Building a DIY Music Server

[MarcelNL]

Yeah I know how they solved it, I planned to do something similar, problem is the space to re-use those spring loaded clips is just not right..4 M3 bolts should work...for now I'm battling the MB Bios to get the Solarflare recognized....I may have to ditch the second NVME disc to get the PCIe16/8 slot to work properly....once that is done I'll pick up the passive cooling project

[StreamFidelity]

35 minutes ago, di-fi said:

Hopefully some inspiration: like this maybe?

- 

https://griggaudio.de/produkt/solarflare-glasfaser-kit/

These are the original holes. And I use longer spring clips. One does not make a firm screw connection with chip cooling. If the contact pressure is too high, it can destroy the chip. This cannot happen with spring clips. 

[MarcelNL]

the new MB has an interesting feature I'm trying to wrap my head around, but it sounds potentially interesting for dynamics:-)

 

"Voltage suspension' basically a.o. allows you to limit voltage drops under peaks, guess the screen will remain attached to the server for a while to come.

[baconbrain]

On 5/30/2023 at 9:21 PM, JJSim said:

For their new SG10 Streacom partnered with Calyos, which has an interesting portfolio of products. Their "2-phase" cooling solutions are particularly intriguing for use in DIY servers, by using a refrigerant instead of water in a 100% passive system without the need for a pump to circulate the fluid.

 

https://www.calyos-tm.com/technologies/loop-heat-pipes

 

It doesn't appear they have any off the shelf products, so anything they offer would be custom made and probably very expensive.

 

 

 

 

Out of curiosity, I reached out to Calyos and inquired if they also do solutions for normal consumers but unfortunately they only do B2B. 

[MarcelNL]

based on what I'm hearing Core precision overboost is gonna stay :-)

[AudioDoctor]

41 minutes ago, MarcelNL said:

based on what I'm hearing Core precision overboost is gonna stay :-)

 

AMD Motherboard?

[MarcelNL]

29 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

AMD Motherboard?

surely, it's only a few Asus motherboards that can do this trick as far as I know

 

Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme

[AudioDoctor]

43 minutes ago, MarcelNL said:

surely, it's only a few Asus motherboards that can do this trick as far as I know

 

Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme

 

I have the Asus X670e pro art, so I am going to go turn that on and see what happens.

[MarcelNL]

24 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

I have the Asus X670e pro art, so I am going to go turn that on and see what happens.

looking forward to your experience!

[JJSim]

On 6/6/2023 at 3:36 PM, baconbrain said:

 

 

Out of curiosity, I reached out to Calyos and inquired if they also do solutions for normal consumers but unfortunately they only do B2B. 

 

That's what I expected. I was reading an article that mentioned they have military contracts, so not surprising they don't cater to the consumer market.

 

And so, the search for passive cooling solutions continues...

[MarcelNL]

6 hours ago, JJSim said:

 

That's what I expected. I was reading an article that mentioned they have military contracts, so not surprising they don't cater to the consumer market.

 

And so, the search for passive cooling solutions continues...

what unmet need do you have? As in what TDP are you thinking of using?

[RGBK]

12 hours ago, MarcelNL said:

Core precision overboost

Is this in some way related to the "little brother" asus rog crosshair viii dark heros "precision boost overdrive"?

[MarcelNL]

1 hour ago, RGBK said:

Is this in some way related to the "little brother" asus rog crosshair viii dark heros "precision boost overdrive"?

It is, from what I understand this version takes things a little further, but it does something like allow voltage swings to be larger than strictly allowed withing 'normal' parameters, making higher frequency peaks possible in a dynamic way looking a.o. core temp....or at least, that is how I undersrand it...  CPU voodoo I'll gladly accept if it works , and it seems so...we'll do some critical listening with more ears in the room than mine during Fridays mini audio meet...for me it's a winner.

 

One of the AMD techies explains it  here;

 

 

[MarcelNL]

guess it's this;

 

[MarcelNL]

I need a proper overclocking nerd audiophile...there are way too many options to tweak and not enough hours in a day to listen through it all....

[AudioDoctor]

Apacer is the first I have seen to come out with DDR5 ECC UDIMM memory that runs faster than the base of 4800MHZ.

https://www.apacer.com/en/product/industrial-product/detail/industrial_dram/fully_lead_free_ddr5_ecc_udimm
 

HQPlayer likes fast RAM

 

edit: ASUS claims that ALL B650 and X670 boards support ECC UDIMM RAM as long as you're using an "X" series Ryzen CPU.

[AudioDoctor]

19 hours ago, JJSim said:

 

That's what I expected. I was reading an article that mentioned they have military contracts, so not surprising they don't cater to the consumer market.

 

And so, the search for passive cooling solutions continues...

 

Check out, The Beast.

https://www.monsterlabo.com/

[Superdad]

1 hour ago, AudioDoctor said:

Check out, The Beast.
https://www.monsterlabo.com/

 

Maybe you and the HQP people need to move towards quantum computers.

 I have a friend that worked for Rigetti for a while. This:

[AudioDoctor]

20 minutes ago, Superdad said:

 

Maybe you and the HQP people need to move towards quantum computers.

 I have a friend that worked for Rigetti for a while. This:

 

Let me know when it can do Sinc-Long to DSD512!  ;-)

[JJSim]

21 hours ago, MarcelNL said:

what unmet need do you have? As in what TDP are you thinking of using?

 

I am favoring the Intel 4314, so 135W TDP. I decided on a 3rd gen scalable processor for multiple reasons. The only upsampling I intend to do is PCM-PCM, which presents a light load on the processor so during use the CPU won't be pulling anywhere near 135W. The problem is finding a passive cooling solution for the LGA 4189 socket. The Taiko heatsinks only fit the LGA 3647 socket, likewise for the HDPLex heatsinks. Dynatron has passive heatsinks that will work, but they are still intended to have forced airflow blowing on them.

 

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/215269/intel-xeon-silver-4314-processor-24m-cache-2-40-ghz/specifications.html

[JJSim]

8 hours ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

Check out, The Beast.

https://www.monsterlabo.com/

 

I know about that one, but I don't like the appearance of PC cases for a music server. I also already have the chassis I will be using (Streacom FC10 with Audio Optimized rear panel).

[MarcelNL]

135W TDP is doable, I'm using a regular passive airflow heatsink rated at 300W and my temps are a rock solid 40'C

Biggest downside to regular heatsinks is that you have to route the grooves for the heatpipes in DIY, we used a regular router with a 3mm radius bit. Aluminum routes a bit choppy but it works.

 

If you plan on using 2 Intel CPUs you may need a heatsink for each or go for a larger one.

 

I have bought a heat pipe clasp from ebay, the shop will do custom designs when asked, heatpipes are available at pharmacy prices through mouser et al or at more reasonable prices at Ali (various lengths.

The clamp I'm using to keep the heat pipe adapter on the CPU is the regular backing plate with a piece of 1/2 inch thick copper plate with 4 hole drilled into it, M4 bolts and nuts.

[Smackers]

I know it doesn’t solve the issue per se with passive cooling but using a 5 meter Fibbr Alpha USB-cable has enabled me to put the whole streaming stack in a different room, which I did cause of the cluttered main rack and it also allows me to use separate power lines. And that cable is no slouch, just a side step in sound quality compared to my jcat signature. 
 And for non headless users you could route a second Alpha or a cheaper optical usb cable

[RGBK]

On 6/8/2023 at 12:07 AM, MarcelNL said:

Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme

How is the direct to CPU connections on that BIG MB?

Minimum need direct CPU-connectivity to M.2 Femto, PCIe Solarflare X2522 NIC, and the upcoming Taiko PCIe DAC card. But those 3 I absolutely want to be connected directly to CPU, with good bandwidth.

[MarcelNL]

23 minutes ago, RGBK said:

How is the direct to CPU connections on that BIG MB?

Minimum need direct CPU-connectivity to M.2 Femto, PCIe Solarflare X2522 NIC, and the upcoming Taiko PCIe DAC card. But those 3 I absolutely want to be connected directly to CPU, with good bandwidth.

that is what I'm still battling with....there is a confusing sharing system but it should be possible

I have the I2S PF bridge in one PCIE slot direct to CPU, and a graphics card in the 1x slot and the Solarflare in the other PCIe slot but it does not function.... yet, and only the femto NVME currently works, not the M.2 -3 NVME slot..have to take the whole thing out of it's cat proof cage to tinker but with the internal intel NIC it sounds very good!