Alternative for Audacity?

  • Thread starter Thread starter sharkhead
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sharkhead

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Hey guys,
I recently decided to make my own music podcast. I mixed six songs, made a podcast of 30 mins. I mixed all the songs in Audacity. I don't have any external mixing gear. I work on my PC only. So after I made the whole podcast, I used to play it. Plays fine, but when I record it, the CPU usage goes till 100 and there are too many interruptions. So its no fun. I also found out that there is significant quality loss.
My PC config is bit outdated(windows xp p4 processor and 2 gb ram without sound card).
So wanted to ask if there is any alternative for Audacity which consumes less CPU memory.
This question seems bit technical, but is there any tech guy out there who could help me here?
 
Audacity is pretty much stripped down already imo.
I didn't quite get what are you recording and how?

The best thing is to upgrade your computer a bit. Go buy some ram - it's the most cheapest and useful thing you can do. Also exit all other programs that are running - internet, messaging...
 
Umm, the thing is my comp is ddr2 compatible so cant increase RAM.
As you said I always exit all applications and also kill background processes from Task Manager.
I don't produce my own, just add few tracks and sync the beats manually and play is as one piece and make it a nonstop mix of 30 mins. But when I start the recording, the output has too many interruptions due to CPU usage to 100%.
 
sharkhead said:
Umm, the thing is my comp is ddr2 compatible so cant increase RAM.
Click to expand...
Um, why not? They still sell ddr2, I see 4gb's of Kingston ram selling at 55€ at my local store.
sharkhead said:
I don't produce my own, just add few tracks and sync the beats manually and play is as one piece and make it a nonstop mix of 30 mins. But when I start the recording, the output has too many interruptions due to CPU usage to 100%.
Click to expand...
For making just a mix, maybe a DJ-software would be better? Here's a free one:
Mixxx - Free MP3 DJ Mixing Software
 
I'm afraid I have to agree. Audacity is probably the most stripped down DAW you can get--any of the normal recommendations would be heavier rather than lighter on CPU use.

That said, I've run pretty elaborate multitrack mixes with some real time effects on an old XP machine with 2 gig RAM using Adobe Audition (which uses a lot more CPU than Audacity. Therefore, I'd be tuning up your computer a bit. HERE'S an article about optimising an XP machine for audio that might help.

You might also try a programme like "End it All" to find even more programmes and processes to shut down. Also, don't forget to shut down any wifi and anti virus stuff you have running--they're deadly doing sound work.
 
+1 to Bobbsy. It sounds like you need to optimize Windows XP, which means turning off everything else that doesn't relate to music or the O/S. If this is also a PC you use to play Wizard of Halon XI, surf the internet and balance your check book, don't, at least not when you're doing music. Automatic updates for Windows or your virus scanner can also be a big resource hog, and some versions of XP have a memory leak associated with it. Also run msconfig from the start/run and uncheck things like reader_sl, etc. You could also turn off or disconnect from the internet, and shutdown your virus scanner.
 
Thats ridiculous latency. Try this latency test program and slowly disable hardware to find whats doing it. You said no soundcard? What makes the sounds? Onboard sound? That's still a soundcard... OOPS I can't post a URL... Put w w w in front of this next link... it is the famous "DPC Latency Checker"...

thesycon.com/dpclat/dpclat.exe
 
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█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌;3959875 said:
Thats ridiculous latency. Try this latency test program and slowly disable hardware to find whats doing it. You said no soundcard? What makes the sounds? Onboard sound? That's still a soundcard... OOPS I can't post a URL... Put w w w in front of this next link... it is the famous "DPC Latency Checker"..,
Click to expand...

Best username EVER.
 
:D

Somebody have a barcode reader in their smartphone maybe and could check it out?
 
Maybe he's related to that guy from Minneapolis. You know, the Purple Rain guy? I forget his name....
 
Blue Jinn said:
...the Purple Rain guy? I forget his name....
Click to expand...

This guy?
image.webp
 
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