Cubase 12 Crackling/Clipping After Upgrading to Ryzen 7 5700G + Mackie Onyx 1•2 Getting Underruns

Hey everyone,

I’ve just rebuilt my DAW around a new AMD Ryzen 7 5700G (using its iGPU for a fifth display) and a Mackie Onyx 1•2 interface—swapping out a Ryzen 5 3600 —and I’m running into persistent crackles, pops, and clipping in Cubase 12 even at 2 048-sample buffers.

My system:

  • CPU: Ryzen 7 5700G (Vega 8 iGPU driving 5th monitor)
  • Mobo: Gigabyte B450 Gaming X (BIOS F67G, XMP on)
  • RAM: 64 GB DDR4-3200 (4×16 GB)
  • GPU: ZOTAC GTX 1070 Ti (Studio driver, clean-installed)
  • Audio interface: Mackie Onyx 1•2 on rear USB 3.0 hub (latest ASIO driver)
  • Storage:
    • OS + pagefile → Lexar NM620 2 TB NVMe (fixed 64 GB pagefile)
    • Cubase projects → Crucial MX500 & Intenso SATA SSDs
    • Two HDDs (media/archive)

Cubase setup:

Version 12 Pro, projects at 48 kHz/24-bit

ASIO4ALL → switched to Mackie Onyx ASIO (still clips under load)

Buffer tested 512 → 2 048 samples (same result)

“Release driver in background” disabled

What I’ve tried so far:

GPU DPC spikes (nvlddmkm.sys ~2 ms):

    Clean Studio-driver install + DDU, disabled NVIDIA HD Audio, set “Prefer maximum performance” → GPU spikes eliminated

Storage DPC/page-faults (CLASSPNP.SYS ~1.2 ms + 20 000+ hard page-faults):

    Moved pagefile off SATA → fixed 64 GB on NVMe, removed on all other disks

    Disabled SysMain, turned off SSD optimization, excluded audio folders from AV & indexing

    Reinstalled AMD chipset drivers, updated SSD firmware

Power & BIOS: High-Performance plan, PCIe Link State PM off, USB power-saving off, PBO on Auto, C-States default

Current results:

LatencyMon (idle) shows no major DPC or page-fault issues

Cubase still produces underruns under moderate project loads (50 audio tracks + Kontakt libraries)
  • Has anyone tamed a 5700G + discrete NVIDIA card for glitch-free audio?
  • Are there any further BIOS tweaks (C-States, PBO, Precision Boost settings) or Windows registry hacks you’ve found helpful?
  • Would a different, ultra-simple USB interface (e.g. Behringer U-Phoria, Focusrite Solo) sidestep whatever is blocking the Onyx?