Windows 8 - NOT an Audio Bust

Jaguar

Well-Known Member
Aug 2, 2010
221
17
1,575
Bellevue, WA
This is to correct my prior thread. I had been doing some work with Windows 8.1 for the upcoming Jaguar music server product. I held off on Win 8, because nobody liked the interface for a desktop machine, but 8.1 corrected that problem a bit.

After a few evenings of optimizing the OS I was alarmingly not able to get the latency below 1,000ns, when I would have expected it to be in the tens at that point (thus my post post that it had issues for high quality audio playback). However, AudioArcher pointed out that the website for the DPC Latency software I was using for measurement indicated that the software was not updated and did not work with Win 8.

I switched to Resplendence LatencyMon, which was updated for Win 8 and while not as quick and easy yields a lot more information. Below are the results for the comparison tests I did between Win 7 and Win 8.1. The figures could be lowered substantially with BIOS optimizations; this was with the default BIOS settings, but everything was the same with both measurements, I just switched the drives on the same machine. Win 8 has several new services that are required for stability or cannot be defeated in the Services menu. I had about six running in Win 7 and fifteen running in Win 8, but it may be possible to turn off a few of those fifteen in the registry (depends on whether it impacts the stability or bootability). In-short, they look very similar when comparing the average latency, which is where I would focus (note that this does not indicate how the two would compare in an unmodified state). Win 8 should be capable of equal or better performance as Win 7 after it's fully tweaked.


Here are the measurement results:


Windows 7

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONCLUSION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your system appears to be having trouble handling real-time audio and other tasks. You are likely to experience buffer underruns appearing as drop outs, clicks or pops. One problem may be related to power management, disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup. Check for BIOS updates.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:01:01 (h:mm:ss) on all processors.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SYSTEM INFORMATION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Computer name: WIN-8T2URRUQEER
OS version: Windows 7 , 6.1, build: 7600 (x64)
Hardware:
CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU 540 @ 3.07GHz
Logical processors: 4
Processor groups: 1
RAM: 1847 MB total


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU SPEED
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reported CPU speed: 3066.0 MHz
Measured CPU speed: 3363.0 MHz (approx.)

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.

Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 3661.376898
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 7.464313

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 187.326260
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 1.74850


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED ISRs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.

Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 101.725375
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: ataport.SYS - ATAPI Driver Extension, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0.039375
Driver with highest ISR total time: ataport.SYS - ATAPI Driver Extension, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0.047748

ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 21384
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED DPCs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 188.847032
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: ntoskrnl.exe - NT Kernel & System, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0.031164
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: ataport.SYS - ATAPI Driver Extension, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0.086780

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 41383
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-999 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.

NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit.

Process with highest pagefault count: latmon.exe

Total number of hard pagefaults 1
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 1
Highest hard pagefault resolution time (µs): 12163.695042
Total time spent in hard pagefaults (%): 0.004983
Number of processes hit: 1


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PER CPU DATA
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.227151
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 63.853881
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 0.042679
CPU 0 ISR count: 8834
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 188.847032
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 0.118712
CPU 0 DPC count: 28391
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.319950
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 101.725375
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0.027015
CPU 1 ISR count: 4325
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 108.904110
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 0.026237
CPU 1 DPC count: 2724
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.111718
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 58.139596
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0.027476
CPU 2 ISR count: 4871
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 57.031963
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0.043668
CPU 2 DPC count: 7708
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.326516
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 62.456295
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0.019386
CPU 3 ISR count: 3354
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 96.375734
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0.023220
CPU 3 DPC count: 2560
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________




Windows 8.1

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONCLUSION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your system appears to be suitable for handling real-time audio and other tasks without dropouts.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:01:00 (h:mm:ss) on all processors.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SYSTEM INFORMATION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Computer name: JAGUAR_WIN8_1
OS version: Windows 8 , 6.2, build: 9200 (x64)
Hardware:
CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU 540 @ 3.07GHz
Logical processors: 4
Processor groups: 1
RAM: 1847 MB total


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU SPEED
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reported CPU speed: 3067.0 MHz
Measured CPU speed: 3363.0 MHz (approx.)

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.

Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 71.458338
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 8.913789

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 19.701131
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 1.753383


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED ISRs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.

Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 58.156505
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: USBPORT.SYS - USB 1.1 & 2.0 Port Driver, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0.001977
Driver with highest ISR total time: USBPORT.SYS - USB 1.1 & 2.0 Port Driver, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0.003464

ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 1134
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED DPCs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 69.592436
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: ntoskrnl.exe - NT Kernel & System, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0.028999
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: ntoskrnl.exe - NT Kernel & System, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0.050663

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 25394
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-999 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.


Process with highest pagefault count: none

Total number of hard pagefaults 0
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 0
Highest hard pagefault resolution time (µs): 0.0
Total time spent in hard pagefaults (%): 0.0
Number of processes hit: 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PER CPU DATA
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.204216
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 55.197261
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 0.002441
CPU 0 ISR count: 284
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 69.592436
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 0.106540
CPU 0 DPC count: 22147
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.301915
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 56.090642
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0.002454
CPU 1 ISR count: 295
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 66.706228
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 0.004210
CPU 1 DPC count: 1030
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.047488
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 52.814477
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0.001805
CPU 2 ISR count: 294
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 57.670688
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0.005224
CPU 2 DPC count: 1080
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.360878
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 58.156505
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0.001674
CPU 3 ISR count: 261
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 62.011086
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0.006537
CPU 3 DPC count: 1137
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 

jkeny

Industry Expert, Member Sponsor
Feb 9, 2012
3,374
42
383
Ireland
Yea, hope this isn't too contentious/controversial but it sounds better too!!
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing