TD-30+PC w/ ESI Juli@ XTe PCIe+SD2.3

[HeimVSchlagzeuger]

How does this setup look?
Roland TD-30 to ESI Juli@ XTe in a Windows 7/8 64-bit touch screen SD2.3 workstation?

The workstation’s specs are: i7 3770K overclocked to 5GHz, 8GB of CAS 7 DDR3 1600 RAM, Z77 MSI mobo, the ESI Juli@ XTe PCIe sound card, and a 128GB SSD.

This workstation will be stripped down software-wise to only house Windows 7/8 64-bit and SD2.3 + whatever expansions that are purchased in the near future. I am looking for the lowest possible latency with this setup, if anyone can recommend any other components, please let me know.

I am worried about things such as jitters, snaps, crackling, buzzing, line noise, etc, that can be caused by some of the computer components. Are the PC’s case fans going to cause any problems as far as interference/line noise/buzzing, etc goes? Does my choice of power supply factor into this?

I really want a clean setup that gets the job done flawlessly, and if not flawlessly, then as close as possible! Please let me know if I am overlooking anything, or if you need anymore information. Shonen Dank.

Topic

[Damian Blunt]

The system looks good and more than fulfills the minimum specs required. Personally with a system as powerful as that I would not think about overclocking and would favour lower heat / stability. I would also think about more storage. If you decide to buy any SDX expansions that 128gb is going to get eaten up pretty quick. I have an SSD system drive and store my samples on a separate hdd.

Although the RAM is more than adequate it is cheap so it maybe worth considering going for more. Also find out what the optimum ram configuration for your motherboard is to ensure that it is performing at at’s best.

ESI make excellent low latency audio interfaces but have you thought about using the TD-30’s onboard audio interface? It may be worth a try to see if the performance is good enough before spending extra money.

Unfortunately there are no guarantees that a bespoke system is going to operate flawlessly but if you have done your research on the motherboard and other hardware components then the system you mention sounds great.

Damian Blunt - Toontrack
Quality Assurance
Betatesting

[HeimVSchlagzeuger]

Thanks, Damian.

How much space will I need for Superior Drummer 2.3 + one expansion kit, maybe two? I’m thinking at least 20GB per install, so, 60GB should be sufficient, correct? A full Windows install is only about 20GB, so, perhaps a 128GB drive will be adequate enough?

Also, about latency, wouldn’t overclocking the CPU only help out that much more? Is there a point of diminishing returns?

Yes, I have thought about using the TD-30 alone, however, wouldn’t connecting it via USB slow things down, because the PC will have to offload the MIDI signal conversion to the raw hardware and not something specialized to do so, such as a high-end PCIe sound card?

Thanks.

[John]

Disk space required totally depends on SDX; The Roots Sticks and The Metal Foundry both take up around 35GB each for full installs, whereas the C&V and the N.Y. Vol2 go for about 12GB each.

Theoretically, using the built-in USB port for sending MIDI to the computer and Local Control set to OFF in the module should yield lower latency than sending MIDI to another MIDI interface connected to your computer.
I would imagine using another interface (with well-written drivers) for audio playback would be better but you at least have the option to try before you invest in one.

BR,
John

John Rammelt - Toontrack
Technical Advisor

[Damian Blunt]

The biggest SDX’s are around 35gb, thats Metal Foundry and Roots Sticks. The others are smaller. If you are only going to use S2 with one or two expansions then 128gb may be enough.

A modern processor should easily run at the lowest buffer size typically 32 samples for a lot of professional audio cards without overclocking, especially if you are using a single instance of S2. If you start using a lot of effects that could potentially eat up CPU but a processor such as the one you mention should be more than up to the job. Buffer size also depends on the values available in the host you are using and for glitch free low latency performance the audio card drivers need to be well written.

Often PCI and PCIe are the best option, however USB 2 can give excellent performance. I get better results from my RME babyface than I did from my hdsp 9632. I’m not sure about the audio interface in the TD-30 but Roland have produced many low latency audio interfaces so there is no reason to believe that it should’nt work ok.

Damian Blunt - Toontrack
Quality Assurance
Betatesting

[HeimVSchlagzeuger]

My kit is pretty doggone big: 5 toms, 2 snares, kick drum, hi-hat and 9 cymbals. And you can bet your right trigger finger that I’ll be using sounds for every single one of them. I might have to use two instances of SD2.3, that’s where the worry about processor and RAM performance comes in.

I see the RME Babyface mentioned quite a lot, any idea if the PCIe RME card will outperform it?

Also, how well does SD2.3 work with Windows touch screen capabilities? Thanks.

[Author]

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