Best CPU for hqplayer

[Quadman]

2 hours ago, genefruit said:

Based on my interpretation of the posts and experience of others, "favour the use of the best and more demanding filters at the expenses of high sampling rates." seems to be the standard practice.

Well I certainly will disagree with that and I think many others would as well.  DSD1024 is where the magic lives.

[Quadman]

11 minutes ago, genefruit said:

Examples would be helpful and I'm happy to be wrong.  Simply trying to provide some context for a person who doesn't seem to want to read several thousand pages over multiple threads to come to their own conclusion.

In my room with my system any filter combination at DSD1024 beats handily DSD256 with any filter combination including EC7V2.  I've been listening to 1024 no EC since Early March last year, breathtaking.  The humanness factor is off the charts at 1024, 256 is just music played back, sounds good but no where near the 1024 experience.   Right around Tgiv I got 1024 with most EC modulators (still can't do EC7v2, but then I don't really Overclock).  That was another nice step up.  I sometimes drop down to DSD512 and play with some EC modulators I can't do at 1024 (EC7v2 and some more complex HQP filters sinc L, LI and Mx) but 1024 still adds another level of humanness that 512 cannot quite match.  You don't know what you don't know until you know then you can't unknow.  For me and now quite a few others 1024 is were the magic is and where we now live.  Someday 2048 will exceed that but we need Dacs that can handle that first.

[Quadman]

51 minutes ago, marcosax said:

That’s why I’m trying to figure out a the minimum spec system that’ll allow me to try that (DSD1024), without spending a fortune

As to minimum spec I am not certain.  I went from a 10700K with a 3060 gpu that could not do DSD1024, to a 11900K CPU mainly because I could use the same motherboard.  With the 11900K and 3060 I was able to do almost every filter in HQP at 1024(except Sinc L, LI, MX and PS XTR mp/lp) and every NON EC modulator.  I could not do 1024 w EC modulators (I could do a fair amount of DSD512 with EC but not all).  I was happy as a pig in mud.  1024 was a revelation.  The 11900K (and 12th and 13th gen) run much hotter than the 10700K so I also had to move to water cooling.  Then several folks started getting 1024 w EC  modulators and I had to try.  So eBay is your friend, I found a 12900KS for around $400 and bought the almost mandatory MSI motherboard (you can adjust ring ratio speed easily) also from ebay for around $130, it looked brand new when I got it.  Then I found a lightly used 3090 GPU and got that for $825.  Now I can do DSD1024 with most EC modulators except EC7v2.  I am like Jussi, I don't OC just set XMP 1 memory profile and turn off anything related to intel speed step.  If I did OC then I am sure I could do the EC7v2 modulators at 1024.  But heat would still concern me as CPU temps would peak in the 80's and voltages would be higher than I am comfortable with.  I know the CPU can handle it, but I am uncomfortable with those temps as I tend to listen for 8 hour stretch's at a time.  I have found based on trials at DSD512 I prefer DSD5ECv2 to DSD7ECv2 so as it is now I can do everything I want with no OC.  Oh very important to achieve this use UBUNTU 22.04 with Jussi's kernel image.  When I used windows (11 pro) I was limited to 1024 DSD5EC and ASDM5EC.  Ubuntu opened the door to more modulators.  Also Igorski has a post in the HQP thread (I think) detailing how he got DSD1024 w EC7V2 modulators with a 12900KS and NO GPU.  He posted this sometime in Nov 22.

[Quadman]

26 minutes ago, pavi said:

my system can now comfortably handle 44.1/16, 48/24, 88.2/24, 96/24 at DSD1024 without any trouble. i'm using the default filters (1x: poly-sinc-gauss-long; Nx: poly-sinc-gauss-hires-lp; AMSDM7EC 512+fs; rate limit set to 49152000)

I can do the same with my 12900KS + 3090 GPU, even 24/192 and 24/176.4 work.  AMSDM7EC 512+fs is much easier load than 5ECv2 or 7ECv2.  HQP desktop 4.21, Ubuntu 22.04 with Jussi's latest kernel 5.15.85.  No OC of CPU except XMP1 and turn off all intel speed step processes.  I really like the sound of AMSDM7EC 512+fs even tho it is psuedo multi-bit vs ECv2 single bit.  I wonder why that is?

 

[Quadman]

13 minutes ago, ted_b said:

Is there a prebuilt, somewhat-off-the-shelf Win11 computer (NUC, desktop, tower) I can buy that will do DSD64 to DSD1024 (doesn't need to be ECv2) out of the box?  I use an NAA and don't really care how noisy the box is, it's not in my audio room. 

Windows is more difficult to upsample to 1024 than ubuntu.  The rig I mention above could only do DSD1024 with EC5 up to 24/96 in W11.  When I moved to ubuntu then more modulators opened up for me.  I only have one DSD album on my HDD and never tried that, I can try it tonight but I run 22.04 as stated above.

 

Look for a 12900KS or 13900K rig with a GPU like a 4070Ti or 4080 and you should be able to do what you want.  Make sure it has very good water cooling a 360 at minimum.  These processors run very hot.  I also prefer titanium level PSU's, if you compare the ripple numbers of these to the big HDplex psu's you'll see they are slightly better, and tho they are expensive they are much cheaper than HDPlex's.

[Quadman]

14 minutes ago, ted_b said:

Asked another way, is DSD to DSD1024 more or less difficult than PCM to DSD1024? 

Ted, I recently upsampled my 1 DSD album to 1024x44.1 DSD, using the ec5v2 modulator, Filter was fir2/xfi and the workload for my 12900ks server w 3090 GPU was right at it's limit.  I didn't have any dropouts, but I was riding the edge.  Based on this dsd64 to 1024 is as difficult as pcm to 1024 (on my rig, amsdm7ec 512+ would be easier}.  Screen shot shows 2 cores loaded over 70% which is near where dropout's start on my rig and GPU usage around 28%

[Quadman]

16 hours ago, sdolezalek said:

Noctua NH-U12A (Intel 115x and AMD AM4)

You will want a much better cooler, I'd suggest a 360 AIO water cooler.  12th and 13th gen generate a LOT of heat, air cooling will not cut it unless you only up sample to hi rate PCM with no DSD up sampling.  MSI MB's are the easiest to adjust many parameters in Bios as well.

[Quadman]

4 minutes ago, Carlos269 said:

will the upgrade in GPU yield any gains?

I come close to your goal with my 12900KS and 3090, but cannot do it.  I would think with a 13900 KS and 3090 you might very well be able to do it.  4090 offers much more speed but at that high cost.

[Quadman]

11 hours ago, pgalowich said:

PCM output at multiple of 44.1k, ideally above 500k

With the setup you describe above you should have no issues upsampling to any level of PCM you desire especially if the source is also PCM.  PCM 705.6/768 and 1411.2/1536 should all easily be attainable with that rig.  Upsampling to very high rate DSD requires the huge horsepowers, not PCM.

[Quadman]

39 minutes ago, pgalowich said:

Could it also do DSD 512 or is a additional graphics card necessary?

That requires some testing but on the easiest filters and modulators it should do DSD512, My buddies i9-12900K does 512 at poly sinc hi rez ip with DSD5EC super 512+ and he has NO GPU.