Building a DIY Music Server

[Iving]

24 minutes ago, MarcelNL said:

I have a set of those..and I have the 24pin ATX pinout....still hope to avoid lifting the 12V pins since that 14AWG UPOCC is not very bendy.. 

 

Sure

 

I'm fairly confident 12V is stepped down for this and that ...

[Iving]

@MarcelNL maybe you have an el cheapo 24 thin wire loom you could use for experiment. We know Pin 11 is not necessary since 20 pin block works in 24 pin mobo. Thus just Pin 10 lifted will resolve.

[MarcelNL]

8 hours ago, Iving said:

@MarcelNL maybe you have an el cheapo 24 thin wire loom you could use for experiment. We know Pin 11 is not necessary since 20 pin block works in 24 pin mobo. Thus just Pin 10 lifted will resolve.

thanks for that great thought! I'll try ...removing 1 pin is doable! will report back!

 

[tuochongle]

Hello, 

 

Asus WS c621E Sage motherboard available on Asus Shop for $630

 

https://www.asus.com/us/motherboards-components/motherboards/workstation/ws-c621e-sagebmc/

[SK8]

On 4/6/2023 at 5:50 PM, Tubeman66 said:

A Small tip
Buy an SFP NIC that is based on the intel i210 chip
Download the installation script for Takio SFP NIC
Then you have a really good solution for a fraction of what the Taiko NIC costs

And it sounds wonderful

 

Have compared it with Startech SFP NIC
and the Intel card sounds much better

 

 

 

Digitus 10160 SFP Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express Card Network Interface Controller : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

 

Thanks for the good tip. Have you considered connecting your i210 NIC card to a switch with SFP ports using a DAC cable, just like the Taiko switch? 

 

This is one of the SFP switches I can find, anyone knows any other high quality ones in the market?

 

https://mikrotik.com/product/crs305_1g_4s_in

 

 

[Nenon]

1 hour ago, SK8 said:

Have you considered connecting your i210 NIC card to a switch with SFP ports using a DAC cable, just like the Taiko switch? 

 

It doesn't really make a lot of sense to use a DAC cable unless you are using the Taiko switch. The Taiko switch is optimized for ultra low power consumption and lower latency and the DAC cable is part of it. 

 

The DAC cable does not have any isolation, and noise easily passes between the switch and the server. It's better to use a RJ45 ethernet cable as the signal on the RJ45 ethernet cable typically goes through small isolation devices (mini transformers). They probably can't do miracles but are usually better than using a straight wire (like the DAC cable does). 

[Tubeman66]

I used exclusively cisco switches. 
Can recommend ws3560C modified for LPS

[Tubeman66]

1 hour ago, Nenon said:

 

It doesn't really make a lot of sense to use a DAC cable unless you are using the Taiko switch. The Taiko switch is optimized for ultra low power consumption and lower latency and the DAC cable is part of it. 

 

The DAC cable does not have any isolation, and noise easily passes between the switch and the server. It's better to use a RJ45 ethernet cable as the signal on the RJ45 ethernet cable typically goes through small isolation devices (mini transformers). They probably can't do miracles but are usually better than using a straight wire (like the DAC cable does). 

Fiber vs DAC vs Ethernet, what to choose in a data center? | Blogs La Salle | Campus Barcelona (salleurl.edu)

 

dac cables vs fiber - Sök på Google

 

Some good info

[Tubeman66]

3 hours ago, SK8 said:

Thanks for the good tip. Have you considered connecting your i210 NIC card to a switch with SFP ports using a DAC cable, just like the Taiko switch? 

 

This is one of the SFP switches I can find, anyone knows any other high quality ones in the market?

 

https://mikrotik.com/product/crs305_1g_4s_in

 

 

Buy a DAC cable and try it!

 

if you like the sound then keep it

[tuochongle]

On 4/27/2023 at 10:27 PM, Nenon said:

 

It doesn't really make a lot of sense to use a DAC cable unless you are using the Taiko switch. The Taiko switch is optimized for ultra low power consumption and lower latency and the DAC cable is part of it. 

 

The DAC cable does not have any isolation, and noise easily passes between the switch and the server. It's better to use a RJ45 ethernet cable as the signal on the RJ45 ethernet cable typically goes through small isolation devices (mini transformers). They probably can't do miracles but are usually better than using a straight wire (like the DAC cable does). 

Waversa EXT Passive Digital Filters LAN Ethernet is such device Nenon has mentioned. It is very good LAN isolation.

[MarcelNL]

After completing faffing around with the home network for a while, now with WIFI in the router switched off and a remote access point connected and all other home internet behind a switch and letting things break in it was time for the next step.

 

I just plugged in a 16core Ryzen, hoping and expecting the difference would be minimal...it HAS to end somewhere after all, right?

 

A good while ago we compare the Miyaima Zero and Infinity cartridges, well this difference reminds me of that night....once you've heard the better it's HARD to go back....

 

[littlej0e]

Gents,

 

I finally finished building my DIY "Faiko" server based on all the outstanding recommendations and resources in this thread. Unfortunately, I seem to be having trouble with the CPUs, motherboard, or taiko DC-ATX. I can't seem to get both CPUs running at the same time. I've swapped cables, CPUs between MB slots, ATX ports, etc., etc. but no matter what I do I can't seem to get both CPUs working at the same time.
 

I've been through BIOS settings, but no luck thus far. I'm now combining through the MB documentation and the next step seems to be updating the firmware (if one is available). In any case, I thought it best to see if anyone has had similar issues. Relevant components are: 

 

1 x Asus 621E motherboard 

2 x Intel 4109T

1 x Taiko DC-ATX

12 x APACER 4G RAM (78.B1GN0.4000B)

 

Thanks, 

 

- lj

[ciccio1112]

3 hours ago, littlej0e said:

Signori,

 

Ho finalmente finito di costruire il mio server "Faiko" fai-da-te sulla base di tutti i consigli e le risorse eccezionali in questo thread. Sfortunatamente, mi sembra di avere problemi con le CPU, la scheda madre o il taiko DC-ATX. Non riesco a far funzionare entrambe le CPU contemporaneamente. Ho scambiato cavi, CPU tra slot MB, porte ATX, ecc. Ecc. Ma non importa quello che faccio, non riesco a far  funzionare entrambe le CPU contemporaneamente.
 

Ho controllato le impostazioni del BIOS, ma finora non ho avuto fortuna. Ora sto combinando la documentazione MB e il passaggio successivo sembra essere l'aggiornamento del firmware (se disponibile). In ogni caso,  ho ritenuto opportuno vedere se qualcuno ha avuto problemi simili. I componenti rilevanti sono: 

 

1 scheda madre Asus 621E 

2 x Intel 4109T

1 x Taiko DC-ATX

12 RAM APACER 4G (78.B1GN0.4000B)

 

Grazie, 

 

- lj

HI. Check the perfect tightening of the bolts of the heatsinks that connect with the CPUs. It takes very little for all the contacts of the CPU not to touch correctly with the motherboard socket, and therefore not seen correctly.

[Nenon]

10 hours ago, littlej0e said:

I can't seem to get both CPUs running at the same time.

 

6 hours ago, ciccio1112 said:

Check the perfect tightening of the bolts of the heatsinks that connect with the CPUs.

+1 

This is a common issue with this CPU socket. 

[botrytis]

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/streacom-600w-passive-cooling-FYI.

 

Interesting for cooling. 

[MarcelNL]

42 minutes ago, botrytis said:

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/streacom-600w-passive-cooling-FYI.

 

Interesting for cooling. 

Indeed, the article appears to have vanished from the location linked, I found it on a Dutch hardwaresite. Interesting concept that heatpipe system, provided if that can move 600W through 2 small diameter heatpipes.

Right now it's a kickstarter....

 

 

FWIW; I'm using one 300W heatsink and 6 regular heatpipes for the 16core Ryzen 9 on full blast, core temp lies around 35'C

[botrytis]

I have a Ryzen 9 9500x using a closed loop water cooling system, but I do game with this PC. In gaming I get to 45C, with the 6800 video card running at 35C - 3440 x 1440 resolution. Hogwarts Legacy - new game - averages 120 fps at the stated resolution.

 

[botrytis]

For win 11 people would this be useful.. 

 

https://wccftech.com/tiny11-toned-down-version-of-windows-11-can-run-on-a-gpu-with-4-gb-vram/

[littlej0e]

You guys are geniuses. I re-seated the CPUs again and it worked. I guess 5th times' the charm. 

 

Thanks so much for your help!

 

17 hours ago, ciccio1112 said:

HI. Check the perfect tightening of the bolts of the heatsinks that connect with the CPUs. It takes very little for all the contacts of the CPU not to touch correctly with the motherboard socket, and therefore not seen correctly.

 

10 hours ago, Nenon said:

 

+1 

This is a common issue with this CPU socket. 

 

[Gavin1977]

On 5/7/2023 at 9:13 PM, botrytis said:

For win 11 people would this be useful.. 

 

https://wccftech.com/tiny11-toned-down-version-of-windows-11-can-run-on-a-gpu-with-4-gb-vram/

This has potential... especially since Windows 11 is being reported as better sounding than Win 10 LTSC.  Anyone tried it yet? 

[MarcelNL]

how does VRAM compare to industrial RAM , sonically?

[Gavin1977]

6 hours ago, MarcelNL said:

how does VRAM compare to industrial RAM , sonically?

Looking at it - you can only boot Windows to a GPU/VRAM using a virtual machine i.e. within Windows.  Unlikely to be any benefit for audiophiles due to the increased overhead.

 

However, a significantly de-bloated version of Windows looks very attractive - potentially down to 30-40 processes.  I checked my main work laptop - 400 concurrent processes!  Nothing essentially new here, but there are some good tools out there you can substitute for audiophile optimiser (I've never used it).

[MarcelNL]

3 minutes ago, Gavin1977 said:

Looking at it - you can only boot Windows to a GPU/VRAM using a virtual machine i.e. within Windows.  Unlikely to be any benefit for audiophiles due to the increased overhead.

 

However, a significantly de-bloated version of Windows looks very attractive - potentially down to 30-40 processes.  I checked my main work laptop - 400 concurrent processes!  Nothing essentially new here, but there are some good tools out there you can substitute for audiophile optimiser (I've never used it).

yeah I imagined it would not be a walk in the park....

 

I'd like an OS shootout, but I dread the booting and rebooting and installing....perhaps the fastest way is pre installing every OS on the same make and model of an NVME SSD get everything to work and plugging them in one after the other in a monster listening session.

 

So far I've tried Audiolinux, W8 with various programs and players, Euphony and Daphile, and I liked Daphile best (sounded the same as Audiolinux but I don;t need to faff around so much as Linux noob, it basically is a de-bloated ARCH Linux with LMS incorporated)

 

Now that was by no means a complete audition, and no verdict.... just that the glaring benefits I read about were not so obvious to me other than that Linux probably handles resources better and Windows needs more in depth knowledge and tweaking to get serious sound improvement.

 

Sound 'fingerprints' for Windows and Linux? I read about them but am hard pressed to believe they exist since there too I assume it's a matter of implementation and installation/tweaking

 

 

[taipan254]

13 hours ago, Gavin1977 said:

This has potential... especially since Windows 11 is being reported as better sounding than Win 10 LTSC.  Anyone tried it yet? 

I’m also keeping an eye on this

 

https://atlasos.net/

 

there could be some security issues but as a stand-alone music server OS I think it’ll do great. 

[RDOK]

10 hours ago, Gavin1977 said:

Looking at it - you can only boot Windows to a GPU/VRAM using a virtual machine i.e. within Windows.  Unlikely to be any benefit for audiophiles due to the increased overhead.

 

However, a significantly de-bloated version of Windows looks very attractive - potentially down to 30-40 processes.  I checked my main work laptop - 400 concurrent processes!  Nothing essentially new here, but there are some good tools out there you can substitute for audiophile optimiser (I've never used it).

 

Hi Gavin1977,

 

In

 

Windows PE as AUDIO OS - General Forum - Audiophile Style

or more elaborate

Windows 11 PE Audiophile Creation Guide - Computer Audio - JPLAY - hi-end audio player for Windows

 

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

I tried, found the learning curve to be steep (not being familiar with Windows tweaking).

I managed to get it running with HQPlayer's NAA with less than 40  processes running.

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

 

I compared the sound I got from this to Gentooplayer and I prefer the latter (my ears, my system etc.)

Later I might try to reduce the number of processes running but for now I am focusing on another project.