# REAPER FX/CPU problem is making me insane! Help!



## SpeakInVolumes (Mar 3, 2011)

Hey everybody...

Let me start by saying that if I posted in the wrong place or something, I'm really sorry, it's my first post. And I'm sure there are posts similar to this but this problem (from what I can tell) is kind of addressed on an individual basis depending on what type of computer/hardware you use.

So here it is:

I've just switched from Audition 3.0 to Reaper 3.4 as my main DAW. I got my hands on the Waves Mercury Bundle of plugins, which I absolutely love. The other day I was mixing the first song that I am trying to produce... just messing around with the plugins and getting a feel for the different parameters.

All of the sudden, I try to play back what I just mixed and it started to glitch/stutter like crazy and made the playback pretty much unbearable. I tried researching it like crazy and found that it is a CPU problem. I read and was told that raising my hardware buffer size would fix the problem, so I raised the buffer size to 4096 (highest) and experimented with other controls within Reaper's preferences. It made it a little better (less stutters) but it is still so incredibly hard to work with.

PLEASE HELP!

For Reference:

Dell Inspiron 1525 Laptop PC
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T5550 1.83 GHz Processor
3.00 GB RAM
Windows Vista 32-bit Home Premium Operating System

Line 6 PODxt Live ASIO Driver



Thank you guys so much, I hope you all can help!! 

-Garrett


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## Opion (Mar 3, 2011)

Hopefully someone can chime in with some advice here - I'm experiencing the same exact problem. Sometimes it takes being gentle with Reaper and not trying to do so many things at once, but it's always inevitable - I haven't messed with the buffer size but hopefully, like you said, it's just a CPU problem.


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## KoenDercksen (Mar 3, 2011)

It is indeed a CPU problem...

Try opening your task manager while playing back a song in Reaper with all those plugins, you will see the CPU usage topping out all the time. Your computer has about the same processor as mine, and I don't have to do much to max mine out... 

What can help is rendering as much as possible so you have to run as little plugins as you can while playing back. Just render single tracks to do that.

If you do not see the CPU usage max out, then there's something else wrong.. But I'm pretty sure it's your CPU.

To make this stuttering etc. less, increasing the buffersize helps, and running as little other shit as possible helps a lot as well. For example, don't browse the web or chat on MSN or something, just shut down everything that you don't need. I often even take my internet cable out and just work offline, shut down firewalls and antivirus software as well.

Basically try to give your DAW all your CPU power!

*edit*

Also, what I found is that when you use the Asio4All driver instead of the POD asio driver, it makes stuff run a lot smoother as well. But maybe that's just my weird laptop


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## manana (Mar 3, 2011)

Its simply this- You have an old and slow cpu. The stuttering is basically the cpu not being able to load all the information quickly enough. First of all, upgrade reaper because its on version 3.75 or so. You can try using the asio4all driver with the maxiumum buffer size(for playback not recording) or just upgrade your computer if you can.


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## Inazone (Mar 3, 2011)

How many tracks are you working with? How many plug-ins? Reaper is a pretty resource-efficient DAW, so unless you're up to a high track count or really running a lot of plug-ins (or a few with very high CPU utilization) it shouldn't be so severe. I would suggest using a process of elimination to figure out if it's a particular plug that is causing the problem before you start drastically changing your settings.


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## Andromalia (Mar 3, 2011)

Well, if you have say 12 tracks each with EQ and a compressor VST, that kinf of PC will be in trouble. Not even talking of using SD2.0 with the relatively important RAM the samples require if you haven't recorded the drums yet.


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## theclap (Mar 3, 2011)

I just started having a similar problem. first off, < 4 gb ram and your in trouble in this neck of the woods for recording. before i was running smoothly in reaper. I run through a toshiba laptop 4 gb ram and i run it to protools compatability, i.e. wireless internet off, no integrated graphics, 7200 rpm hard drives and an external hd for daws and plugins etc.(facepalm). Reaper just recently started maxing my ram out, i was running 64 bit so i assumed the bridging of the non-64 bit plugins was causing the problem since ozone is about the only 64 bit plugin i use. I switched to the regular reaper and it got a little better, but still isn't where it was a couple weeks ago. Check your idle programs, try turning off your internet. and use asio4all, so awesome.

lastly, when i use my mbox mini i have a similar glitch problem. i have to either change the max buffer size or restart the interface, fuckin pain in my ass. I can provide clips if you would like to compare glitches it some times happens just randomly but seems to be mainly caused by the hard drive getting vibrations from my knee hitting my desk or something, very esoteric.


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## TimTomTum (Mar 3, 2011)

I have an similiar notebook. And it is definitly the CPU.
My RAM is always at about 1,5GB, so no problem there.
Maybe we should just get us some new computers


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## KoenDercksen (Mar 3, 2011)

New computer time indeed, I'm going to upgrade as well once I have enough money!


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## ba55i5t (Mar 3, 2011)

First this.

DPC Latency Checker

Download and check your latency. If it's constantly above 300 us (in the yellow), then you are in trouble.

If there's an occasional spike in your latency then do the following

Start -> Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Device Manager 

Then click "Battery" 

Disable ACPI Battery *something* (Im not on my laptop right now)

Also, disable anything else you're not using (network router, wifi adapter, cd-rom, etc.)

Only have Reaper open


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## shredguitar7 (Mar 3, 2011)

it could just be a particular VST that you are using. i know the mercury bundle had a few things that were cpu hogs. in reaper while your playing things back, go to view then performance meter. it will show you which track is taking up the most power.. just a thought.. but most likely your computer..


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## SpeakInVolumes (Mar 4, 2011)

I am blown away, thank you all so much! I have mad love for all of you, all great suggestions. I also contacted Reaper Support and they had a few suggestions as well... I'm not on my computer until later but I will definitely follow up with all of you personally as soon as possible!

You're all now my best friends.

-Garrett


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## SpeakInVolumes (Mar 5, 2011)

Ok so I disabled the FX on my lead guitar tracks... the plugins I am using for lead are: REQ 6 bands, L3 MultiMaximizer, and TrueVerb. I tried this with other tracks, but when I disabled the lead (with buffer size peaked), it seemed to run smoothly. But I'm pissed because I really liked how the leads were sounding.

I've been trying to mix/release this track forever and I keep getting setbacks... it's like God doesn't want me to EVER release it.

WHY ISN'T THERE JUST A WAY TO USE THE PLUGINS THAT I WANTTT


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## shredguitar7 (Mar 5, 2011)

its the L3 man.. atleast i think it is.. thats really not to be used for that kind of application, more for mastering. not that you cant use it for what you are. but its a cpu hog in certain areas.


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## SweepsAllDay (Mar 5, 2011)

If you like how the lead sounds just re-enable the fx when you render your finished song. It won't mess up the render. I'm alway clicking stuff off in reaper when it's for a part of the song that isn't currently playing at the moment. Just remember to re-enable it before you render everything.


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## SpeakInVolumes (May 20, 2011)

Yo guys I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who responded. I know this is a late response, but I got extremely excited after SweepsAllDay commented... I tried your approach and it worked perfectly! Thank all of you again. You can check out my first mix by going to LEVELS' facebook page or soundcloud.com/LEVELSmetal. We have a new song coming out soon that is a huge step up.

Thanks again everybody!


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