M.2 NVMe SSD for OS

[StreamFidelity]

On 9/15/2020 at 1:44 PM, lmitche said:

More transparency, space and a denser image are the result of switching to an Optane drive for the OS and metadata storage for music players. Both generate numerous disk writes during playback.

 

My thoughts on Intel Optane.

 

I was considering trying out Intel Optane. Due to positive test reports regarding short access times, I took a closer look at the Intel® Optane ™ SSD 905P Series. I read the installation guide and was shocked.

 

Complexity of the setting

These are settings in the BIOS and Windows that must be made in a certain sequence. And this several times. It can be done, but I prefer simple solutions.

 

SATA controller

I deactivated the SATA controller in the Audio PC. In the sense of, the fewer controllers are active, the less it can influence the SQ. For Intel Optane, the SATA controller mode "Intel® Optane ™ SSD 905P Series ..." must be activated.

 

Hardware

Not every motherboard and not every CPU supports Intel Optane. The correct M.2 slot must be selected so that Intel Optane is recognized.

 

Target

This is where the system matters. I have implemented a dual PC system for myself. The actual Audio PC has nothing more to do than upsampling with the HQPlayer and rendering the data. The music files are either streamed from Qobuz or come from the NAS. How would Intel Optane benefit me?

 

- A faster system start? For me it is not important whether my system is ready to go in 30 seconds or 60 seconds.

- For the HQPlayer? The M.2 Samsung Evo SSD C drive obviously has little to do. See image.

 

 

Conclusion

I don't doubt that Intel Optane can bring advantages to Audio PCs that have their music files there. With a dual PC system like mine, it doesn't seem to be important in the Audio PC. Am I making a mistake? Other thoughts are welcome.

[StreamFidelity]

35 minutes ago, lmitche said:

What is the point of posting a picture of task manager showing a Samsung drive in a thread about Optane drives?

 

1. I meant, "I've thought about it ..." In fact, I've never tried it.

2. This is a thread about "M.2 NVMe SSD for OS" That with Optane came up in the discussion and I gave my thoughts on it.

 

35 minutes ago, lmitche said:

The point of the Optane drive is to use it as a straight SSD (not a cache for a hard disk).

 

My speech! Since my music files are outside of the audio PC (either in the www at Qobuz or on my NAS) Optane couldn't help me. The task manager should show that in my system data on SSDs is barely read or written. Instead, what HQPlayer need is already in RAM. Optane cannot be any faster. 😉

[StreamFidelity]

On 9/26/2020 at 4:59 PM, lmitche said:

OK, so you seem to have answered your own questions about the Optane drive without trying one.

 

This is a point for you. I have now tested it with:

Intel® Optane™ Memory M10 Series 64GB, M.2 80mm PCIe 3.0, 20nm, 3D XPoint™

 

On 9/26/2020 at 3:31 PM, lmitche said:

There is no need for bios adjustments, or driver installations.

 

That's all right.

 

On 9/26/2020 at 3:31 PM, lmitche said:

In SSD mode it works in any NVME slot on all Intel and AMD motherboards tried here.

 

Correct, see M.2 slot in ASUS Board with the blue Intel Optane SSD.

 

On 9/26/2020 at 3:31 PM, lmitche said:

Just make it your boot drive for the OS and run the music playback app from the same drive.

 

Cloning the boot drive on Intel Optane went smoothly. The operating system (Win 10 Pro) and HQPlayer started smoothly.

 

On 9/26/2020 at 3:31 PM, lmitche said:

While it can hold music files, it is best to use another drive for music files to separate the traffic and data paths.

 

That is my experience too. I was streaming music from the NAS and Qobuz. Here's a closer look at Intel Optane SSD activity. When the HQPlayer is started, read and write activities take place.

 

 

But after about 5 minutes there are no more SSD activities because everything is in RAM.

 

 

 

Contrary to my noticed, I hear a slight improvement in the SQ! How can that be?

 

Is it because of the very low latencies?
Latency - Read 7 µs
Latency - Write 18 µs

 

I consider low latencies to be one of the keys to digital audio playback. Optane can show its advantages here.

 

 

Or is it the 3D XPoint storage? Compared to the NAND memory, the durability is 10 times longer due to the gentler type of memory. Bit-precise addressing can take place with 3D XPoint. NAND must read page by page (read-modify-write cycle). Source: Intel Optane SSD 900P 280 GB with 3D XPoint storage in the test

 

Maybe I am wrong. But it just sounds good. The Intel Optane SSD remains in it for now. @lmitche Thanks 👍