Build a dedicated Audio PC

[nige2000]

Thats the one you linked to me ages ago Nigel? If so it works well for me as well.

I think one of my installs worked out that way also Nigel i.e not a vhd. Have 2 on the slow boat from hong kong so will report back when I try R2 on them

yes it is

i ordered over the weekend and got them today weird
never have enough os's for testing

[nige2000]

ok started to tackle the Pearse relay mod
have tested the 12v line so far and has improved the bass and soundstage
which is really weird very little current draw on this line, most of its on the 5v line
this is looking like a must have improvement

found this link
http://www.moddiy.com/pages/Power-Suppl ... nouts.html

http://www.overclockers.com/whats-up-with-my-5v/

this is the inside of the anker battery pack

anyone know how to bypass the on switch/timer?
coz its going to be a pita

edit changed my mind going to get new battery pack cos anker worth more as is

[jesuscheung]

Finally found the service that MQN needs to be running in Scott's script when applied to Server 2012 R2, guess it should also work for all Server versions.

I have not had time to go back and forth to see if there is much of an improvement but I do know that it works and shuts down lots of unnecessary services, gets rid of swap file and other optimisations.
I have run it after switching to minimal mode in Server 2012 R2 with no issues. There is another script to reset you install back to how it was before running the script.

Anyone new to this looking to try it google Computer Audio Design or go here for some guidance.
http://www.computeraudiodesign.com/Wind ... 20V2_1.pdf

Script files are below on dropbox, save to your drive and double click on optimisation file and answer all prompts as required, Make sure to answer yes to leaving WASAPI and the rest I went yes apart from No for Firewire which I do not use.
As usual no comebacks if it goes wrong, as with most of this stuff it generally does not go wrong most of the time but if you do mess up make sure you have an image of your OS or at least a recovery point!

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/349 ... sation.zip

I made another edit to Scott's script today 19 Oct 2013 and replaced the original in the dropbox link.
The turn off screen after 1 minute was causing issues with MQN on my system with HiRez file playback due the action of the screen disable which was kicking back in once causing sound breakup, rather than find what was kicking it back in and messing with HiRez playback I set the script to leave the screen on all the time. I just ran the optimiser script again to make this change. All OK now on HiRez playback. Cheers, Pearse.

you should slowly apply that script to see if SQ increases. some of the tweaks are harmful.

for example, it stops OS from receiving logs! you should be telling processes to not log. secondly you won't be able to go back to GUI mode to do windows update!

be careful. 95% helps SQ. 5% damages SQ. your SQ will be messed up.

[Sligolad]

I have run it and undone it many times now since first time run on sever OS installs JC and no issues so far.
I have been able to go back to GUI several times without issue.
Going back and forth though with the optimisation script in Server I am not hearing much of a sound quality difference when running Minimal Install on server 2012.

I am finding it harder and harder to tell if there any real improvements through software these days with all the hardware improvements already in place, particularly with clean power to all areas of the audio PC.
I tend not to do updates on the audio PC and I do not even have a NIC or wireless installed, just bare bones.
Cheers, Pearse.

[jkeny]

I mentioned this to Nige but it is probably worth posting:
Also, one thing to think about with relays - what is the impedance of the relay? If one of the advantages of batteries is their lower internal impedance (the lower the better i.e. better instant current delivery) then we don't want to introduce a higher impedance device between battery & Mobo!
I've noticed this with some battery management PCBs that sit between the battery pack & the PC - the sound dis-improved when used to power the PC

[nige2000]

I mentioned this to Nige but it is probably worth posting:
Also, one thing to think about with relays - what is the impedance of the relay? If one of the advantages of batteries is their lower internal impedance (the lower the better i.e. better instant current delivery) then we don't want to introduce a higher impedance device between battery & Mobo!
I've noticed this with some battery management PCBs that sit between the battery pack & the PC - the sound dis-improved when used to power the PC

can a relay be any worse than a switch?
when everything is separated out it divides the current draw
on my pc thats 0.1 amps on the 12v 0.3-0.5 on 5v and 0.2 on the 3.3v
cpu draws 0.6 amps but does not require a relay as theres no draw when pc's off

pc's underclocked thats why the current is low

ive put a battery on the 12v with relay, anker supply without and 3.3 on a switch
have tested everything one at a time as usual over and back a-b a-b a-b

theres no doubt about it theres definitely a good improvement i would say similar to the change from trilinear to tribattery
so once you hear the real true bass, body and the detail there will be no going back.

issues to work out are
to get a 4.8v cell to replace anker as does not charge fast enough to maintain itself
stop battery current from going into pico as it gets confused and thinks the pc is still on

Pearse has found a fundemetal improvement!!
well done!!!!

[jkeny]

can a relay be any worse than a switch?

Absolutely can & usually is worse than switch impedance but I was just pointing this out. It may not actually translate into any audible downside.

when everything is separated out it divides the current draw
on my pc thats 0.1 amps on the 12v 0.3-0.5 on 5v and 0.2 on the 3.3v
cpu draws 0.6 amps but does not require a relay as theres no draw when pc's off

pc's underclocked thats why the current is low

ive put a battery on the 12v with relay, anker supply without and 3.3 on a switch
have tested everything one at a time as usual over and back a-b a-b a-b

theres no doubt about it theres definitely a good improvement i would say similar to the change from trilinear to tribattery
so once you hear the real true bass, body and the detail there will be no going back.

issues to work out are
to get a 4.8v cell to replace anker as does not charge fast enough to maintain itself
stop battery current from going into pico as it gets confused and thinks the pc is still on

Pearse has found a fundemetal improvement!!
well done!!!!

Sounds like a nice step-up but remind me what exactly is the cause of this improvement - did you not have independent 12V, 5V & 3.3V battery supply - I can't remember your previous config?

[tony]

John is right I am happy plugging out the two positive terminals on my batteries and also disconnecting the light on the anker to power down the supply to the usb key.All in all 2 power cables to be disconnected,2 battery terminals,power off the regenerator and plug out light on the anker. Much better than SQ sapping relays.

[nige2000]

Sounds like a nice step-up but remind me what exactly is the cause of this improvement - did you not have independent 12V, 5V & 3.3V battery supply - I can't remember your previous config?

previous to this i was using 2x12v one to pico dc-dc converter and the other to cpu 4pin and a 3.3v for os on usb3,
which sounded really good
the next weak spot was the dc to dc converter
i now hope to use the pico as a control to turn on the relays on startup and then to trickle charge/maintain the batteries

i have a lot of testing to do to see if i can strip away some components that maybe of no benefit with this system

whats the cause of the improvement
i suppose the dc-converter was introducing noise, jitter etc and that goes through the whole mobo

[nige2000]

John is right I am happy plugging out the two positive terminals on my batteries and also disconnecting the light on the anker to power down the supply to the usb key.All in all 2 power cables to be disconnected,2 battery terminals,power off the regenerator and plug out light on the anker. Much better than SQ sapping relays.

famous last words

initally i wanted to do a nice silver plated wire, tidy job and it kept getting long fingered
So in my usual hap-hazzard fashion i started out testing

i hope all that will be required is a modded wiring loom, relays and batteries