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Design a PC/Server for ROON and HQ Player


sgr

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On the other hand, introducing a NAA is not just about an ethernet line between PC and Audio Point. Firstly, HQPlayer powerful PC should be in a different room, perhaps close to router, and possibly on a different electrical line compared to audio equipment. By introducing physical distance and a different electrical line we avoid various forms of pollution compared to the other configuration.

 

Pretty much what I said: it's not one or the other, but both advantages.

Dedicated Line DSD/DXD | Audirvana+ | iFi iDSD Nano | SET Tube Amp | Totem Mites

Surround: VLC | M-Audio FastTrack Pro | Mac Opt | Panasonic SA-HE100 | Logitech Z623

DIY: SET Tube Amp | Low-Noise Linear Regulated Power Supply | USB, Power, Speaker Cables | Speaker Stands | Acoustic Panels

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Stupid question but, for my Jussi-like build, there are numerous Gigabyte Z170X mobos, in particular NewEgg has a sale on one today. So I was going to go with

GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-UD5 (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard ($169 at local Mirocenter)

 

but NewEgg has this for $105 after rebate and promo

GIGABYTE GA-Z170XP-SLI (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

 

I compared and can't seem to find a difference other than a damn D-Sub connector, which I care less about. Am I missing a bigger picture (for HQPlayer)? Jussi's version has Thunderbolt ($204) but I am not a Mac person and see (maybe short-sighted) no real use for me. Thx

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Nevermind, the Microcenter guy remidned me that the UD5 was much better built, with better heatsinks, caps, etc (he had all versions there) Bought it. Four pieces home, four on way from Newegg. Hopefully this weekend is build time (missing Axpona). :)

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Nevermind, the Microcenter guy remidned me that the UD5 was much better built, with better heatsinks, caps, etc (he had all versions there) Bought it. Four pieces home, four on way from Newegg. Hopefully this weekend is build time (missing Axpona). :)

 

Shows are fun but Build Time is funner. :)

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Are any of you guys that are using the Fractal Define R5 case using the fan controller/front switch (SATA power and fan connectors) or going straight to mobo fan connectors? I've heard stories that fan controller can bother some PSUs when it tries to go to 7V. Dunno. Will try fan controller first.

 

Does anyone know whether it makes any difference me putting the Mellanox fiber card on a PCIex4 or x8 (the x16 is going to the GeForce 960 card)?

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Thanks Jon. Guess x4 is just fine for the fiber NIC (by the way, PCiEX connectors on this Gigabyte mobo are all X16-sized, and I could easily use the x8 but thought I'd keep it as far away from the GeForce as possible).

 

Another question: I was using a Samsung 830 64GB SSD on my previous CAPS Zuma (that died) and was thinking of reusing it for the new HQP build (the build is done but haven't loaded software yet). I power the SSD with battery. It is OS only. Question is: I might want to save that SSD just in case I get the Zuma running again, so since this is an OS-only use, and uses clean 5V battery power, does it really matter the utmost quality of the SSD (I have a spare 60GB OCZ Vertex Plus unused)?

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That really doesn't matter. Unless you either feed LPS and upgrade clock.

DigitalDac: Chord DAVE, Amp: MC275 Mono, Preamp: FirstSound, Source: Esoteric K01X, Cable: TaraLab GME interconnect,
CASSOtM Trifecta Mod 75ohm MCI, TheLinearSolution TCXO Router

Analog: SME 20/2, SME V, Skala, Esoteric C03 Phono

 
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In addition you better replace with custom sata and power cable

DigitalDac: Chord DAVE, Amp: MC275 Mono, Preamp: FirstSound, Source: Esoteric K01X, Cable: TaraLab GME interconnect,
CASSOtM Trifecta Mod 75ohm MCI, TheLinearSolution TCXO Router

Analog: SME 20/2, SME V, Skala, Esoteric C03 Phono

 
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My custom JCAT SATA cable was likely the problem with my Zuma; I somehow must have crimped it (I'm sure JCAT will help here) cuz it doesn't work on the HQP build and I lost quite a bit of time not discovering that. Do you have any decent sources for one in US (i.e 2 day shipping)? On the power cable, as I said earlier I power the SSD via a battery, so SATA power for the SSD is not an issue. And again, it's OS only, no music. I have 32GB of RAM so I doubt it's used much.

 

Question: what do you folks use as a Windows10-based (not bios-based cuz I am headless) performance monitor, especially for a quick look at temps and loads? CPU-Z? Perfmon?

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My custom JCAT SATA cable was likely the problem with my Zuma; I somehow must have crimped it (I'm sure JCAT will help here) cuz it doesn't work on the HQP build and I lost quite a bit of time not discovering that. Do you have any decent sources for one in US (i.e 2 day shipping)? On the power cable, as I said earlier I power the SSD via a battery, so SATA power for the SSD is not an issue. And again, it's OS only, no music. I have 32GB of RAM so I doubt it's used much.

 

Question: what do you folks use as a Windows10-based (not bios-based cuz I am headless) performance monitor, especially for a quick look at temps and loads? CPU-Z? Perfmon?

 

 

Open Hardware monitor is pretty decent, can setup a web port to view remotely.

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Considering a switch from MAC to PC (only for audio) after 15 years. So now I have to remember how to build a PC. Roon will let me move my core, but I guess I will need to buy HQ Player again once this is done. Sigh.

 

I am doing this to avoid drop outs and some stuttering (though it has been much better since Roon 1.2 and 3.13 HQ Player). I am thinking of doing the same build as Ted, but with a potentially smaller case. I plan to have this act as the server and then run a smallish computer or something like a Raspberry Pi as an NAA. Does anyone have a case suggestion? I would love this to live under my bed (listening room across the house). For that, I need to minimize the height and orient it sideways, not in a tower. Anyone have a good idea?

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Considering a switch from MAC to PC (only for audio) after 15 years. So now I have to remember how to build a PC. Roon will let me move my core, but I guess I will need to buy HQ Player again once this is done. Sigh.

 

There's a discount for the second platform license, send me an email when you need it...

Signalyst - Developer of HQPlayer

Pulse & Fidelity - Software Defined Amplifiers

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I am considering a build with suggested Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5 TH MoBo. I think I have the choice of three Intel i7's, 6700K 4.0GHz 91W TDP; 6700T 2.8GHz 35W TDP, and 6700 3.4 GHz 65W TDP.

 

Currently I do not need high clock speed because I do not do multi-channel or any heavy processing, so probably can get away with a 2.8 GHz 35W processor, but looking little in to the future, if I get a 3.4 or a 4.0 GHz processor now and under-clock it to say 2.8 GHz, does underclocking also reduces TDP? Thanks.

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I am considering a build with suggested Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5 TH MoBo. I think I have the choice of three Intel i7's, 6700K 4.0GHz 91W TDP; 6700T 2.8GHz 35W TDP, and 6700 3.4 GHz 65W TDP.

 

Currently I do not need high clock speed because I do not do multi-channel or any heavy processing, so probably can get away with a 2.8 GHz 35W processor, but looking little in to the future, if I get a 3.4 or a 4.0 GHz processor now and under-clock it to say 2.8 GHz, does underclocking also reduces TDP? Thanks.

 

Depends on what kind of case/cooling you are planning. I am not sure if underclocking improves TDP.

 

I was dead set on a fanless case, and I chose the 6700, as overclocking won't be an option. I would be afraid of the 6700T throttling if it got hot (as it happens in laptops). Of course, if you have the cooling the overclocked 6700K can be the winner power-wise.

 

I did learn you can ruin the pins in the CPU socket if you are not careful during CPU insertion. My PC should be running Roon/HQP this weekend sometime. I am replacing an aging i3 fanless PC just to be able to upsample to DSD and play with filters.

[Home Digital] MSB Premier DAC > Modright LS300 > Atma-Sphere "Class D" Monoblocks > Daedalus Audio Muse Studio Speakers

[Home Analog] Technics SL-1200G > Boulder 508 (Benz Glider SL)

[Office] Laptop > Kitsune R2R lvl3 > Violectric V281 > Meze Liric / Meze Elite

[Travel] Laptop/iPad -> Focal Bathys

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My build is up, operational, and sounds incredible. Redbook to DSD512 averages 27% cpu and about 40% GPU (assuming I'm reading right). I moved the Fractal stock fan on the back (exhaust) to the front panel bottom position, and added a Phanteks 140mm for the exhaust, as it is more powerful and I was concerned about the addtl heat produced by my Mellanox fiber card. The dual front fans decision was aided by the fact that they are slightly reduced in their CFM due to pulling air in through dust filters. The filtering in this case is exceptional and I am very pleased.

 

Here is the complete build list:

Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor

Noctua NH-L9x65 33.8 CFM CPU Cooler

Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

Kingston HyperX Fury Black 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory

Asus GeForce GTX 960 Overclocked 4GB GDDR5 PCI-E Video Card

SeaSonic 520W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular Fanless ATX Power Supply

Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM (64-bit)

Phanteks 140mm Cooling Fan (PH-F140SP_BK)

Mellanox Connectx-2 Optical (Fiber) Network PCI-E card

SanDisk SSD PLUS 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD), OS only, no music

Fractal Design Define R5 case

iFi iUSB 5V power supply for SSD

Roon server

Audiophile Optimizer 2.0 beta 15 (using "strip down Windows 10" service tool option)

HQplayer (sends to NAA)

 

Thanks to Jussi for 90% of this build idea.

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My build is up, operational, and sounds incredible. Redbook to DSD512 averages 27% cpu and about 40% GPU (assuming I'm reading right). I moved the Fractal stock fan on the back (exhaust) to the front panel bottom position, and added a Phanteks 140mm for the exhaust, as it is more powerful and I was concerned about the addtl heat produced by my Mellanox fiber card. The dual front fans decision was aided by the fact that they are slightly reduced in their CFM due to pulling air in through dust filters. The filtering in this case is exceptional and I am very pleased.

 

Here is the complete build list:

Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor

Noctua NH-L9x65 33.8 CFM CPU Cooler

Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

Kingston HyperX Fury Black 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory

Asus GeForce GTX 960 Overclocked 4GB GDDR5 PCI-E Video Card

SeaSonic 520W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular Fanless ATX Power Supply

Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM (64-bit)

Phanteks 140mm Cooling Fan (PH-F140SP_BK)

Mellanox Connectx-2 Optical (Fiber) Network PCI-E card

SanDisk SSD PLUS 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD), OS only, no music

Fractal Design Define R5 case

iFi iUSB 5V power supply for SSD

Roon server

Audiophile Optimizer 2.0 beta 15 (using "strip down Windows 10" service tool option)

HQplayer (sends to NAA)

 

Thanks to Jussi for 90% of this build idea.

 

Awesome Ted! Hell of a machine. How do you control Windows, do you have a monitor?

Ryzen 7 2700 PC Server, NUC7CJYH w. 4G Apacer RAM as Renderer/LPS 1.2 - IsoRegen/LPS-1/.2 - Singxer SU-1/LPS1.2 - Holo Spring Level 3 DAC - LTA MicroZOTL MZ2 - Modwright KWA 150 Signature Amp - Tidal Audio Piano's.  

.

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My build is up, operational, and sounds incredible. Redbook to DSD512 averages 27% cpu and about 40% GPU (assuming I'm reading right). I moved the Fractal stock fan on the back (exhaust) to the front panel bottom position, and added a Phanteks 140mm for the exhaust, as it is more powerful and I was concerned about the addtl heat produced by my Mellanox fiber card. The dual front fans decision was aided by the fact that they are slightly reduced in their CFM due to pulling air in through dust filters. The filtering in this case is exceptional and I am very pleased.

 

Here is the complete build list:

Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor

Noctua NH-L9x65 33.8 CFM CPU Cooler

Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

Kingston HyperX Fury Black 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory

Asus GeForce GTX 960 Overclocked 4GB GDDR5 PCI-E Video Card

SeaSonic 520W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular Fanless ATX Power Supply

Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM (64-bit)

Phanteks 140mm Cooling Fan (PH-F140SP_BK)

Mellanox Connectx-2 Optical (Fiber) Network PCI-E card

SanDisk SSD PLUS 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD), OS only, no music

Fractal Design Define R5 case

iFi iUSB 5V power supply for SSD

Roon server

Audiophile Optimizer 2.0 beta 15 (using "strip down Windows 10" service tool option)

HQplayer (sends to NAA)

 

Thanks to Jussi for 90% of this build idea.

+ 1, Awesome as a rookie builder having someone else lead the way really makes a significant difference - thanks for showing me a way to the finish line...

MS Windows 10, Cary 120S & D-Sonic M3-2800 amp, Marantz av8801, NAD M51,

Basis 1400 TT, Dahlquist DQ-10's & Monitor audio RX ( ctr,surr, rear RX6's) ,

1 - 12" & 1 dual RBH sub, Acoustic Revive RTP-6 conditioner, Panasonic GT50

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Remote Desktop (from my home office desktop or my ipad).

 

Great to hear you can use an ipad. Thx for the help.

Ryzen 7 2700 PC Server, NUC7CJYH w. 4G Apacer RAM as Renderer/LPS 1.2 - IsoRegen/LPS-1/.2 - Singxer SU-1/LPS1.2 - Holo Spring Level 3 DAC - LTA MicroZOTL MZ2 - Modwright KWA 150 Signature Amp - Tidal Audio Piano's.  

.

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Update on earlier post: The JCAT SATA data cable was not broken/crimped, but instead incompatible with my bios settings for the new build, but a couple adjustments and the cable now works...and is wayyy better than the Gigabyte-supplied one (slight harshness reduced to nothing). Barrows' famous "everything matters" signature rules once more. :)

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