Syntrillium Backup Forums :: View topic

Syntrillium M.D. · Location: USA

Hello everyone. This information is largely related to 2.0, but will apply to essentially any version of Cool Edit. Keep in mind, these are 'suggestions'...for more information, you can also check out the Knowledge Base.

With 2.0's dockable, re-sizeable windows (and customizable) interface, it's easy to leave everything open, big and in focus. This, of course, will add a little more weight to your system, particularly if you're keeping the Multitrack Mixer window open. That's not to say that you shouldn't (the default window placements are quite solid on an average-fast machine)...but here's some suggestions for making things run a bit smoother...

Buffers and Cache: (from my personal setup)

I've mentioned many times that I use a host of Delta cards (66 & 1010) and in the not-to-distant past was also using a Layla 24. All of this under a 1GHz, PIII with 512mb RAM and using...uh huh...WinMe. Here's what I recommend if your setup is remotely similar; either way, you might want to give this a try...(note...these are merely suggestions. I cannot guarantee that this will improve performance, as each system is different, and as you all know, there are many things that are key to optimizing a computer for full-time digital audio)

Options>Settings>System: 1 sec, 8 buffers, Min. Preview 250ms (default)
Wave Cache: 32768 (we've changed the way the cache is used for 2.0; if you've got 128/256mb RAM, I'd recommend at least 16384. I don't see any benefits going above 32768.

Options>Settings>Multitrack: 1, 8, 2, 8, 2. Correct for Start Sync checked. (now, you will most definitely want to uncheck this box if doing any type of SMPTE/MTC mastering or slaving with CEP2. Some soundcards benefit greatly with this checked. More high-end soundcards, it's 50/50...so if you experience sync issues when multitracking, this might be the cause)

Smooth Auto-Scroll During Playback...Unchecked. If you've got a solid machine with a good video card (and lots of RAM), you might want to check this to impress your friends. Keep in mind that this is 'heavy' stuff, and is really not a necessity. Without it checked, CEP will 'page' the display just as it did in 1.2a. I will say that on my P4, 1.7 machine, this function works pretty well...(IRQ sharing and other problems eliminated)

32-bit Premix...Checked.

Also, the same rules apply as they did in 1.2. 16-bit color is preferred; always check IRQ settings. Particularly with 2000 and XP, it's best to disable all services that are unnecessary (and there are lots of them) especially if you're not networked. And, it goes without saying...if you don't need to have lots of things running in the background (ie, live update software, real-time virus protect