[LAU] AMD Ryzen Processors for Linux audio

[Francesco Napoleoni]

In data giovedì 16 aprile 2020 15:54:34 CEST, Moshe Werner ha scritto:
> Hi everyone,
> I am thinking of upgrading my audio PC/Laptop
> [...] some people in the usual forums tend not recommend
> AMD, because of latency issues.
> Are there any Linux users successfully using Ryzen CPUs for low latency
> work?

Hi, this is my first (or maybe second) time I write here, anyway... I am such 
a user. My setup is a bit complex, since I use three machines connected 
through a Gigabit Ethernet link, and all of them run Linux over a Ryzen CPU.

The “master” workstation is equipped with a Ryzen 5 2600X and the audio 
interface (for now a lousy Behringer UCA202, but I would like to upgrade to a 
Focusrite soon).

There is also a “slave” laptop, a HP db0035nl which, at the time I bought it, 
was one of the few to sport an AMD processor, namely a Ryzen 5 2500U.

The last one acts mostly as a router and a file server, but is ready to be 
used as an additional host for virtual instruments. CPU: Ryzen 5 2600 (not X).

All the computers run Fedora 30, with the latest kernel available (5.5.10), 
except for the laptop, which uses a realtime kernel, version 5.4.24 (the 
“ycollet” RPM, not the CCRMA one).

A JACK server runs on the master, at 48kHz, 128 the buffer size, 2 periods. 
Here I run Ardour and Carla, which also hosts Kontakt through the WINE bridge. 
In addition two instances of NetJACK 1 accept connections from the other two 
computers.

So far this setup looks (and sounds) quite stable, espscially on the “master” 
side, which after a work cycle shows about no more than 300 xruns, none of 
them audible.

The laptop is a bit slower, there are some synths on it, and a keyboard 
controller connected through USB. The purpose of this setup is to use it in 
live situations. The RT kernel gives it a greater stability (less xruns and 
less errors), while the 5.5 series has quite a few annoying bugs.

The third machine has the necessary disk space to hold the audio samples, 
served through NFS.

> If so what is your recommended setup?

Well, this configuration is less than one year old and I am still learning how 
to use it at its best. Anyway, so far I can tell that I’m quite happy with it. 
but YMMV.

cheers
Francesco Napoleoni