Design a PC/Server for ROON and HQ Player

[Larryng]

Thank you for checking!

Well I still hope i can avoid going the 6700k route because I literally would have to change every single piece in my CAPS except the SSD and USB card.

 

In my tryouts I was only able to use 512 and polysinc with the addition of process lasso and HQ set to realtime.

Maybe you could try this too, the shutdown issue however suggests a thermal issue indeed, process lasso of course would not change that.

 

So were the 3,3GHz you mentioned just a typo or are you really only getting 3,3?

I would really appreciate if you could check this last thing again, thanks!

 

Typo only .

It should be high cpu working frequency that caused excessive heat and more fans = more noise , not an option at all . Do you have Roon running in your system , as without Roon , no problem for me , Roon need quite some cpu power.

[tsaett]

Yes I normally use roon, so I probably have to go down the 6700k road as well.....

 

Thanks again, very helpful for me.

[Miska]

It is better to go directly to 6700K or similar Xeon (not familiar to me) , I think it is best to get max GHz cpu if you want to use Roon with HQPlayer and DSD 512 conversion. I am going to install a new PC with 6700K. Water cooled etc. Cost me @USD 1100.00 here.

 

There's no Skylake-based Xeon E5 yet (E5 v5). There is only E3 v5 so far, but it doesn't offer any practical advantage over the i7 6xxx. Advantages of E5 are twice the RAM bandwidth due to four channel memory controller and support for multiple sockets on bigger models. Plus support for ECC RAM which matters to me for reliability reasons (computer running 24/7).

[blue2]

I am able to do DSD 512 easily without running Roon , but if engaged , I can only do DSD 256 smoothly, I can play DSD 512 for a minute or two , it then shut off & Window restarting and I cannot even enter Window after password as it restart immediately , I need to wait a few minutes - CPU fan still running - before restarting Window and play again . Yes , Bios by default - hypherthreading & turbo engaged - checked & confirmed again - Pipeline SDM - yes.

 

It is better to go directly to 6700K or similar Xeon (not familiar to me) , I think it is best to get max GHz cpu if you want to use Roon with HQPlayer and DSD 512 conversion. I am going to install a new PC with 6700K. Water cooled etc. Cost me @USD 1100.00 here.

This sounds like overheating CPU? Did you try upgrading your cooler?

[Larryng]

This sounds like overheating CPU? Did you try upgrading your cooler?

 

No ! it came from the CPU package and there is another 3" extraction fan from the mini PC case , even if I upgrade the cooler , the CPU will still be working to its limit with little headroom - that may not be good to SQ , thus I would prefer another PC with 6700K . I have another notebook Samsung NP550 , i7 3630QM 2.4GHz , 4 cores , 8G ram running HQPlayer only , I can do DSD 256 and cpu usage is @30% and max. GHz is 133% . NO DSD 512 .

 

I have tried HQPlayer on a 10 years old notebook LG R40 , Vista , the sound was amazingly good and I could easily do PCM up to 192 but no DSD , CPU usage 16% Max GHz 50-78% - Itel Pent. Dual CPU T2330 @1.6GHz , Ram 1.5GB . Just for those who want to try HQPlayer .

[Forehaven]

Thanks hifial! Actually Ted gave me his specs and I basically bought the same, and very similar to yours.

 

6700k Skylake, a Seasonic ps, a Noctua, Fractal Design case, Kingston ram, and this ssd: SAMSUNG 850 EVO M.2 250GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal SSD Single Unit Version MZ-N5E250BW - Newegg.com I hope/pretty sure it's the M.2 version lol

Appreciate all the help and support everyone,

Chris

 

Well all, I finally completed the build and 'nearly' everything's working. Ted helped me set it all up, a Big Thanks! This thing rocks! iFi Micro fed directly to PC's USB and a crappy $3 cord and i've got DSD512 for the first time...Wow! Impressive! Unfort., we haven't gotten my network stable as quite a bit of stuttering even DSD 128. I'm looking forward to getting the mU stable and working properly.

And then finally, get a great PS for the uM and move iFi to TPLink and I think I'll be a rockin'

[drabbis]

any need for SOtM Audiophile PCIe to USB Audio Card?

 

[Joaovieira]

Hi folks,

 

I need a Windows PC to work only with HQPlayer upsampling to DSD512. The transport is SonicTransporter with Roon Server and I have micro Rendu.

 

The two PC will be in a different room of the house than my system, as microRendu allows me to use Ethernet.

 

I am planning to build an I7 6700K, 16Gb DDR4, 1000W PS, SSD 240Gb, HD 2Tb, Windows 10 Home.

 

I don't think I need fanless, as the computer will be far from the system. Do I?

 

Will this machine run HQPlayer up sampling ? My MacBook Pro can barely handle DSD128 with the better filters of HQPlayer.

[Distinctive]

Have you seen this thread?

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f10-music-servers/mivera-audio-superstream-transport-server-another-contender-29002/

[Joaovieira]

Thank you for the link. Very nice machine.

This would be great if I lived in the USA. The vanilla version would be interesting.

[Distinctive]

I was thinking of the 'Superserve Hqplayer engine'

You can buy the NUC (COTS) and configure it yourselves.

Mivera also said they would release their source code.

[Joaovieira]

I was thinking of the 'Superserve Hqplayer engine'

You can buy the NUC (COTS) and configure it yourselves.

Mivera also said they would release their source code.

 

Now I read the Mivera website and you are right. He has the Superserve HQplayer engine to be released.

 

That is what I need, thank you.

[hifial]

Hi folks,

 

I need a Windows PC to work only with HQPlayer upsampling to DSD512. The transport is SonicTransporter with Roon Server and I have micro Rendu.

 

The two PC will be in a different room of the house than my system, as microRendu allows me to use Ethernet.

 

I am planning to build an I7 6700K, 16Gb DDR4, 1000W PS, SSD 240Gb, HD 2Tb, Windows 10 Home.

 

I don't think I need fanless, as the computer will be far from the system. Do I?

 

Will this machine run HQPlayer up sampling ? My MacBook Pro can barely handle DSD128 with the better filters of HQPlayer.

 

YOU DO NOT WANT TO USE WINDOWS 10 HOME VERSION. USE the PRO VERSION.

[Joaovieira]

YOU DO NOT WANT TO USE WINDOWS 10 HOME VERSION. USE the PRO VERSION.

Yes, sir!

[satbaba]

YOU DO NOT WANT TO USE WINDOWS 10 HOME VERSION. USE the PRO VERSION.

 

 

Why?

Is Windows 10 Pro better than Windows 10 Home for hifi?

[bibo01]

Why?

Is Windows 10 Pro better than Windows 10 Home for hifi?

 

As you probably will want to slim down Windows OS, there are certain things cannot be stopped/removed in Home.

[Distinctive]

You can't get Remote Desktop with Win 10 Home without tweaking it.

[juanitox]

for the memory part and HQplayer is it worth to overclock it or underclock it ?

[tategoi]

As you probably will want to slim down Windows OS, there are certain things cannot be stopped/removed in Home.

 

I realised it too late and now I'm stucked with Home.

 

Is is there a link I can read what to remove and stop? Will upgrade to Pro for the remote access capabilities.

[Forehaven]

I realised it too late and now I'm stucked with Home.

 

Is is there a link I can read what to remove and stop? Will upgrade to Pro for the remote access capabilities.

 

You can easily upgrade to Pro. And then use Audiophile Optimizer to shut down unneeded processes.

[MarcinGD]

Did someone tried to go fanless with HDPLEX H5. It support max 95W TDP and have also option of heatpipe cooling for graphic card. In this option they putted GTX960 https://www.endpcnoise.com/gaming-pcs/h5-fanless-gaming-pc. I wonder if it will be ok for DSD512 upsampling with i7-6700 skylike.

[firedog]

Did someone tried to go fanless with HDPLEX H5. It support max 95W TDP and have also option of heatpipe cooling for graphic card. In this option they putted GTX960 https://www.endpcnoise.com/gaming-pcs/h5-fanless-gaming-pc. I wonder if it will be ok for DSD512 upsampling with i7-6700 skylike.

 

They built a CAPS4 Pipeline-like server for me that I'm very happy with. No video card. The supported TDP is 95 and the TDP of the chip/motherboard is 85. Nonetheless, it can get very warm internally (not externally) if pushed to do continuous serious computing. I overheated it once, when I had it try to calculate volume normalization calculations for my entire music library nonstop, as fast as it could. Other than that it has been great and doesn't get too hot, even when upsampling (I don't do DSD 512, only 128).

 

I think in that configuration you might be pushing the heatsinks, etc. on that build to their limits. I'm not an expert. If I were you I'd talk to them about how you intend to use the machine and see what they say.

 

You might also want to consider a build with a very quiet exhaust case fan. They sell, big slow moving case fans that have a db rating of 15 db. This is about half the ambient noise in pretty much any domestic room -even a quiet one. Highly likely you will never hear them, especially if you aren't sitting right next to them. Adding one would probably eliminate any fears of overheating.

[tboooe]

Did someone tried to go fanless with HDPLEX H5. It support max 95W TDP and have also option of heatpipe cooling for graphic card. In this option they putted GTX960 https://www.endpcnoise.com/gaming-pcs/h5-fanless-gaming-pc. I wonder if it will be ok for DSD512 upsampling with i7-6700 skylike.

I am upgrading my I3 3220t dual core to an I7 3770s quad which I intend to use in my Streamcom FC5 fanless case. The I7 has a tdp 65w and my case can handle up to 95w. I'll be installing the new CPU this weekend so we will see!

[tsaett]

In my CAPS v4 with HDPlex H5 I could only handle 512 (but with simultaneous room correction) by adding 2 long additional heatpipes from the CPU to the left heatsinks intended for graphic cards.

Otherwise the CPU eventually heated up after 2 hours or so.

Keep in mind that the CPU I use is an 80TDP one and works at 3,9GHz (turbo) while the 6700k is considerably more than that.

 

512 is immensely computing-intensive and nowhere near 128. The main problem for the CPU is changing source material, as the most heat must be dissipated when the CPU sets up the filters. So if you only have Redbook source files you may be ok, but if you have lots of different ones (like I do) and like to skip through your library, the case will eventually heat up too much.

 

With my additional pipes I can let the CAPS play on a whole day without issues, so I recommend this to all who want to go 512 fanless. With an 6700k however you might want to use rather 4 instead of 2 pipes.

You do not need a graphic card if you use a 6700k, there is only one real world scenario where the 6700k will not suffice and that is upsampling DSD128/256 source material to 512 and doing simultaneous room correction. For all other cases the 6700k on it's own is more than enough.

[Kal Rubinson]

You do not need a graphic card if you use a 6700k, there is only one real world scenario where the 6700k will not suffice and that is upsampling DSD128/256 source material to 512 and doing simultaneous room correction. For all other cases the 6700k on it's own is more than enough.

Can I assume you are referring to stereo playback and not multichannel?