Looking for Solution to nForce 4 Chipset

[WelchRecording]

I've been having audio glitch problems using my PreSonus FireStudio Project and found that the problem was my motherboard.

I've gone as far as to purchase an extra PCIe FireWire 400 card, 4 GB DDR-400MHz RAM (4x1GB), and a new AMD Opteron 185 Processor (2.6GHz). But, it would seem that after reading PreSonus' compatibility documentation and after doing a lot of research on Google and such that the cause for all of the bad sync with FireWire and bad audio performance is because of my motherboard (ASUS A8N-SLI) because of it's nForce 4 chipset.

ULi M1697 is the only other chipset I can find that supports my CPUs (Socket 939), and I've been looking around for hours to see if it has any compatibility issues or poor performance with FireWire, audio, etc. and have yet to come up with anything. What I'm worried about, however, is that the only obvious difference from ULi M1697 and nForce 4 is that the M1697 only has PCIe slots.

It's very important that I get a solution and need to find a new motherboard. I'd get a completely different kind of motherboard, but I don't want to waste a $300 dual-core CPU so i'm looking to keep with the same socket-type.

Does anyone think that I'd be wasting my money and simply need to get a new CPU/Motherboard combination or would this be a reasonable fix?

 

[Bristol Posse]

I'd say try it but make sure the retailer has a good RMA policy, if newegg has MOBOs for this chip try them they have a pretty decent return policy

This is always the problem using server boards and chips for home audio computing is that there is generally a very narrow range of component choices and so compatability can be an issue

Good luck

 

[WelchRecording]

Newegg and most other retailers don't even sell Socket 939 chips anymore since they've been replaced by AM2 and beyond (where you normally click buy it says "No Longer Available"), so I'll have to find a bargain store or an eBay shop. (Yikes...)

Of course before I buy more equipment I'm making sure to do everything possible to make sure this isn't solvable by software (updated BIOS, chipset drivers, turning off unused devices, software updates, etc.) And if anyone's aware of a way to get a Socket 939 CPU to work on another socket type that'd be the bee's knees at this point in time.

 

[Bristol Posse]

Of course before I buy more equipment I'm making sure to do everything possible to make sure this isn't solvable by software (updated BIOS, chipset drivers, turning off unused devices, software updates, etc.).

Unlikely I'm afraid. A lot of audio gear specifically states it just doesn't play nice with nForce (or clones thereof) south bridges no matter what configuration or devices are on the busses or even which CPU manufacturer/socket type is on the north bridge

 

[pipelineaudio]

That's a Dice-II soundcard. Don't let them try and blame it on the nforce chipset. We found no difference between the nforce 4 on our dual opteron than the TI on our p4's and quads, it sucked in every case

 

[WelchRecording]

That's a Dice-II soundcard. Don't let them try and blame it on the nforce chipset. We found no difference between the nforce 4 on our dual opteron than the TI on our p4's and quads, it sucked in every case

Is there any kind of work-around?

My cousin, who is an audio equipment retailer, uses a stack of FireStudio projects and a PreSonus StudioLive mixer which seems to be the same thing with a mixer and more inputs and they're in full operation though I'm not sure what kind of computer he's running beyond that it's a PC.

When I first built this computer it was meant for gaming more than pro audio (SAPPHIRE ATI HD 3870 512MB PCIe graphics card - used to be good when they introduced ATI HD 3xxx series cards) and it really makes me regret using the nForce 4 chipset just because of the SLI support for two graphics cards.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that it works fine with no glitchy audio when I put the samples to 2048 and above, but I need to be able to work without latency and so I've been keeping it at 960 samples even though it still gives me a few sound farts every 15-30 or so seconds.

EDIT: Found the problem, it's the way NVidea implemented the PCIe/PCI busses. The priority is given entirely to the graphics card on the first PCIe slot and causes latency/pops/clicks/etc. in firewire audio. My FireWire card is on the other PCIe slot, so I can't use PCI Latency Tool to change the priority of the graphics AND firewire card. Is there anyway to do something similar of PCI Latency Tool with PCIe cards?

 

[WelchRecording]

Problem has been solved!

(I'm mainly posting this for someone who might google for the same problem.)

It turns out that the solution to this problem with nForce4 is to have a PCI-Express FireWire 400 card (which I did). The pops and clicks were still occuring due to my 2GHz Athlon X2 3800 CPU. I just upgraded the CPU to the AMD Opteron 185 (2.6GHz) and can record all my drum inputs, bass, and guitar at the same time with no interrupted audio.

Thanks for all the input! I look forward to helping others and sharing information further on this message board!