Building a DIY Music Server

[MarcelNL]

9 minutes ago, Smackers said:

Yeah Marcel I’ve underestimated the importance of power until recently. Need a different schematic than the Sigma11 for CPU I guess?! … Which worked so well 19v into the plex. 6A dc to dc card I reckon, perhaps the MPAudio one? 
 

Has anyone of yall tried the Ian Canada cards ”LinearPi”? Looks like they’re lt3045 (couldn’t find info regarding regulators used) and the ability to switch between 3.3 and 5volts seems handy

 

Also the other compatible Ian card with supercaps could be advantageous 🤔 See Gabster on Youtube who recently posted builds using them

for power think BIG, as everything the CPU does is current driven.

Switching between 3.3 and 5 V power supply seems handy but it's usually best to supply what the chip needs and back off from additional conversion steps.

 

Ian canada makes some nice stuff, the drawback is that it's Pi oriented (last time I checked), here we're dealing with a tad more computing power ;-)

 

 

[MarcelNL]

37 minutes ago, Smackers said:

Can an overpowered lpsu be what’s creating the meh sound I got through the cpu? 300 watts 6A. Is it better to match it with, say 200va and 4,5a like I’ve seen others use? Is there such a thing as ”too good”? Or maybe the power draw ”steals” oomph from everything else omg this hobby 😆

You'll probably best describe your setup to begin with. A low powered CPU (computing power) sounds vastly different from a high Octane CPU, and both require a different diet. Power for the CPU needs to be fast, it's not so much the amount of power that is important, it;s speed of delivery

 

A black gate across the power to your USB card oscillating? How did you determine that? 

A PSU needs to be designed with plenty of power in reserve, here folks (me included) like the Mundorf HC caps, or Mundorf AG caps. low noise is another important item, and it matters what you are feeding power into.

I'd suggest to start reading this monster thread....it's  a LOT of info, but good info!

 

 

[MarcelNL]

6 hours ago, Gavin1977 said:

@seeteeyou so what does Win11PE audiophile consist of - is it a custom disto, or Win11 plus optimisations that must be run by the user?

https://audiophilestyle.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=94695&key=d29dcc2f8b1e58134c3b943ebd0836bc

 

 

[MarcelNL]

agree with what was written above, no low latency settings for 8522

[MarcelNL]

Jut to satisfy my curiosity and anxiety ;-) 

 

I just received the sage dual Xeon MB, and see there are passive cooling sets available...I reckon those are intended for server rack situations with forced air flow?

 

(I have the heatpipe adapters but need to route the other heat sink before I can build the server, hoping for a quick shot at evaluating SQ)

[MarcelNL]

22 hours ago, Nenon said:

 

But I started with a fan-based cooler - Noctua NH-D9 DX-3647 4U. Those might be difficult to find nowadays. 

Can't believe this was more than 3 years ago! Time goes so fast.

I have the HD PLex Xeon heatpipe adapter kits and heatpipes, just need to route the second heatsink...thanks for confirming!

I'll see if I can find some active coolers for a POC audition....

[MarcelNL]

Question, does anyone know the TDP/Watt rating for th eheatsinks in their dual Xeon (85W TDP) build?

I'm currently using one 300 Watt rated passive air flow heatsink for a 125W TDP CPU and see core temps of around 40'C so I'm wondering if I need to use both heatsinks or can make do with one....

 

No OS no digital filtering, no DSP etc. 

 

next question is; currently using 6 heatpipes 6mm diameter, the HDPLex kit comes with 8 spaces.....should I plan to convert to 8 or is 6 enough?

[MarcelNL]

20 minutes ago, baconbrain said:

Are you referring to the Taiko DIY chassis?

I'm trying to find out what sort of rating keeps the build cool enough, so basically interested in every build's heatsink rating.

 

I have two 300W heatsinks, one of them keeps the 125W TDP Ryzen 16core well below 40'C and I'm trying to assess if one is enough...the Xeon is 85W TDP, totalling at 170W so it should work but I'm not sure if core temp stays 'in da zone' 

I can just try but hate messing with the heatpipes and conductive paste too much.

[MarcelNL]

@Nenon

 

Thanks for confirming what I was thinking..I'll skip trying one heatsink and will use both....will make for an interesting chassis when it gets to that as I expect it to be a tad larger than the Extreme itself ;-)

 

I noticed the same with my current builds, a lower core temperature makes for a better sound, weird as it may seem....

 

I have a bundle of heatpipes each capable of approx 100 watt lying around for the final build (here shorter is clearly better), just have to see if there are enough to fill two 8 slot heatsink adapters...I have good faith in the HDPlex heatpipe adapter block made out of copper, each weighs a kilo. Getting heat to the heatsink should work nicely, and a 300W heatsink per CPU ought to be oversizing things ;-)

 

 

[MarcelNL]

1 minute ago, baconbrain said:

 

Good idea.

 

IMO (and for my specific use case), the out of the box Taiko provided one sided cooling solution for their DIY chasiss is not optimal .  

I won't be using the Taiko DIY case, I hate the sound of metal around my systems ;-)

 

 

[MarcelNL]

anyone delidded the Xeon to apply better thermal paste? 🤪

[MarcelNL]

delidding is the process of taking the top metal plate of a CPU to take off the heat conduction compound between the die and lid and replace it with something better, it can shave off 5 'C off the core temp....

 

I'm not planning to use a torque wrench in a DIY build, tight but not overly tight is doable without ;-)

 

Intel provides the specs and tightening pattern, if anything IMHO it's more like sticking to a cross tightening pattern than that starting at 1 has any meaning.

 

the intel website, google for socket 3647, will show the order of tightening and torque spec, just imagine how much force you need and translate that to your allen key / wrench (you should be able to calibrate using scales

[MarcelNL]

meanwhile I found someone who'll probably delid the Xeons for me

(no interest in finding out how that works in detail)

why not go balls to the wall when doing stuff ;-)

[MarcelNL]

6 hours ago, SK8 said:

Just a precaution that the LGA3647 socket is quite a tricky one to install the Xeon CPU on it, especially with the HDPlex copper heat sink which is narrower than the IHS. I spent a whole day to adjust the screws for both CPUs to make them visible to the motherboard and recognize all 48G RAM. The heatlinks have to be tightened gradually and evenly to ensure a leveling pressure is applied. Otherwise, I had to unscrew all, release the CPU from the socket and try again. Quite frustrating at that time. Having the IHS delidded and reinstalled back with glues should add to this challenge. Hope it will work out well for you.

 

I read that and will take care...!

 

PLan on starting with some standard fan based cooling solution to test drive the thing....also to get a feel for everything

[MarcelNL]

BTW; I am identifying all parts and start wondering which bracket to use to mount the HDPlex lower copper heatpipe adapter on the sage motherboard?

 

There is no instruction in the kits, and with some searching I found the chassis V3.0 manual online (I was not able to find any manual on the HDPlex website directly) does not even mention socket P (LGA 3647) 

[MarcelNL]

I think the smaller metal bracket goes underneath the copper block, yet that does not fit the CPU in its plastic cradle so I assume that needs to go?

 

[MarcelNL]

7 minutes ago, SK8 said:

There is a special mounting kit for LGA3647 socket. Did you contact Larry or you purchased directly from their website?

I did email him referring to the LGA 3647 Xeon and bought two kits from him, looking at the brackets included in the kit makes me think it'll work.

 

let me rephrase that, one of the 4 pins around the socket on the MB is larger than the clasp will allow...so I may have to drill that one to larger diameter.....but I'll check with Larry first.

 

[MarcelNL]

that looks quite specific indeed! Thanks a million!

 

[MarcelNL]

quick question, are the two EPS power connectors powering the CPU's on the MB linked or do I need two separate cables to feed both CPU's?

[MarcelNL]

6 minutes ago, lwr said:

Yes

thanks for the response, however...yes to what? ;-) (it's a bit like asking someone if they would like coffe or tea and the response is yes)

 

I take it I need two EPS cables?

 

[MarcelNL]

Now that is interesting and confusing @basillus Are we talking Asus Sage C621? here

@lwr Care to comment, or should I just pull out the DMM and verify on my very board?

[MarcelNL]

the DMM tells me that CPU EATX1 and EATX2 are connected so one cable should do for testing

[MarcelNL]

32 minutes ago, basillus said:

Yes, a multimeter is a good thing if you are in doubt. If you just want to test whether it works, an 8 pin cable is enough, but as you well know, the more cables the better... What do you find confusing that the 12v on the atx connector also has contact with the 12v on the EPSs?

what was confusing was the conflicting information, not the fact that the 12V on the ATX could be connected to the EPSs ;-)

 

I recall Emile telling me at some point he had 3 Taiko ATX connected, when I asked him if that might work....not sure on what Mb he did that but it would also not work on this one IMHO.

 

yet WE HAVE LIFTOFF.....no smoke, going through a gazillion Bios settings...at some point I recall Nenon was going to publish settings etc, did that materialize for when I get to that? 

 

(my main worry is now getting an OS installed, not endless BIOS tinkering)

[MarcelNL]

4 minutes ago, Dev said:

so hdplex has a cooling system for 3647 socket now ? does this mean their chassis will work with sage c621 both socket populated out of the box ?

not the chassis, but the cooling system should work a treat! Far easier than hacksawing copper by hand..

for now I'm using commercial fan driven heatsinks...did I say these are LOUD?

 

 

[MarcelNL]

2 minutes ago, BOBO said:

put on your tin foil hats boys. do you know that changing the battery on your motherboard, changes the sound?

explain, I always wear my tin foil hat ;-)