PRO-II needs a lot of cpu power
to calculate its sound. So the more powerful the cpu is the better. But as said, today the cpus of even the
cheapest laptops in most cases are sufficient to at least run it as standalone instrument.
If you haven't bought a laptop yet and want to go sure its cpu is powerful enough then you can
roughly evaluate it by looking for its cpu mark on cpubenchmark.net which is a very helpful page
to compare cpus. The easiest to find out the cpu mark of your cpu by typing in this expression
in google search which should lead you directly to the dedicated page. Replace YourCPUModel with
the name of the cpu:
YourCPUModel site:cpubenchmark.net
So as example, if you want to find out the cpu mark for the Intel N3520 then type in:
Intel N3520 site:cpubenchmark net
which will lead you to this page.
As you can see here the cpu mark for the Intel N3520 reads 1847.
The read out cpu benchmark should not be lower than 800 for a smooth operation. So in this example
the N3520 with its 1847 is more than sufficient and even will allow for multiple instances.
However note that this number is just a rough indicator and can't be taken as absolute since there are
many factors that determine how a cpu will handle a virtual instrument. So the best is ALWAYS to check
out the demo version which uses exactly the same cpu power as the full version. If the demo version works
well then also the full version will. Here's the demo version of OP-X PRO-II:
Download demo version
Application example:
Finally just as an example that OP-X PRO-II even can be run in cheap low power notebooks
for pure stand-alone playing here's OP-X PRO-II running in a tiny 10" (screen to small to show the full GUI)
low-power Atom netbook (we however recommend a slightly faster cpu since this one is a bit too
weak to use the full polyphony) using SaviHost as host and onboard sound using asio4all and
an usb MIDI keyboard attached over usb for playing:
Don't hesitate to contact us by email if your question could not be answered here.
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