Building a DIY Music Server

[Gavin1977]

1 hour ago, RDOK said:

 

it is shown that it is very well possible to run W10 or W11 directly in RAM.

 

Yeah, sure thing.  I have run ramboot before, but what I was referring to was booting via VRAM on a GPU… different kettle of fish.

[Nick90]

Maybe this question is off topic, but possibly you guys know the answer!

 

A friend has ordered the hyped Eversolo DMP-A6 to try out. Now he wanted to try a decent external power supply.

Now I want to solder an adapter for him.

 

Do you guys know which 6-pin connector is used?

(The one from the PSU to the board photo: 5,6,22 and 23 you see the 6 pin connector).

 

Cheers 

 

https://device.report/m/88c750fc982731c8c366aaa18b676e29b69cdc5eeff7912f5a594dc8075b1e96.pdf

[MarcelNL]

looks like one of the many Molex connectors if you are pointing at the white connector at the lower right end of pic 23

[Nick90]

10 minutes ago, MarcelNL said:

looks like one of the many Molex connectors if you are pointing at the white connector at the lower right end of pic 23

 

Exactly, I'll just attach a picture for convenience. 

I have found quite a few 6-pin connectors including some from Molex. But there are several that are pretty similar hence I was hoping someone knew the exact model. 

 

 

[flowcharts]

Is it a JST connector?

[MarcelNL]

best bet is to contact the manufacturer.......even better is to use the solder pads underneath the circuit board ;-)

[Nick90]

3 minutes ago, flowcharts said:

Is it a JST connector?

 

Indeed, looking at the female chassis part, you would think so. But the male has an extra tab, which is hard to see. I don't find that anywhere with JST connectors.

[Nick90]

3 minutes ago, MarcelNL said:

best bet is to contact the manufacturer.......even better is to use the solder pads underneath the circuit board ;-)

 

As we speak, I just emailed the manufacturer.

 

Haha, yes if the rumors are true and the reviewers are finally telling the truth he will keep the unit, otherwise it goes back, hence the temporary adapter. If the streamer sounds good (which would surprise me) that would be the best solution. :)

[flowcharts]

Reminds me of https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/jst-sales-america-inc/VHR-4N/608626?so=80323000&content=productdetail_US&mkt_tok=MDI4LVNYSy01MDcAAAGKQ_4qdj7B0i7F3TJY_1Ju1zwcUawbgTU5ZPKyOM52bDHx0HlLDzB57MCQKWSo-ZEGmbQFtYc8YWz-2CgtNkpNethxAPYHmll-1CLbDk1r

[Nick90]

42 minutes ago, flowcharts said:

Reminds me of https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/jst-sales-america-inc/VHR-4N/608626?so=80323000&content=productdetail_US&mkt_tok=MDI4LVNYSy01MDcAAAGKQ_4qdj7B0i7F3TJY_1Ju1zwcUawbgTU5ZPKyOM52bDHx0HlLDzB57MCQKWSo-ZEGmbQFtYc8YWz-2CgtNkpNethxAPYHmll-1CLbDk1r

I think your right, awesome! Thanks you all 🙏 

[seeteeyou]

20 hours ago, RDOK said:

On the Jcat forum quoted above they are down to 10 processes....

 

It already reached the point where everything ended up to be pretty darn "barebone" for those of us who might wanna go after the "ultimate" SQ

 

http://jplay.eu/forum/index.php?/topic/4410-windows-11-pe-audiophile-creation-guide/?p=63862

Quote

One more step in reducing Win11PE audio:

I have removed "iertutil.dll" and "imageres.dll" , contained in \windows\system32, which has allowed me to get a boot.wim size of 99.7 MB, with my ASIO drivers and F2k and BugHead installed. Without ASIO drivers and without audio apps the size is 84.4 MB !!

 

 

And then I also posted the complete list (simply click each "Show" button) of files, the entire OS only contained 1,950 files after removing both Bug head Emperor and foobar2000 folders

 

http://jplay.eu/forum/index.php?/topic/4410-windows-11-pe-audiophile-creation-guide/?p=63815

 

It's such a pity that particular list was actually created from the Spanish version of build 22000.194 ISO image, usually the number of files could be further reduced if we're getting started with any English (United States) flavors of build 22000.1 ISO images as I posted here

 

http://jplay.eu/forum/index.php?/topic/4410-windows-11-pe-audiophile-creation-guide/?p=62384

 

In reality the learning curve doesn't have to be THAT steep at all. Let's grab a copy of any 22000.1 ISO images as I mentioned above, then take a quick look at my post as follows

 

http://jplay.eu/forum/index.php?/topic/4410-windows-11-pe-audiophile-creation-guide/?p=63183

 

It's just a matter of downloading this Make_WinPE_Trusted-44-E.zip before extracting everything with the correct password

 

https://github.com/wimbrts/Make_WinPE/releases/download/4.4/Make_WinPE_Trusted-44-E.zip

bootwimb

 

Nightly builds of System Informer are available here

 

https://github.com/winsiderss/si-builds/releases

https://systeminformer.sourceforge.io/nightly.php

 

ASIO drivers for USB DACs / DDCs could be integrated + investigated just like this

 

http://jplay.eu/forum/index.php?/topic/4410-windows-11-pe-audiophile-creation-guide/?p=63240

http://jplay.eu/forum/index.php?/topic/4410-windows-11-pe-audiophile-creation-guide/?p=64366

 

While this particular feature of Make_WinPE should be yet another viable alternative once we've got all necessary files extracted

 

https://reboot.pro/index.php?showtopic=22608

https://msfn.org/board/topic/183451-make_winpe-boot-and-make-pe-wim-file-from-x64-windows-iso/

Quote

Add_Drivers folder - Add your Drivers folders e.g. for your WiFi Network card

 

IMHO messing with any "normal" versions of Windows 11 SAC / Windows 10 LTSC / Windows Server etc. would be considered a waste of time at this point, we're talking about merely 409 versus a whopping 1,787 WinSxS / Component-Based Servicing packages

 

https://github.com/starchivore/PE/tree/main/WIM

 

---

 

Of course there's also this version of Arch Linux with an "extra special" EVL (Xenomai 4) kernel, it totally smoked anything else with run-of-the-mill RT kernels

 

https://github.com/sam0402/ArchQ#readme

http://wiki.csie.ncku.edu.tw/embedded/xenomai

 

Someone else actually put HQPlayer 4 Embedded on ArchQ while comparing its SQ to that of HQPlayer OS, the latter one was totally left in the dust

 

https://www.my-hiend.com/vbb/showthread.php?p=254304#post254304

 

EVL (Xenomai 4) FTW

 

https://evlproject.org/core/

[Gavin1977]

Great research as always  - so what are the best sounding (ideally Ready-2-Run) solutions at this point in time @seeteeyou according to your research?

[littlej0e]

After approx. 6 months of planning and component gathering, I'm finishing up the initial build stage of my "Faiko" DIY Taiko server and I thought it best to give something back to the community that has been such an enormous help to me. Here are some of the initial lessons learned from my build:

 

• Asus C621E Sage motherboard can be a little finicky. 
  • I had troubles making contact between the CPU and MB socket LGAs (could be specific to this board in particular).
  • Occasionally takes 2-to-3 manual power resets before the MB finally loads to the default boot order/device (again, could be specific to my board or a BIOS setting I've overlooked). 
  •  
• Notes on Taiko DIY Chassis Kit:
  • It's an excellent kit with a very high quality components.
  • The chassis is huge. Be prepared. 
  • The spacing between the motherboard and the rear of the chassis is too wide (by approx. 5mm). I had to bend the ends of the PCIE brackets to fit.
  • Rear rectangular MB access port is approx. 3mm too small with slightly rounded corners instead of squared. The rear MB port cover would not snap in without altering it (I slightly crimped all 4 corners to get it to fit). This may have been accidental during the CNC milling process or intentional to accommodate a wider range of MBs - I can only speculate.
  • I no longer see the DIY chassis for sale on Taiko's website. Anyone know why not? Again, it's an excellent, high quality chassis kit that is perfect for these builds.
  • Heat Pipes
    • The kit includes 2 extra pipes, presumably because the folks at Taiko know you'll screw this up. Unfortunately, two weren't enough for me! I kept making mistakes because I didn't slow the hell down and think it through first. I ended up bending pipes multiple times in an attempt to fix said mistakes, which subsequently weakened them and caused them to break. I ultimately had to pull extras from an old HDPLEX cooling kit just to finish the build and I still ended up mangling the $h!t out of my "finished" pipes because I got too excited and didn't think it through first. Please learn from my overzealousness and carless behavior!
    • Two simple bends are all that is required: 
      • First bend is approx. 40 - 45 degrees vertical (depending on which grooved, horizontal pipe slot you land it in on the chassis). 
        • The bend should begin at the top base of the CPU cooler assembly pointing towards the grooved side of the chassis wall. 
        • Ensure pipes run the full length of the CPU cooler before bending and/or establishing your bend point. Ideally, the pipes should protrude out of the bottom of the cooler assembly by a very small amount, say 2-to-3mm, to ensure maximum contact with the cooler. 
      • Second bend is 90 degrees horizontal in-line with the grooved wall of the chassis. The bend point will vary slightly depending on which groove slot you land it in (i.e. a pipe landing on the top groove will require slightly more length before bending than a pipe landing on the bottom groove). 
      • That's it. Don't over-think it.
• Don't be afraid to DIY, but be honest with yourself and calculate risk to avoid potentially expensive mistakes.
  • For example, I knew that given a long enough timeline I could figure out how to build my own power supply. But having never built one before, I felt that using $2,500-to-$3,000 worth of components for beginner-level education was poor risk management and therefore a poor financial choice. I ended up commissioning a build from another forum member instead at an additional cost of approx. $200 in labor (Mr. Builder - you know who you are and thanks again!). Sometimes coughing up the extra $200 is better!
• I was harshly reminded of how little I know about RF, electromagnetic interference, dielectrics, etc. as they relate to digital audio playback. I spent hours adding tons of extra aluminum mesh, copper tape, etc. to various components and cables. It absolutely murdered the sound and staging. Don't automatically assume "MOAR IS BETTER!!!" or that people who design and build this stuff are being lazy or cheap. My penance for this hard-learned lesson was to spend even more hours of my life removing said custom shielding, then subsequently using it to mop up my audio tears.
• Don't rush and enjoy the process (see ridiculous heat pipe fiasco above)
• The most expensive option doesn't necessarily yield the best results.
• Trust your ears and no one else's and don't let anyone talk you out of your preferences.
• Audio is a hobby of nuance and nearly every component can make a difference. Don't listen to anyone that tells you otherwise. 
• If you get stuck, don't be afraid to reach out for help (especially those in this forum). 
• The sound is excellent as-is, especially the dynamics and control, and I haven't even finished tweaking it yet. I have personally heard only two other sources that can easily best it:
  • A Legit Taiko Extreme
  • A Pink Faun 2.16 Ultra
  • Interesting side note: I privately polled others as to the average performance gap between a DIY Taiko and the real thing. Average gap reported was approx. 25%. Having A/B'd my server against a legit Taiko this past weekend, I'd say it's closer to 35%, but my system still needs more tweaking, PS burn in, a proper USB card, etc. 

 

• Components list for my build:
  • Case:
    • Taiko DIY Case Kit w/Dual CPU coolers
  • Motherboard:
    • Asus WS C621E SAGE
  • CPU:
    • 2 x Intel 4109T (will replace with 4210's eventually)
  • RAM:
    • 12 x APACER 78.B1GN0.4000B RDIMM DDR4 1.2V 2400MHz 4GB CL17
  • Storage:
    • 2 x SK Hynix P31 gold 2TB drive
    • 1 x ASUS HYPER M.2 X16 GEN 4 CARD (fan is super annoying btw - might have to disable it)
  • Network:
    • 1 x 10 Trendnet Gigabit PCIe SFP+ Ultra Low Power Network Adapter (though I am using the ethernet port on the MB as it sounds better to my ears. Guess I need a proper network card...) 
  • Audio output:
    • 1 x AES/EBU BNC Pink Faun PCIE card (will replace with JCAT XE or Taiko USB eventually)
  • Power:
    • 1 x Taiko Audio DC DC-ATX
    • 1 x External Sean Jacobs ULPS
  • Operating System & Software:
    • EuphonyOS
    • Roon or Euphony Stylus (has slightly better SQ than Roon in my opinion). 
  •  Cabling: 
    • Ghent Audio 1 x 0.2m Neotech UP-OOC (PC01) 24P---24P ATX 18AWG Cable (JSSG360)
    • Ghent Audio 1 x 0.2m Neotech UP-OOC (PC11) 8P---8P CPU/EPS 18AWG Cable (JSSG360) 
    • Ghent Audio 1 x 0.3m Neotech UP-OOC (PC11) 8P---8P CPU/EPS 18AWG Cable (JSSG360)
    • Custom 4 pole GX16 socket to 6 pin ATX cable from a private cable manufacturer
  • Lots of BIOS tweaks stemming from tons of trial and error!

Lastly, thanks again to everyone in this forum for letting me mooch off all of the outstanding people, expertise, recommendations, and experience contained herein. It is/was very much appreciated! 

 

- lj

[SK8]

6 hours ago, littlej0e said:

After approx. 6 months of planning and component gathering, I'm finishing up the initial build stage of my "Faiko" DIY Taiko server and I thought it best to give something back to the community that has been such an enormous help to me. Here are some of the initial lessons learned from my build:

 

• Asus C621E Sage motherboard can be a little finicky. 
  • I had troubles making contact between the CPU and MB socket LGAs (could be specific to this board in particular).
  • Occasionally takes 2-to-3 manual power resets before the MB finally loads to the default boot order/device (again, could be specific to my board or a BIOS setting I've overlooked). 
  •  
• Notes on Taiko DIY Chassis Kit:
  • It's an excellent kit with a very high quality components.
  • The chassis is huge. Be prepared. 
  • The spacing between the motherboard and the rear of the chassis is too wide (by approx. 5mm). I had to bend the ends of the PCIE brackets to fit.
  • Rear rectangular MB access port is approx. 3mm too small with slightly rounded corners instead of squared. The rear MB port cover would not snap in without altering it (I slightly crimped all 4 corners to get it to fit). This may have been accidental during the CNC milling process or intentional to accommodate a wider range of MBs - I can only speculate.
  • I no longer see the DIY chassis for sale on Taiko's website. Anyone know why not? Again, it's an excellent, high quality chassis kit that is perfect for these builds.
  • Heat Pipes
    • The kit includes 2 extra pipes, presumably because the folks at Taiko know you'll screw this up. Unfortunately, two weren't enough for me! I kept making mistakes because I didn't slow the hell down and think it through first. I ended up bending pipes multiple times in an attempt to fix said mistakes, which subsequently weakened them and caused them to break. I ultimately had to pull extras from an old HDPLEX cooling kit just to finish the build and I still ended up mangling the $h!t out of my "finished" pipes because I got too excited and didn't think it through first. Please learn from my overzealousness and carless behavior!
    • Two simple bends are all that is required: 
      • First bend is approx. 40 - 45 degrees vertical (depending on which grooved, horizontal pipe slot you land it in on the chassis). 
        • The bend should begin at the top base of the CPU cooler assembly pointing towards the grooved side of the chassis wall. 
        • Ensure pipes run the full length of the CPU cooler before bending and/or establishing your bend point. Ideally, the pipes should protrude out of the bottom of the cooler assembly by a very small amount, say 2-to-3mm, to ensure maximum contact with the cooler. 
      • Second bend is 90 degrees horizontal in-line with the grooved wall of the chassis. The bend point will vary slightly depending on which groove slot you land it in (i.e. a pipe landing on the top groove will require slightly more length before bending than a pipe landing on the bottom groove). 
      • That's it. Don't over-think it.
• Don't be afraid to DIY, but be honest with yourself and calculate risk to avoid potentially expensive mistakes.
  • For example, I knew that given a long enough timeline I could figure out how to build my own power supply. But having never built one before, I felt that using $2,500-to-$3,000 worth of components for beginner-level education was poor risk management and therefore a poor financial choice. I ended up commissioning a build from another forum member instead at an additional cost of approx. $200 in labor (Mr. Builder - you know who you are and thanks again!). Sometimes coughing up the extra $200 is better!
• I was harshly reminded of how little I know about RF, electromagnetic interference, dielectrics, etc. as they relate to digital audio playback. I spent hours adding tons of extra aluminum mesh, copper tape, etc. to various components and cables. It absolutely murdered the sound and staging. Don't automatically assume "MOAR IS BETTER!!!" or that people who design and build this stuff are being lazy or cheap. My penance for this hard-learned lesson was to spend even more hours of my life removing said custom shielding, then subsequently using it to mop up my audio tears.
• Don't rush and enjoy the process (see ridiculous heat pipe fiasco above)
• The most expensive option doesn't necessarily yield the best results.
• Trust your ears and no one else's and don't let anyone talk you out of your preferences.
• Audio is a hobby of nuance and nearly every component can make a difference. Don't listen to anyone that tells you otherwise. 
• If you get stuck, don't be afraid to reach out for help (especially those in this forum). 
• The sound is excellent as-is, especially the dynamics and control, and I haven't even finished tweaking it yet. I have personally heard only two other sources that can easily best it:
  • A Legit Taiko Extreme
  • A Pink Faun 2.16 Ultra
  • Interesting side note: I privately polled others as to the average performance gap between a DIY Taiko and the real thing. Average gap reported was approx. 25%. Having A/B'd my server against a legit Taiko this past weekend, I'd say it's closer to 35%, but my system still needs more tweaking, PS burn in, a proper USB card, etc. 

 

• Components list for my build:
  • Case:
    • Taiko DIY Case Kit w/Dual CPU coolers
  • Motherboard:
    • Asus WS C621E SAGE
  • CPU:
    • 2 x Intel 4109T (will replace with 4210's eventually)
  • RAM:
    • 12 x APACER 78.B1GN0.4000B RDIMM DDR4 1.2V 2400MHz 4GB CL17
  • Storage:
    • 2 x SK Hynix P31 gold 2TB drive
    • 1 x ASUS HYPER M.2 X16 GEN 4 CARD (fan is super annoying btw - might have to disable it)
  • Network:
    • 1 x 10 Trendnet Gigabit PCIe SFP+ Ultra Low Power Network Adapter (though I am using the ethernet port on the MB as it sounds better to my ears. Guess I need a proper network card...) 
  • Audio output:
    • 1 x AES/EBU BNC Pink Faun PCIE card (will replace with JCAT XE or Taiko USB eventually)
  • Power:
    • 1 x Taiko Audio DC DC-ATX
    • 1 x External Sean Jacobs ULPS
  • Operating System & Software:
    • EuphonyOS
    • Roon or Euphony Stylus (has slightly better SQ than Roon in my opinion). 
  •  Cabling: 
    • Ghent Audio 1 x 0.2m Neotech UP-OOC (PC01) 24P---24P ATX 18AWG Cable (JSSG360)
    • Ghent Audio 1 x 0.2m Neotech UP-OOC (PC11) 8P---8P CPU/EPS 18AWG Cable (JSSG360) 
    • Ghent Audio 1 x 0.3m Neotech UP-OOC (PC11) 8P---8P CPU/EPS 18AWG Cable (JSSG360)
    • Custom 4 pole GX16 socket to 6 pin ATX cable from a private cable manufacturer
  • Lots of BIOS tweaks stemming from tons of trial and error!

Lastly, thanks again to everyone in this forum for letting me mooch off all of the outstanding people, expertise, recommendations, and experience contained herein. It is/was very much appreciated! 

 

- lj

Thanks so much for the sharing. Would you share the BIOS tweaks you have done? I am in particular interested in  those related to the use of Apacer RAM on the C621 board. Would any changes in the standard timing or voltage improve the SQ?

[littlej0e]

The short answer is - I'm not sure specifically which settings will work best and I need to do more testing to see which settings will best translate between high power and low power designs. This is a non-typical build for me as I've always built sources around the core principle of achieving the lowest power draw possible. That is obviously not the case with the Faiko and I suspect this plays a significant role in the amazing dynamics, staging and presence these servers provide. 

 

I also have to be careful. I commissioned a custom server a couple of years back from someone who does this professionally and I don't want to be a dick and open their kimono without asking. That said, here are some of the preliminary BIOS settings I have implemented:

- SATA ports manually disabled

- USB ports manually disabled (I keep one enabled for emergencies)

- Asus storage controller disabled

- Ethernet port 1 manually enabled (for now, until I spring for the Taiko network card. The ultra low power SFP+ card I have sounds completely dead and lifeless). 

- Ethernet port 2 manually disabled

- Hyperthreading enabled

- Intel proprietary inter-CPU communication, enabled and hard set to 9.xx Gbps (I can't remember specifically what this is called UCT, UTC?!?)

- The CPUs are hard set to power and frequency, but I can't remember the specifics (I typically do this to prevent fluctuations in power delivery). I'll post specifics when I return from my business trip. 

- Note: CPU pinning appears to have a tremendous effect on SQ with these builds.  Beyond the simple BIOS settings above, I would focus there. 

- Note: Taiko has an excellent Roon configuration/optimization

guide on their website. 

 

As for APACER specifically, I have 16kb ECC x 4 enabled instead of the 32 non-ECC mode (forgive me if I screwed this up - I'm not in front of my Faiko at the moment and need to double-check) Other than that, I'm running default RAM settings. But you can always undervolt the sin out of it like I typically do with low power builds. The question is whether or not this will have any tangible beneficial to SQ with this design. More to come as I need to test before I can provide any reliable guidance. 
 

Though I will say that running in Ramroot mode via Euphony vs directly on the Intel Optane 900P 280GB PCIe Card (which I lazily neglected to include in my build list above) seems to be largely a matter of preference. The 900P sounds excellent by itself. 

 

[darkfrank]

Just wondering if anyone tried to use the apacer ecc memory on a SOtM sMB-Q370? Does it work?

[AngeloVRA]

hi @darkfrank

 

Yes, it does work though in non-ECC mode. I use 4x 8GB of https://th.mouser.com/ProductDetail/908-D32.27245S.002

 

Regards

 

 

[Gavin1977]

D31.23245S.001 works fine for me -2666MHz which is the max stock frequency.  It’s cheaper, unless you configure settings to run the faster RAM that Angelo mentions above.  Sourced from SOSElectronics - good service.

[MarcelNL]

guess Christmas comes early this year...look what the mailman brought :-)

 

 

[di-fi]

16 hours ago, Gavin1977 said:

D31.23245S.001 works fine for me -2666MHz which is the max stock frequency.  It’s cheaper, unless you configure settings to run the faster RAM that Angelo mentions above.  Sourced from SOSElectronics - good service.

Hi,

 

Do you mind sharing how much you paid @ SOS (for 8GB?) ?

Also what would be the price and speed difference?

Thanks!

 

D31.23245S.001 

VS 

D31.23245S.002

 

Spec

• Module TypeWide Temperature ECC UDIMM
• Memory TechnologyDDR4
• Frequency2133/2400/2666/2933/3200
• Density4GB/8GB/16GB/32GB
• Voltage1.2v

 

[Gavin1977]

If you don’t do upsampling, than 2666 MHz ram will be fine, the faster speed module that Angelo uses will benefit you if you intend to upsample.  Otherwise not much, if any, difference.

 

Please note the motherboard is only designed for 2666Mhz, might take some optimisation to get 3200 to work.

 

The price was very reasonable - ask them for a quote.

[MarcelNL]

I was looking at the new MB in order to assess the best order of placing the PCie cards and NVME disks, which is somewhat tricky as the board only has three PCIe slots and accepts up to 5 NVME drives and I need to place;

 

-PF HEA bridge I2S output; PCIe 1x.. Assuming latency is a key aspect I found this article;

-Solarflare NIC X2552; PCIe 8x

-Video card which is a long PCIe format, only needed for POST..Ican always buy a PCIe x1 video card

 

Some of the NVME and SATA (will be shut off) are connected via the X570 chipset and some even by an auxilliary chip.

I suspect I want to stick to the CPU direct lanes of which there are only a limited amount

 

 

So looking for any info on latency differences across PCIe lanes I found this article on PCIe clock retimers

 

https://www.edn.com/a-short-primer-on-pcie-latency-and-its-optimization-with-retimers/

 

Anyone here who knows more about this retimer, is this software? Is it incorporated in any OS? 

 

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/io/pci-express/pci-express-gen4-retimer-features-tech-brief.html

 

[Gavin1977]

5 hours ago, MarcelNL said:

I was looking at the new MB in order to assess the best order of placing the PCie cards and NVME disks, which is somewhat tricky as the board only has three PCIe slots and accepts up to 5 NVME drives and I need to place;

 

-PF HEA bridge I2S output; PCIe 1x.. Assuming latency is a key aspect I found this article;

-Solarflare NIC X2552; PCIe 8x

-Video card which is a long PCIe format, only needed for POST..Ican always buy a PCIe x1 video card

 

Some of the NVME and SATA (will be shut off) are connected via the X570 chipset and some even by an auxilliary chip.

I suspect I want to stick to the CPU direct lanes of which there are only a limited amount

 

 

So looking for any info on latency differences across PCIe lanes I found this article on PCIe clock retimers

 

https://www.edn.com/a-short-primer-on-pcie-latency-and-its-optimization-with-retimers/

 

Anyone here who knows more about this retimer, is this software? Is it incorporated in any OS? 

 

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/io/pci-express/pci-express-gen4-retimer-features-tech-brief.html

 

I’d place the Pink Faun I2S bridge in the CPU direct 20 lane channel as this is the most important card (last part of the chain), after that it doesn’t really matter too much in my experience.  But if you had 2x cpu direct lanes I’d put the network card in the other.

 

The retimer tech is basically about signal integrity - PCIe 4.0 is faster, so the signal will degrade quicker and retimers are needed (for example, it might otherwise be a recipe for disaster if you used a long flexible riser).  Anyhow, that’s my interpretation of it - how PCIe 4.0 affects sound I do not know.

[MarcelNL]

yeah, that is how I've set up the current MB, I was hoping to be able to put the Solarflare into a CPU direct lane as well.

This likely means I'd have tp put the PF bridge in the x16 slot and the Solarflare in the next slot and use the rest for my two NVME discs...graphics (irrevelant in a headless system) in the x1 slot (just for POST)

 

Will try both, easy enough to swap the two (bridge and NIC) with the server on the 'bench'

[di-fi]

On 5/14/2023 at 10:35 AM, Gavin1977 said:

If you don’t do upsampling, than 2666 MHz ram will be fine, the faster speed module that Angelo uses will benefit you if you intend to upsample.  Otherwise not much, if any, difference.

 

Please note the motherboard is only designed for 2666Mhz, might take some optimisation to get 3200 to work.

The price was very reasonable - ask them for a quote.

Thanks ,

No up sampling here, so I'll probably go for the 'slower' but more expensive 😁 8GB DDR4. The D31 has a surprisingly good price at 25% of what Mouser seems to charge.

And also for me it seems cheap even compared to the more expensive 8GB Apacer SODIMM sticks I used to buy there (but equally competitively priced).

 

If someone is interested; currently delivery time =  4-6 weeks

 

• Apacer DDR4 ECC DIMM 2666-19 1024x8 8G / D31.23245S.001 :  $33 + VAT 
• Apacer 8G / D31.23245S.002 : $27.80 + VAT

 

https://www.soselectronic.com/en  Gabriela Hricová @ International Sales