1.3.14 hardware requirement

[pwarborg]

Hi,

I'm new here. I did some search but found no answer...
I've been using audacity on an XP machine occasionally. Now that computer won't do it any more and I'm thinking of getting a new one. Now, there's almost exclusively Windows7 machines out there (I'd like to stick to windows). What I don't understand: The hardware requirements for audacity on an XP box is quite less than for a W7 box! Is W7 RECOMMENTED for the 1.3.x version? - or should I attempt to wipe my new computer and install XP rather? Would it perform much better then, because I have much more RAM and speed as compared to an older XP box? Are there any alternatives, like to limit "undesired" W7 features (I guess they must be there, otherwise why that great hunger for more resources?) and get more performance for working with audacity?

Forgive me if this all sounds very naive, but I'm not so much in computers, more in music...

Thanks for your help and advise!

Pat

[Gale Andrews]

The Audacity requirements for Windows Vista / 7 are higher than for XP because the Microsoft system requirements for Vista / 7 are higher.

XP is fine on current 1.3.14 Beta. Windows 7 will not necessarily be faster than XP unless you have something like the "Audacity recommended" specifications at http://audacityteam.org/download/beta_windows#sysreq.

Don't get 64-bit Windows 7 unless you have some reason to and really have 4 GB of RAM or you will probably find it slower than XP. Audacity will work fine on 64-bit Windows if you have 64-bit sound device drivers, but it is still a 32-bit program so does not have any optimisations for 64-bit Windows.

There are fairly compelling security reasons to prefer Windows Vista / 7 to XP.

Be aware that the audio system on Windows Vista / 7 is very different to XP:
http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Windows_7_OS

But if the XP computer is coming to the end of its useful life, then you should get a new machine anyway.


Gale

[steve]

Is W7 RECOMMENTED for the 1.3.x version?

Audacity 1.3.14 will run perfectly well on Windows XP.

There are fairly compelling security reasons to prefer Windows Vista / 7 to XP.

Which is a shame as Vista/7 can be a lot less friendly for people wanting to record - in particular the "Stereo Mix" option is usually hidden or unavailable: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Mixer ... _Issues#cp

"Security" is much less of an issue for computers that are not connected to the Internet, and the security of Windows XP can be much improved by using a good anti-virus program, anti-malware and firewall. The absolute minimum is to use a good anti-virus program such as AVG (free) or AVAST (free).
Many routers include highly effective firewalls against incoming attack (provided that they are configured correctly).
Spybot-S&D©® is a very good free tool for protection against spyware and some other types of threat http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
Spyware Blaster is a good tool for protecting against Active X vulnerabilities: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

Now that computer won't do it any more

Why not? What's wrong with it?

If you intend to do a lot of audio work it may be worth considering setting up a computer specifically for audio work and using a different computer for your general computing needs (such as word processing, e-mail and Internet browsing).

[pwarborg]

Gale, Steve,

Thanks a lot for your help! Indeed I think my XP box is pretty well protected. I use avira antivir, sygate firewall and spybot and spyblaster. I actually have two of them, one quite old one which got a problem with the display (the guy in the shop told me it's not worth the effort to look into that), the other one is a netbook (VERY small) and I didn't manage to find a line-in option for the soundcard. The mic-in is just screeming, when I connect the guitar or the keyboard or any of my pedals. I checked my girlfriend's W7 laptop and after a half hour's quest found all the hidden devices (stereo mixer and line in). But then I run into a strange thing: The sound from the line-in is DELAYED before I can hear it in the headphones!
I guess this is stuff for another search - or another thread... Already found lots of it on the www. But no answer yet.

Thanks!
Pat

[steve]

The sound from the line-in is DELAYED before I can hear it in the headphones!

Turn off "software playthrough" (Transport menu)

[pwarborg]

Won't do it! What I have are actually two levels of delay. There is one very long delay which can indeed be prevented by switching off the software play-through, but there is a second one, which is shorter, but nevertheless renders the whole system useless. This delay I get even without using audacity. I just set my soundcard (realtek) to use the input (line-in) as source for the output (the only way, it seems, to monitor what I'm playing). Then everything still is delayed by a split second. Impossible to play a fast solo on the guitar. You just get crazy. I wonder if this kind of application is not the most popular one or how comes that nobody else in the forum seems to be aware of this. The www is full of complaints about this "new feature" of windows 7. But there seems to be no solution out there. I just followed your advise and re-activated my old XP box. Stripped it of anything not necessary for recording and attached an external screen. Perfect! And, btw.: I don't get ANY delay there. Not even with audacity 1.3 and the play-through option activated! Strange thing, no?
It's really a pity that this won't work on a brand new windows 7 machine...

[Gale Andrews]

This delay I get even without using audacity. I just set my soundcard (realtek) to use the input (line-in) as source for the output (the only way, it seems, to monitor what I'm playing). Then everything still is delayed by a split second.

You mean the "Listen to this device" feature, I assume?

The www is full of complaints about this "new feature" of windows 7.

The real problem is that most Windows Vista/7 machines have no way of going to the playback side of the sound card and unmuting the input, which sometimes can be done on XP. Isn't that what you are saying? It's a big loss and a small gain, as XP had no "Listen" feature.

I don't get ANY delay there. Not even with audacity 1.3 and the play-through option activated!

I don't really understand that. I only ever had (or had access to) two XP machines where hardware playthrough (unmuting the mic or line-in) actually worked. On one machine, Audacity playthrough did not work when hardware playthrough was on. On the other, Audacity playthrough worked and the delay between the two types of playthrough was very evident.



Gale