I know @Torsten…
My tests are to see if this MSI app is really having effect on glitching. Up to now I have the feeling that glitching is not deterministic, it happens in clusters when it is not expected.
Still testing during these days…
Normally, LatencyMon should show such non-deterministic glitches if you let it run long enough - at least if they’re caused by any system processes.
@Furio, try setting the Latency Monitor to “Interupt to DPC latency” and see if the monitor has the same results. Your picture shows you are set to “Interrupt to user process latency” , it may account for the difference in your 2 monitors. I believe that DPC is the preferred mode for music apps.
After suggestion of @dave_dore, and trying to test all USB plugs.
No way, glitches happen. I have extreme performance on, all known tricks on.
This machine is not suited for audio.
F…k!
uuugh - these two causes for interrupts are naasty. acpi.sys and wfd01000.sys are tough customers. On some laptops, you can get ACPI under control by fiddling with BIOS settings, but some laptops (like my HP gaming lappie) don’t give sufficiend access to the necessary BIOS parameters. Do check your BIOS if there are ACPI settings you can fiddle with.
The wfd01000.sys is usually an indication of issues around (mostly kernel) drivers. Difficult to identify - sometimes updating hardware drivers can help, but some laptops are notorious for DPC latency around this. I’ve heard a number of reports of Gigabyte laptops having issues around this.
One quick thing to check is to try and de-activate your WiFi interface and see if that has any impact. You may need to not only switch WiFi off in the Windows sidebar, but actually de-activate the devices in the device manager. Sometimes this helps, sometimes it doesn’t.
I feel your pain - I’ve been through this with my HP device; in the end nothing really worked. That’s why I’ve moved to a desktop-type device with my Live Cube - power-management is just so intrusive on laptops.
Fingers crossed!
Torsten
I tried just now. Also disabling cabled and wireless network, no way. I found an updated BIOS (December 18th). Installed. No way.
Playing one simple modeled piano, you get glitches every 2-3 minutes.
This is a high performance gaming machine, where real time results should be high priority.
My old notebook was an i7 too, same problems.
I cannot trust wintel machines anymore.
You can be lucky, or not. A new driver can turn everything to disaster.
I will call these companies building “musical workstations” to ask for some test, or some warranty.
But I am quite pessimistic.
Thinking seriously to pass on the enemy side…
Interesting, I’m using 8 year old Lenovo X230’s (16GB RAM with Evo 860 1TB SSD) with a Behringer UMC202HD on two systems. One is Superior Drummer set at 48k / 64 buffers and I can load up any size drum kit and it plays perfectly. The other is my keyboard setup with the identical rig - no glitches at 256 for B-3X, Velvet, OBxd, True Pianos, Minimoog VA, VB3 II/IK Leslie and others that aren’t coming to mind right now 
The processor is an i5 3360. I do have all power management tweaked plus CPU settings recommended and I turn off things like WiFi (that does cause glitches when turned on on the drum setup). I make sure USB 2.0 devices are plugged into USB 2 ports and likewise for USB 3.
An interesting article on the Apple M1 processors from the PC perspective - I think it’s pretty balanced, but not fanboyish 
:
What I take from it:
- Apple have changed the game for low-energy-consumption processors (notebooks) with their fully integrated “system-on-a-chip” architecture in terms of performance-per-watt.
- The M1 is essentially an iPhone chip on steroids - it integrates a lot of functions directly on the CPU that make them faster than having them in software (e.g. encoding / decoding, image processing).
- M1 performance isn’t (yet) in the range of desktop Intel performance - but let’s see how Apple scales up
- The power is in the customization: instead of using off-the-shelf CPUs that Intel sell to everybody, Apple now have functionality and performance tailored exactly to their hardware, OS and software.
Adding to this that the incoming Intel CEO has essentially told his staff to get their s*** together, so they don’t get outclassed by a “lifestyle product company”, I guess Apple have shaken up the market pretty nicely
Could Intel have built something like this? Probably - but also probably their customers wouldn’t have paid the price tag. These guys generate their volume in a mass market at a different price point, so it’s clear where Intel’s focus was in the past years. Unless Apple gain massive market share (currently they’re around 3% if I recall correctly), there is a risk that the two oligopolists may go back to business as usual, ignoring this small market segment.
Let’s see - it will stay interesting. For the moment, I’m not jumping ship - I have all the performance I need, and fortunately, it’s glitch-free ATM 
Cheers,
Torsten
4 Likes
Hi Torsten,
Great reference, good clear information, Thanks!
Dave
I am not fully with you @Torsten.
It is not only low energy consumption.
Efficiency is extremely relevant on servers, notebooks, tablets.
This is not iPhone CPU on steroids.
This is high level computing with much less energy and much better optimization.
Including software: Apple guys made an incredible job with Rosetta allowing fast execution of x86 code on ARM chip.
This is the revenge of RISC architecture against old Intel supremacy using clever software procedures.
It will be fast, AMD and Intel must recover in few years something they lost.
Apple is able to make a tablet run Photoshop with 24 hours battery life, with an operating system in common with smartphones and powerful desktop machines.
This is a revolution.
I could play a 3 hours concert with VSTs live, only with battery and a tablet.
Try to do that with wintel architecture.
I am sorry this is result of a company I don’t like for their extremely close environment. I hate that.
Such as forcing users to have not expandable machines.
But hate cannot make me lose my attention, they made an incredible job.
Let’s see if new 14" and 16" Macs will be more powerful.
And competitors action: Microsoft made a pathetically slow execution of x86 code on ARM, this is extremely important now.
I am thinking to cross the river.
Someone must show me a wintel notebook running 50 tracks of VSTs with low latency and absolutely glitch-free.
If there is no way I will go where it is easy.
This is nice and funny too. To learn where RISC come from…
You seem reeeeally convinced that M1 is absolutely superior to anything else - maybe you should just take the plunge and spend the money on a new MacBook. Come back after some time and tell us if the grass is really greener on the other side
I’ll check out of this thread for now
2 Likes
This is the hard detail…
I spent nearly 2000 euro on a machine that does not work. F…k!
And I am losing so much time fighting.
Next time I want to be convinced BEFORE BUYING that everything runs perfectly.
Virus does not help, I was used to travel for work, so I would have already visited some vendors and tested something, staying at home it is much more difficult…
Anyway, Arturia and Native VSTs (and Korg, and Air, and KV331… ) are not yet completely M1 compliant, so migrating now would be nonsense.
Just speculating about future steps.
How will I heat my music studio if chip makers go this direction? 
1 Like
I, as a committee of one, nominate @Furio to physically test the M1, and report back to the thread. 
Please excuse my warped humor.
1 Like
I agree!
Any subscription to raise money? 
1 Like
At this time, the committee is going through audit, so funds may soon be confiscated by the IRS. All accounts are frozen, and I am avoiding warrant service. So…the answer is NO!
What is IRS?
Internal Revenue Service…the tax police! 
It sounds you are really into that…
My best wishes, mate