Sound shift

Don't know if there is a thread about that pb, i don't find it.
So : since i used the 1.4.6 version (and may be before, but impossible to know why), the sound of the entire program (even the floppy drive emulated sound) is shifted. It arrive with 2sec in late after the real action.
I really don't understand what's happening, i've never got this before.
Never i changed my PC nor my personnal winuae config (wich match MY real Amiga 500 - still in his box ).

Is there someone helpfull ?

Thanks in advance.

[andy]

Welcome to the forums.

If you are playing pre-AGA games (like on your A500), try:

1. Using 'Quickstart', selecting an A500 or A500+ model and choose a standard configuration;

2. Reduce the Sound Buffer size (it is often at '4', which can produce the lag that you describe);

3. Adjust the CPU and Chipset Emulation sliders.

Should you want your own custom config, it is worth starting a new one for the WinUAE that you are using.

Bonne chance!

Hi there,
I think I've got the same problem on my eeePC 901.
The sound plays correctly, but ~2 sec. later the same sound is played more quietly with some crackling in the background. It's nearly unplayable...I can put up a sound file, if that helps.
The only way (I know) to avoid this problem is to play in fullscreen-mode with v-sync. Every other tested config doesn't work.

Any ideas?

[TCD]

Hi Troublemaker,

does changing the sound buffer setting make any difference? How high is your CPU usage when the sound has this crackling echo?

[NewDeli]

WinUAE v1.4 series is rather demanding in terms of CPU usage. Problem with making the buffer vary is that it's either cracking noises or annoying delays. Leave it to an average (4) and try the following :

In case of sound problems, I let the audio 'loose' emulated but not 100%, channel mode : stereo, no interpolation, and... come closer...I lower the frequency to 22k .

Also, make sure all useless Windows crap is disabled, turned off, closed and increase the priority of WinUAE to 'above normal'.

[MickJT]

Best way I found to fix these problems is to set the frameskip to 2.. A lot of games are at 25fps anywway so you don't notice a damn thing. Of course frameskip only works when in normal screenmodes, PAL, NTSC etc..

[Toni Wilen]

Originally Posted by Deleauvive

WinUAE v1.4 series is rather demanding in terms of CPU usage.

Ok, right... and 1.3 wasn't? Really useful answer..

Problem with making the buffer vary is that it's either cracking noises or annoying delays. Leave it to an average (4) and try the following :

In case of sound problems, I let the audio 'loose' emulated but not 100%, channel mode : stereo, no interpolation, and... come closer...I lower the frequency to 22k .

Also, make sure all useless Windows crap is disabled, turned off, closed and increase the priority of WinUAE to 'above normal'.

Please stop answering if you aren't sure what are you talking about. (not the first time) Thank you.

Above normal = not always the best, can cause other issue VERY easily.

Sound frequency = very little cpu difference. Sound problem = 99.9% it has NOTHING to do with sound settings but other parts of emulation taking too much cpu time.

Troublemaker: test different display settings (16bit or 32bit, 16bit may even be faster in some systems..), disable cycle-exact (at least ~2x cpu usage increase). Make sure both display and sound drivers are up to date.

[NewDeli]

I should say concerning the frequency lowering, I was joking, sorry. I agree it shouldn't be necessary for normal emulation.

Also, me saying WinUAE is CPU demanding is my way of wishing for a less-CPU driven v1.5 series, if I may.

As for the Windows apps, services and such, I do think there's always some room for more memory freeing. Such optimizations should be sought after inmho.

Finally, I never had a problem with above normal priority, honest.

[Toni Wilen]

Higher than normal priority can cause huge input lag on some systems. (reason unknown, never had that problem either)

I was only complaining because sound problem is very rarely simple: <sound problem> = <here is standard fix>

There are (too) many possible reasons that need to be found out first. Just tossing random (even completely unrelated) possible fixes is not very productive. Yes, it can fix the problem but it may not fix the real problem..

Thank you for your fast replies

I forgot to say, that I'm using v 1.5.2
I tried the suggested settings, but none worked. The CPU usage is between 40 and 50%, so that's ok.

The only thing I mentioned is, that changing the sound buffer to 1 makes the sound only playing once (and not twice like before), but still with some crackling.

I didn't update my drivers yet, because the eee901 is out for just a few weeks now and I don't have other problems with it. So, if no solution is found, I will just play in fullscreen mode I just thought that anyone else has the problem with the eee901

[NewDeli]

1 is really too low for sound buffer, I suggest 3 minimum. As for CPU usage, the problem is not to avoid hitting 100%, but to have your CPU not "distracted" by other processes.

Is the problem occurring the same way with WinUAE v1.4 ? Can you tell us a bit more about the host OS your eee PC is running, and the WinUAE config. you choose to load ?


@mcferson : Drop a word or two if your sound problem is solved, plz.

Just for getting it right:
Should I try v1.4.x or just 1.4.0?

My OS is WinXP with SP3 as it is delivered by ASUS with the eee901. I changed nothing like drivers or something. Just updating Windows itself.
Are you interested in driver versions? I'm just writing on my working machine, so I can't look at it right now.

[Rabbit80]

So - its dual core @ 40-50% CPU usage - probably 100% on one core You can see this in Task manager!

[TCD]

Originally Posted by Troublemaker

Just for getting it right:
Should I try v1.4.x or just 1.4.0?

Try any version before 1.5.0 to check if the problem isn't there. And check, like Rabbit80 said, if it's 100% on one core

[Rabbit80]

Is WinUAE multithreaded? I seem to remember that it isn't... (Except when capturing AVI)

[TCD]

Originally Posted by Rabbit80

Is WinUAE multithreaded? I seem to remember that it isn't... (Except when capturing AVI)

Just put WinUAE in warp mode, had a look and both cores were in use (and not at 100%). So I would say it's multithreaded

[NewDeli]

I don't think you should worry too much about drivers. If any eee driver was missing in Windows XP, ASUS and their partners would have supplied it directly on top of it.

The hardware from laptops is pretty much integrated and the partnerships with MS are VERY strong (a bit too much, we may even say). It's not like if you bought a brand new graphic adapter which is not recognized, even by Vista SP1.

May be there is an anomaly in your WinUAE settings, so you could enclose it with your next message. May be it's the eee capabilities which are not far enough beyond WinUAE requirements.

Can you reproduce the bug with a game which bears a very simple soundtrack like Faery Tale or Ultima V ?

Last but not least, full screen is the recommended way to go anyway. Do you prefer to play games in a smaller screen area ?

Just to mention:
The eee901 has got the Intel Atom N270, which means one core @ 1,60 GHz (max.)...(and 2,5W TDP ).

2nd: I didn't configure WinUAE at all. It's an A500 emulation with standard settings. Only the input methods are changed. How do I post the config? Or should I save and upload it as a file?
I can do it in about 10 hours...also with the result of v1.4.6

3rd: I want to play in window-mode because most times I do some things besides gaming

[Rabbit80]

Originally Posted by Troublemaker

Just to mention:
The eee901 has got the Intel Atom N270, which means one core @ 1,60 GHz (max.)...(and 2,5W TDP ).

Sorry - I didn't do much research... I used one of these a few weeks back and I thought it was dual core - however I now realise that it is in fact only hyperthreaded!

[NewDeli]

Originally Posted by Troublemaker

I want to play in window-mode because most times I do some things besides gaming

Do anything you like, but don't drive a car while gaming

It's a bit strange that none of the settings we proposed gave a result.
Can you tell us the result with v1.4 AND when loading any of the two games I cited, please ?

Yup, the config. file, located in one of WinUAE subfolders, can be zipped and uploaded like anything else lurking in your eee.

It may sound stupid, but Windows Vista can be installed even on old or not so fast PCs. I've just read this eee has 1GB of ram, which should be sufficient for running it smoothly.

If you have the guts, you could make a complete backup of the installed OS, and see if WinUAE running with Vista makes a difference. The argument I put forth is that Vista may be able to handle better that very recent Atom CPU.