A new PC for Frédéric L

Frédéric L

I have just purchased a new PC, built from my list of pieces (then I can ask huge SSD, 4 times the 0.5 TB proposed by Dell). The configurator proposed me an overclocked configuration without warning me : a bad idea, I had to disable overclocking in the setup to get a stable configuration. I could have choose a normal 3200 DDR4 RAM, spare money, and some time.

With PCIe4 SSD (M.2 format), the PC is very fast compared with my previous PC with an HDD. I haven’t migrated the VSL samples to the M.2 SSD… but I plan to do it. (They are on SATA SSD).

I have some USB disconnection with my UR22 audio interface : very annoying. Perhaps the UR22 doesn’t like the USB3 port. I will try to exchange some ports.

Very annoying : Native Access doesn’t start !! The idea of getting rid of Bechstein Digital Grand, the Hammersmith, the Embertone, the Native Komplete bundle doesn’t enjoy me.

Then, I am very happy with the speed increase, but not all is pefect… I hope to solve these issues.

n-player

Dell has had some issues with the USB3 ports over the years, including quick disconnection. A few tips to try:

Try different ports on the box (as you mentioned above)
Try a different good quality USB cable
Do not use a USB hub
Check Dell.com for updated USB drivers

Check Steinberg for UR22 drivers

Frédéric L

n-player Check Dell.com for updated USB drivers

It is not a Dell : I have compared Dell and my model (only 0.5TB SSD on Dell compared to 2TB on mine). I have get different pieces of hardware from different source (Intel, MSI, Crucial…) and let’s the shop built the whole think. I will try some Intel drivers (from the MSI site).

HZPiano

Hello,

@Frédéric L, also disable all power saving options on all USB ports and (internal) hubs.

Power saving on USB ports also leads to quick disconnects and re-connects which you certainly don't want with MIDI and audio streams.

Cheers and happy fine-tuning,

EB5AGV

Frédéric L I was lucky enough with my VST PC, as I got a used and cheap generic i5 4th generation one and, hooked to my Yamaha MG10XU mixer, which includes an audio interface and uses Yamaha ASIO drivers, worked flawlessly almost from the beginning. I did what has been suggested, setting off any USB power saving but also SSD power saving and, most important, setting the sample folders (really any VST related folder) as excluded from anti-virus software. This last highly increased loading speed. About software, everything worked at first attempt, including NI Komplete and a plethora of other VSTs.

I have upgraded it during the last three years with a total of 3.5TB of SSD storage, more RAM (16GB), a better processor (i7 4790), a fast graphics card, several displays (two 4k and one Full HD)

I hope you can get your ages-newer brand-new computer working fine soon 👍🏻

Jose

CyberGene

The last time I built a PC desktop from components was 15 years ago and it is exactly such kind of issues that made me switch to Apple. Incompatibilities between components, drivers and stuff. Some people get pleasure while resolving those issues, tinkering with hardware and OS, I have a friend of mine who is like that, he is a gamer and his PC can probably model a nuclear fission in real-time 😀 But if you’re annoyed by all those gremlins, it’s “cheaper” to just buy a ready-made computer, of course by Apple 🤣 And start using it as the tool that it is. Rather than having to constantly tinker with it.

Drew-r

CyberGene Some people get pleasure while resolving those issues, tinkering with hardware and

It seems to me that this modern-day pc/tech angst requiring learning / tweaking/tinkering this/that/other applies to many of the collateral aspects involved with any person in the present trying to advance their piano playing knowledge ….. for sake of discussion, if you decide to buy an AP versus build your own, the former requires a lot less tinkering BUT does eventually require some amount of tinkering, either by yourself or paying somebody else to do the routine tinkering/tuning/maintenance…. likewise for a person who buys a DP who at some point may need to tinker with any of the common settings - velocity, resonances (wanted and unwanted!), reverbs, etc - and the advanced settings, if they don’t have the background learning to begin with, they either need to have somebody else do it for them or they end up flailing and guessing to the point that they figure out some of them or give up or buy a newer/“better” piano….. and ditto for VIs/VSTs, from what ive observed, these usually require at least a nominal amount of tweankering out of the virtual box.

Good luck Frédéric L.

Frédéric L

I did manage to launch Native Access... in fact, I have get a 1.12.0 version of Native Access through their site, but in an other part of the site, it is the version 1.13.5. We can also download a 1.14.1 version (here : https://www.native-instruments.com/f...native-access/). Note : the Zip file doesn't show the version, we have to dig inside.

Then, with the newest version, it works.

I guess Native Access is quite sensitive with the system : it even depends of Open GL and one of their pages ask you to have up to date graphic drivers. Worse than a demanding video game... but it only shows rectangles, text and images.

HZPiano

Frédéric L Worse than a demanding video game... but it only shows rectangles, text and images.

…and you can't even scale the GUI elements of Kontakt, as far as I've seen so far 😟.

Cheers and happy Sunday (-evening, where appropriate),

Frédéric L

Well…. I have disabled the energy saving power off on the USB controller and it seems to work… It is curious to have Windows shutting the port off while it has a continuous stream of audio data !

Then : 1/ overclocking unstability : solved, 2/ Native Access : solved, 3/ USB disconnection : solved (but only tested during 20 minutes).

I guess that Native Access has less trouble with a Mac since Native has less systems to test their applications with… but each upgrade can be worrysome (when Apple demanded the applications to be signed, some apps needed an upgrade…). And I have checked the iMac : 512GB SSD maxi… when I could choose 2TB and still have 2 free M.2 slots if my sample hungriness makes them useful. I could also plug my old SATA SSD and reuse it.

Drew-r

Frédéric L Well…. I have disabled the energy saving power off on the USB controller and it seems to work… It is curious

Just goes to show, a typical retail manufacturer’s idea of “computer logic” often conflicts with the genuinely intelligent thinking human’s common sense logic …. “seldom do the twain meet” as the saying goes …. and may be one of the reason’s my driver’s license application has always had the organ donor ? question clearly marked “NO!” …. because one never knows when a thinking-impaired entity (DMV, for instance) may decide its a good time to harvest the innards of an actual person despite there still being ample life flowing through them 😲

Frédéric, i have not tinkered with PC hardware since the late 90’s ….. but your present experience indicates, again, that no matter how much things change “evolve”( sic), some things remain the same. 🙂