Building a DIY Music Server

[Mops911]

7 hours ago, MarcelNL said:

be minimized by switching off completely

Take it out and listen if you can hear a difference. if not, dont bother, if yes, only then this discussion becomes relevant...

[MarcelNL]

36 minutes ago, Mops911 said:

Take it out and listen if you can hear a difference. if not, dont bother, if yes, only then this discussion becomes relevant...

Booting without it does not work on this mobo, I'm not so sure it's a good idea to take it out of a running system? 

 

Power draw is not my main concern, noise is.

 

 

[Rovo]

For the people interested in the Taiko DC-ATX, I just got a mail from Emile. Current planning is middle of April that they will be delivered to Taiko.

 

We just have to be patient a little longer.

[Mops911]

22 hours ago, Nenon said:

Emile has been "extreme"-ly busy with some new developments at Taiko. I will try to get an update from him next week and post where we are. I am curious myself as well. 

 

Hi @Nenon what about the unregulated power  supply. Any news about that. I wonder specifically about the parts list.

 

Thanks

T

[ASRMichael]

23 hours ago, Exocer said:

Dude you just gave me a good idea 🤣.

 

All jokes aside, interested in how this turns out. My desktop is still running an i7 2600k happily and this i9 will become my daily driver when I upgrade... Long overdue for a more powerful desktop CPU/Mobo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The plot thickens! I ordered the Asus Rog XII Extreme. I stupidly presumed because the i9 10090k has built in graphics then clearly compatible MB would have HDMI out! Answer No, has no video out whatsoever! mmmmm! Does anyone here know of any really really low power gpu cards that I could use to configure the Bios then remove? I have no idea if my SJ DC3 rail will even power a really low GPU? Arrrrrrrr! 
 

@Nenon maybe you know since you building SJ PSU’s? Or any other solution? 

[MarcelNL]

many (most?) mobo's will not boot without GPU, the MSI card referred a couple of posts higher is probably the lowest spec/TDP card around. You can always stick the GPU card on a PCIe 1x riser and power that via a regular switching PSU using one of the PCIe cables.

(mine is connected that way)

[ASRMichael]

25 minutes ago, MarcelNL said:

many (most?) mobo's will not boot without GPU, the MSI card referred a couple of posts higher is probably the lowest spec/TDP card around. You can always stick the GPU card on a PCIe 1x riser and power that via a regular switching PSU using one of the PCIe cables.

(mine is connected that way)

If only I had a PC PSU to power it!!! Maybe an old 512mb DDR2 card?

[MarcelNL]

borrow one for a couple of days? If you need a GPU to get past P.O.S.T on that mobo you can always invest in an additional PSU/rail to power the card separately using a riser.

[Nenon]

33 minutes ago, ASRMichael said:

The plot thickens! I ordered the Asus Rog XII Extreme. I stupidly presumed because the i9 10090k has built in graphics then clearly compatible MB would have HDMI out! Answer No, has no video out whatsoever! mmmmm! Does anyone here know of any really really low power gpu cards that I could use to configure the Bios then remove? I have no idea if my SJ DC3 rail will even power a really low GPU? Arrrrrrrr! 
 

@Nenon maybe you know since you building SJ PSU’s? Or any other solution? 

 

I've used an external video card with my AMD builds. Worked fine with the SJ LPS. It was just an old GPU, nothing special.

[Exocer]

35 minutes ago, Nenon said:

 

I've used an external video card with my AMD builds. Worked fine with the SJ LPS. It was just an old GPU, nothing special.

 

What about Thunderbolt out to display port? Would that not work with the on-CPU graphics card?

[MarcelNL]

Think he has to enable the on board GPU first.

[Nenon]

Some updates from me on the Taiko DIY project.

 

1. The Taiko ATX was delayed and scheduled for the end of April now.

2. The Chassis is still work in progress. Emile has been super busy, but I was assured today that rendering and pricing is coming up ASAP.

3. Taiko USB card - that unfortunately would remain exclusive to Extreme users. We, the DIY community, would not have access to the Taiko USB card for now. It's quite disappointing, and I am starting to think if I need to buy an Extreme. It's still unlikely for me to go that route, but even if I do, that would be a good thing, as I would have a reference to compare this DIY build to.

4. TAS - that is also exclusive to Extreme owners for now. 

5. Unregulated LPS to feed the Taiko ATX - see the rest of this message below.

 

Here is a quick update on the unregulated LPS.

 

It looks something like this:

IEC Inlet / Fuse --> Soft start module --> Transformer --> Rectifier --> Choke --> 3 x Mundorf HC caps (each bypassed with a VCAP ODAM Film Cap)

 

1 pcs.

IEC/Fuse

TBD

$20 - $90 range

 

1 pcs.

Transformer

Emile has these on order

Don't know the price yet.

 

1 pcs.

Soft start module

https://www.hypex.nl/product/softstart-module/38

~$50 

 

1 pcs.

Rectifier

Taiko will provide an active mosfet rectifier.

 

1 pcs.

Hammond 159ZJ choke. 

Mouser.com part #546-159ZJ

$26.71

 

3 pcs.

Mundorf Capacitor 22000uF 80Vdc MLytic HC

https://www.partsconnexion.com/MUNDORF-70412.html

$100.41 each ($301.23)

 

3 pcs.

VCAP ODAM - 0.1 uF

https://www.v-cap.com/odam-capacitors.php

$53.74 each ($161.22)

 

I am trying these as well now - https://www.mundorf.com/audio/en/shop/cables/mconnect_clg/Presskabelschuh-M6-Ring-Kupfer/?card=4081

 

All that stuff can be made in a way that does not require soldering. For example, the capacitors look like this with screws on top:

With the right pre-terminated cables you can just use a screwdriver to connect it.

We can pick an IEC inlet that looks like this (and does not require soldering):

 

I think we can design this whole thing so even people who can't solder anything can put it together. Obviously, there will be a lot of pictures, explanations, and disclaimers. You would need the connecting wires (with pre soldered connectors).

BTW, I did not pick these components with the agenda to make a solder-less unit. They just sounded best, and the screw connections were a bonus.

 

I've picked the wiring too. But it's a wire that is not available on the consumer market, so I'll have to figure out how to make it more accessible. The Mundorf silver/gold wire is also an option for cost no object units/

 

If I were you, I would not be in a rush to get all the parts now. We may arrange a group order with some discounts. I am looking at that. I may even provide the entire kit with everything needed and detailed instructions. Or get someone else to do that. Also, there is a small chance that I may replace some parts in the last minute (be aware of that!), especially with the plan "B" rectification. I also have a plan Z in mind to test - tube rectification :). Yes, I am serious, but that's not a priority. 

 

All in all, I think we are looking at around $1,000 for the unregulated LPS. Not bad at all for how good this thing sounds with the Taiko ATX. Keep in mind this is designed and voiced with the Taiko ATX. You can try it on a HDPlex DC to DC ATX if you like but it's not a regulated LPS and you can't feed your computer directly with this.

 

[Peter Avgeris]

11 hours ago, MarcelNL said:

many (most?) mobo's will not boot without GPU, the MSI card referred a couple of posts higher is probably the lowest spec/TDP card around. You can always stick the GPU card on a PCIe 1x riser and power that via a regular switching PSU using one of the PCIe cables.

(mine is connected that way)

When I needed a gpu just to power up the machine, I got probably the best of all! 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/184695102850

 

I got this because the motherboard I was using did not boot without a GPU. I compared it against 5-6 modem graphics adapters and it was clearly better most likely due to the simplicity of the design. It had virtually nothing on it and the power consumption was negligible. When I changed the motherboard to a server motherboard, that was able to boot, this card became useless. 

[MarcelNL]

Thanks for the tip, biggest challenge is finding a VGA cable as I likely threw all of that stuff out long ago 

[ASRMichael]

19 hours ago, Exocer said:

 

What about Thunderbolt out to display port? Would that not work with the on-CPU graphics card?

I don’t see thunderbolt out. The thunderbolt card has an in. Any how ordered old DDR 2 card. Cheers all

[Exocer]

13 minutes ago, ASRMichael said:

I don’t see thunderbolt out. The thunderbolt card has an in. Any how ordered old DDR 2 card. Cheers all

I thought your USB-C ports would be sufficient as they appeared to be Thunderbolt compliant as well. I'm most likely incorrect on that assertion though 😁 (I thought there was an add-on card of sorts as well). 

[ASRMichael]

6 minutes ago, Exocer said:

I thought your USB-C ports would be sufficient as they appeared to be Thunderbolt compliant as well. I'm most likely incorrect on that assertion though 😁 (I thought there was an add-on card of sorts as well). 

Ok let me check! Loads of accessories so need to check. Cheers 

[Micro-Audio]

@Nenon

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing these information.

 

 

Thanks

[seeteeyou]

Let's understand what it really is, DisplayPort Alt Mode should require hardware / BIOS support and therefore we don't wanna assume that all USB-C ports are created equal

 

https://www.displayport.org/displayport-over-usb-c/

 

Check the manual of motherboard and find out if DisplayPort Alt Mode were actually supported, otherwise nothing video-related would go through the USB-C port to begin with.

 

---

 

And then there's something else called DisplayLink, though not sure if that were any good for the specific purpose of getting past POST

 

https://www.displaylink.com/products/usb-monitors

[Downtheline]

21 hours ago, Nenon said:

TAS - that is also exclusive to Extreme owners for now

That is unfortunate news as the prospect of using TAS was my biggest reason to try the dual cpu project.  

[Exocer]

1 hour ago, seeteeyou said:

Let's understand what it really is, DisplayPort Alt Mode should require hardware / BIOS support and therefore we don't wanna assume that all USB-C ports are created equal

 

True. The Asus ROG Maximus XIII Extreme lists the following specs so they do appear to be DisplayPort capable, hence my comment:

 

"2 x Intel® Thunderbolt™ 4 ports (USB Type-C®) support DisplayPort 1.2/1.4 and Thunderbolt™ video outputs *

* Graphics specifications may vary between CPU types."

 

Also,

Asus ROG Maximus XII Extreme comes with this apparently : 

 

THUNDERBOLTEX 3-TR Card

"ASUS ThunderboltEX 3-TR expansion card, dual Thunderbolt™ 3 ports (USB Type-C®), DisplayPort 1.4, PCIe® 3.0 x4 interface"

[MarcelNL]

aren't those expansion ports on that MoBo ports for which you need a GPU or internal video processor in the CPU to work with?

My MoBo has HDMI out and some support chip for making that work but not without a CPU with internal GPU.

[Exocer]

1 hour ago, MarcelNL said:

aren't those expansion ports on that MoBo ports for which you need a GPU or internal video processor in the CPU to work with?

CPU integrated graphics will work .

[seeteeyou]

If there were no power delivered to the integrated graphics in the first place, how do we expect DisplayPort Alt Mode to work?

 

Well, I guess that some of us (i.e. not everyone) could somehow figure out a way to "modify" the motherboard for that?

 

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/9481/asus-maximus-xii-extreme-intel-z490-motherboard/index.html

Quote

There is no iGPU power

 

Seems very solid & nice - for non-gamers as there is no way to utilize the CPU integrated graphics

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R13YYJEHV4U9J9

Quote

I first ordered this king Asus Z490 motherboards but after delivery noticed that there was no ability to utilize on-board integrated graphics from the CPU (which I desire to use). So back it went.

 

Here's a different Z490 motherboard from MSI

 

https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threads/z490-use-thunderbolt-as-display-out-with-igp.340937/

Quote

Just watched a breakdown of the board on youtube and seems no power at all is delivered to the IGP

 

IMHO that didn't sound very feasible then.

[Exocer]

11 minutes ago, seeteeyou said:

I first ordered this king Asus Z490 motherboards but after delivery noticed that there was no ability to utilize on-board integrated graphics from the CPU (which I desire to use). So back it went.

They don't mention the add-on accessory it comes with 🙂. Perhaps this person would prefer not to go that route.

 

I'd say its worth trying as it is no additional cost to try. If it doesn't work then I will take it away as a teachable moment...TY