@Fabio_B As usual, thanks for the links!
John_Dahl I see Fabio has linked.*
I found that despite showing no errors using the MMCSS fix did wonders for my machine. No idea why, part of it was it somehow helped me be able to use windows RT midi for the first time and everything worked , but it generally made my new Cubuase 13 at the time system work without crashes, and has continued to do so . I had to re run the MMCSS.exe when I updated to C14 and windows 24H2 recently.*
I can see no downside in running the fix so i do it as a matter of course now.
@John_Dahl that’ s great news …well it’ not, but it is… 
Good to know that pro support from Dell is exatly what it should be 
Good luck with your new machine and I hope it gives you many trouble free years of Cubase use.
I’ve been using C14 now everyday in the studio since it’s release and it’s been faultless for me on my 9950x -RME-UFX III- windows 11 24H2 machine.
Very interesting! Might be an idea to try this out when Dell’s replaced the hardware, that is, in case I stumble upon issues despite the new components.
Thanks a bunch again to everyone! I’ll keep you posted once the new parts are all set for action
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@Norbury_Brook @KT66 @Grim @nickas @Fabio_B @OLiZ
@JuergenP @janosmolnar777 @T20MAN
An update - turned out to be hardware failure in both Motherboard and the processor.
After a failed service attempt and an harsh email from me, Dell concluded they will replace my entire Workstation with a new one.
And as a courtesy they are upgrading the graphics card
Old: AMD Radeon PRO W6400, 4GB, GDDR6, 2DP
replacing with:
NVIDIA RTX A1000, 8GB, GDDR6, 4mDP
Very happy with Dell’s ProSupport - it’s worth every penny, in my opinion.
Seems to be worth the trouble, after all 
Updating once more when the new workstation is up and running.
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Hello again everyone.
For part 1: (Reference to previous thread: Several issues (Brand new XEON based system) - #45 by John_Dahl )
I’ve received an entirely new workstation as a replacement, with an updated graphics card (NVIDIA RTX, 8GB). And yet, I’m still having issues… Yay.
Fabio is still helping out with various troubleshooting and interpreting logs/crash logs. I’m having much fewer crashes now, which is nice, but several problems persist:
-
I’m unable to run a session under 2048 samples of latency with around 140 active plugins (about 70% are from Fabfilter and Plugin Alliance). The rest consists of a few instances of Neutron 5 Compressor, Ozone 11 EQ, and similar plugins. There aren’t more than 10 semi-CPU-heavy plugins in total, and there are 0 active instrument tracks - all are rendered down. When I go under 2048 samples, the entire project goes silent due to ASIO spikes.
-
Before receiving the replacement workstation, I fortunately created a backup of a massive project I’ve been working on for nearly 2 years. I’ve invested countless hours into this project, and half of my soul is buried within this now 99% finished work. This backup proved to be vital - because during a troubleshooting session with Dell, installing various drivers somehow corrupted something deep within the project. The only “sound” coming from the monitors during playback can best be described as tortured demons trying to escape the insanity of Dante’s deepest level of hell - with the master output peaking at +100dB. Even with the monitor volume at 0, sound still came through. This issue persisted when:
(I have video of this sound, let me know if you’re interested in hearing it)
- Opening the project in safe mode with all 3rd party plugins disabled
- After reinstalling Cubase 13
- After purchasing Cubase 14
- Opening older saved versions from several months back
This happened right after installing the drivers (which I then reversed), but by then, every single version of the original project was corrupted. I’m EXTREMELY fortunate to have that backup, which worked perfectly - I only lost about 1.5 weeks of work.
-
I’ve used the MMCSS tool and maximized the number of threads, which actually improved performance. However, I still can’t run any larger project below maximum latency - which is goddamn absurd given this computer’s specifications.
-
I experience constant mini-freezes/lags when pausing/playing inside large projects, and medium to very long freezes when editing in the piano roll.
-
I’m experiencing significant lag when editing audio clips. There’s typically a few seconds freeze before playback begins, and when it does start, the project loads tracks in stages: first 20 audio channels, then 60, then 80, and finally everything. Sometimes the ASIO lag is so severe that I only hear the piano and occasional fragments of drums before the playback catches up to play the entire project."
Updated spec.
- System/Chassi: Dell Precision 5860 Tower
- OS: Windows 11 Pro for Workstations (6 cores plus)
- Graphics card: Nvidia RTX A1000, 8GB GDDR6, 4 mDP
- Processor: Intel Xeon W7-2475X, 20 core, 40, threads
- RAM: 128GB DDR5 (2x 64GB)
- DAW: Cubase 14, latest update
- Audio Interface: SSL 2+
- Plugins: FabFilter PRO-Q4, PRO C2, PRO R2, Softube Plugins from Flow Mastering, Slate Digital, A couple from UAD, Plugin Alliance MegaBundle, Neural DSP, SSL, Oeksound, Sonnox, Pulsar Audio, Native-Instruments 360° PRO and Izotope.
Any takers?
@John_Dahl you haven’t put your audio interface in your system Spec or mentioned what window version you’re running.
perhaps it’s in yor first thread but it would be easier to put all that info in this new thread.
My first thoughts were to try and eliminate your hardware by installing Reaper and trying to replicate your projects (roughly) and see how your machine behaves.
If it’s fine then at least you know your hardware is OK. I know it might seem like a PIA replicating your project but you’ll only have to do this once to rule out hardware issues.
Do you HAve Studio One or Bitwig? I know you can make a DAW project in Cubase and Sudio One /Bitwigwill import it, and vice versa, not sure if Reaper does ‘DAWproject’ import… actually just checked and there’s a script that might work. Even if it’s not 100% this will save you a lot of time and at least it will open everything in your Cubase project in a ready made reaper project so you can test performance.
regarding the 100db noise… I’ve seen this many years ago with plugin denormalising, but I thought that was a thing of the past now.
M
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you haven’t put your audio interface in your system Spec or mentioned what window version you’re running.
Thanks! I’ve added to my specifications!
Do you HAve Studio One or Bitwig? I know you can make a DAW project in Cubase and Sudio One /Bitwigwill import it, and vice versa, not sure if Reaper does ‘DAWproject’ import… actually just checked and there’s a script that might work. Even if it’s not 100% this will save you a lot of time and at least it will open everything in your Cubase project in a ready made reaper project so you can test performance.
Ah interesting! If that converter works I’ll give that a go asap,
Will check out the video right away
I see that all three offer 30-60 day free trials. I feel as Studio One is closest to Cubase DAW-wise. Would you recommend one over the others?
“regarding the 100db noise… I’ve seen this many years ago with plugin denormalising, but I thought that was a thing of the past now.”
That word is very close to demoralizing, which is coincidentally the exact direction my emotional state is turning towards
@John_Dahl I feel you pain. I really do, I know how frustrating this can be.
Yes, if the demo of S1 is fully functional then I’d use that as I’ve succesfully used DAW project between Studio one and Cubase and i works pretty well. I only have V6.x of Studio one and I think V7 works better, but yo just need to be able to get an idea of performance.
I’m having a day off today as I’ve done 7 days straight in the Studio, so I’ll keep an eye on this thread and help if i can.
M
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Thank you, appreciated!
I’m heading to the studio right now to try either Reaper or Studio One!
Just to refresh my memory - are you also working on a Xeon-based system?
@John_Dahl no I have an AMD 9950x and an Apple M1 Max.
I’ve been doing this a long time though so have seen lots of systems come and go and spent 20 years on various tech forums 
M
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Ah got it 
Heading out to the studio in a few minutes to try this out.
Appreciate the help 
Oh and those BIOS settings. I’ve had mixed results when trying out different settings
I’ll go in bios right away and snap a couple of photos of POWER / PERFORMANCE-sections
The current setup has been the best so far, but I most likely haven’t tried the exact combination you suggested.
As of now the base clock speed is around 3,6 Ghz
When disabling either Speedshift/Speedshift (I don’t remember which) it gets “based” at 2,6Ghz
I think the idea is that the dynamic behaviour could be functioning poorly and give lower speeds at the wrong times, but so far the dynamic shifting seems to firmly push the processor to higher performance
Perhaps you have some more insight there
@John_Dahl I’d always start with the default (F5) BIOS sttings. They’re a safe startinig place and if everything is working fine from there you can tweak for extra performance.
Modern CPU’s are designed to be dynamic so I’ve not seen issues with speedstep/turbo boost etc in recent years. That was a thing of the past that still seems to linger. Core parking can be tweaked if you need to , but again I’d start with the default BIOS settings and get Cubase working with Stability first. Then you can work on maxing performance if needed.
M
FYI, you’ve exposed what appear to be “real” email addresses in that screenshot. Might want to edit those out 
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Woah, should’ve been a DM.
Jesus
Thank you!!
To say I’m stressed is an understatement…
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