# DPC Latency spikes due to Nvidea drivers - solutions?



## Jetzer

LatencyMon keeps spotting spikes with the nvlddmkm.sys - Nvidea driver.

I have to run most sessions at 510 buffer size, even though I should expect to run some at 128 or 256. 

The whole internet is full of latency issues due to nvidea drivers, I tried rolling back to previous versions, and tried all the tricks found on google/reddit/youtube with power management and bios settings but nothing helped so far. 

I am even considering buying a AMD video card just to get rid of Nvidea. Only trick is you never know if it something else and it just shows the nvidea on the latencymom.

Any thoughts?


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## Solarsentinel

Hi,
Try to get the latest drivers and then, go to Nvidia control pannel and select 3D parameters. Then set "maximum performances" on the power management mode. It may be very helpfull depends on what your graphic card is. 

Hope this help!


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## Solarsentinel

I had before make the choice to go to AMD for graphic card due to latency with nvidia, and well i have to say it was better for latencies. But on the other hand, i had big lags with dual screens, and it came from the drivers from AMD and was never be to fix the issue. So i finally go back to nvidia when i had to change my video card. No problem with dual screen anymore for a sacrifice of a little more DPC latencies.

So if the solution above don't work with you, the choice depends on what is the most important to you.
By the way if this don't work, you can also try the "studio" version of the nvidia drivers. Never tried, but they seems to be more suitable for Video working. Perhaps it will reduce audio latency as well.


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## premjj

Jetzer said:


> LatencyMon keeps spotting spikes with the nvlddmkm.sys - Nvidea driver.
> 
> I have to run most sessions at 510 buffer size, even though I should expect to run some at 128 or 256.
> 
> The whole internet is full of latency issues due to nvidea drivers, I tried rolling back to previous versions, and tried all the tricks found on google/reddit/youtube with power management and bios settings but nothing helped so far.
> 
> I am even considering buying a AMD video card just to get rid of Nvidea. Only trick is you never know if it something else and it just shows the nvidea on the latencymom.
> 
> Any thoughts?



What audio interface are you using?


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## Jetzer

Solarsentinel said:


> Hi,
> Try to get the latest drivers and then, go to Nvidia control pannel and select 3D parameters. Then set "maximum performances" on the power management mode. It may be very helpfull depends on what your graphic card is.
> 
> Hope this help!



Could be placebo but I think I've noticed a small improvement, thanks! LatencyMon still says my computer is not suited for real-time audio though due to the nvidea driver.

@premjj RME Babyface


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## premjj

Jetzer said:


> @premjj RME Babyface



I am having a similar issue too though my interface is a Focusrite.


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## Ivan M.

Solarsentinel said:


> you can also try the "studio" version of the nvidia drivers. Never tried, but they seems to be more suitable for Video working. Perhaps it will reduce audio latency as well.



I tried that, didn't help. But after reinstalling win, stuff is fine


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## Pictus

Jetzer said:


> LatencyMon keeps spotting spikes with the nvlddmkm.sys - Nvidea driver.



Check here





Nvidia Driver, no latency anymore?


Hi all! We all know that AMD drivers have from far, less latency than Nvidia drivers, and for that reason we all recommand an AMD graphic card for audio working. But recently i have dealt with a new install on a PC with an Nvidia graphic card. And when i updated to the latest driver i saw an...




vi-control.net





The "workflow" is: 

- Disable Windows 10 Hibernate
- Disable HPET
- Use NVSlimmer to create a less bloated NVidia DRIVER
- Use DDU to uninstall the current driver
- Install the less bloated DRIVE trimmed by NVSlimmer
- Adjust *BOTH *NVIDIA and Windows power settings
- Make sure NVidia driver is using MSI

Before doing anything, create a Windows Restore Point!








Windows 10: How to System Restore and Create a Restore Point


We show you how to create a restore point on Windows 10, as well as how to perform a system restore from boot or while logged in.




winbuzzer.com


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## Jetzer

@Pictus

Thanks, I did exactly as you stated, sadly it had no effect. Nivdea driver still shows in latency mon as the culprit.

Could it be that my Nvidea GT610 is just too old / low quality?


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## xonix

Jetzer said:


> @Pictus
> 
> Could it be that my Nvidea GT610 is just too old / low quality?



It's possible. The last driver update released for the GT610 was March 2018. I've had funny things happen when I've had a gfx driver that's been only 5/6 months old.


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## Jetzer

Yeah I can imagine. Maybe I should look into a new card then.


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## Pictus

Jetzer said:


> @Pictus
> 
> Thanks, I did exactly as you stated, sadly it had no effect. Nivdea driver still shows in latency mon as the culprit.
> 
> Could it be that my Nvidea GT610 is just too old / low quality?



I am glad to help, the last trick you can do is to reset motherboard BIOS.
For the next card better buy some AMD 500 series...


https://pcpartpicker.com/products/video-card/#c=416,395,392&sort=price&N=2,3


The models with 2/3 fans and bigger heatsink are probably semi-passive.
Some of the 560 are and most of the 570.


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## Jetzer

@Pictus Thanks a lot! I think buying a new card might be a good idea, I will look into those AMD series.


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## Jetzer

@Pictus My motherboard is the Asus P9X79 Pro, also relatively old. Should I expect any troubles when buying a new video card or is it basically safe to go as long as it fits in the slot?


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## Pictus

No problem, but check if the PSU has the power and connectors for the GPU.


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## Jetzer

Allright, thanks!


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## Pictus

MSI(Message Signaled-Based Interrupts) utility V3
https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/w...terrupts-msi-tool.378044/page-71#post-5826955








Here MSI for the Realtek audio and NVIDIA GPU was not enabled, the Realtek LAN was
with set to HIGH priority. 
Here it is not a server, it is now set to LOW!
I suspect for your DAW machines you may want to enable MSI for the GPU and set it to LOW priority.


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## Jetzer

I will try it when I get back next week!


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## Fry777

NVSlimmer did a big difference in my system, you should look into it


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