Initial new system test - Intel D875PBZ + DSP cards (long po

sinix · Post by **sinix** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 2:33 pm

Hope this information is helpful for some people. I couldn't find anyone running an identical system to the one I wanted to build, so maybe this will be handy:

System Config:

Intel D875PBZ
Intel P4 3.2GHz, 800MHz
Corsair TWINX1024-3200LLPRO 1GB DDR400
ATI Radeon 9600 XT AGP 8X 128MB DDR
2x Seagate Baracuda ST3120026AS 120GB SATA
1x Sony 48x CDRW
Thermaltake Xaser Silent Purepower480W PSU
Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu CPU Cooler
Zalman ZM80A-HP Silent Video Cooler

DSP Cards:

1x Creamware PowerPulsar
1x TC Element
1x UAD-1

Misc:

Steinberg Midex 8
Netgear MA-101 USB Wireless LAN
Belkin USB 1.1 Hub

OS: WinXP Pro - NTFS
HT is enabled

Install Notes:

Everything came in good condition, no complaints at all. Both the PowerPulsar and TC Element were new as well (I used a Pulsar II before this), so a lot of parts were going together at the same time. Total system build was a solid 5-6 hours (just parts - no OS)... yeah, quite a bit of time. I'm a freak about cabling and what not, so it took time to get everything into place. Those Zalman coolers are VERY heavy! It's a good thing this case won't move much if at all. The silent heat-pipe cooler for the video card took 45min alone to put together, but I think it's well worth it. One less system fan and it seems to stay very cool to the touch.

There were a couple scary moments. I wasn't expecting exactly how big the PowerPulsar card is which means *HUGE*! I originally planned to put that card in Slot 2 (no IRQ sharing), but there's a rather large capacitor on the card that blocks the 2nd SATA port.

No good... so, It got moved to slot 4 which was the next best option in terms of IRQ assignments. I'll go more into that next. The TC card is almost as big, but it was able to fit in the middle of the two SATA ports. UAD-1 had no problem at all.

WinXP install and all drivers went in without any problems what so ever. Same for Cubase SX and my native synths/plugins.

Slot Assignments:

Slot 1 - N/A (Zalman video cooler blocks it)
Slot 2 - TC Element
Slot 3 - UAD-1
Slot 4 - Creamware PowerPulsar
Slot 5 - Free - probably will Firewire card

Case Enviroment:

1x 120mm Rear Fan (Pabst low noise)
1x 80mm Front Fan (Pabst low noise)

CPU Temp: stays between 39-45C under load
CPU Heatsink: just slightly warm
Video Heatsink: just slightly warm

All the DSP cards are pretty warm while the UAD-1 is hot (as it was before). This concerns me a bit, so I might place another 80mm fan on the side of the case blowing directly on cards (couldnt hurt anyway). According to the Intel Active Monitor App both temperature "zones" are 37C.

- I'd like some advice on system / case temperatures if anyone can offer them -

IRQ Assignments:

IRQ 0 System timer
IRQ 1 Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
IRQ 6 Standard floppy disk controller
IRQ 8 System CMOS/real time clock
IRQ 9 Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System
IRQ 12 Microsoft PS/2 Mouse
IRQ 13 Numeric data processor
IRQ 14 Primary IDE Channel
IRQ 15 Secondary IDE Channel
IRQ 16 RADEON 9600 SERIES
IRQ 16 Intel(R) 82801EB USB Universal Host Controller - 24D2
IRQ 16 Intel(R) 82801EB USB Universal Host Controller - 24DE
IRQ 17 Universal Audio UAD-1 DSP card
IRQ 17 Intel(R) ICH5/ICH5-M SMBus Controller - 24D3 (Intel(R) SMBus 2.0 Driver)
IRQ 18 Intel(R) 82801EB USB Universal Host Controller - 24D7
IRQ 18 Intel(R) 82801EB Ultra ATA Storage Controllers
IRQ 19 Intel(R) 82801EB USB Universal Host Controller - 24D4
IRQ 19 Creamware Scope
IRQ 22 POWERCORE
IRQ 23 Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller

Ideally I wanted the Creamware card on it's own IRQ, but it seems happy so far. Either I got a little lucky or the Intel boards are just very stable.

Inital Test:

Please keep in mind I haven't spent much time running the system - only about 12 with 6 of them in actual audio apps. I took one partly finished tracks and starting loading the DSP cards until I felt it was time to stop.

I understand this is not a "scientific" test and isn't going to please everyone. It was basically just to prove to myself how the system was initially doing and a somewhat fair representation of the most I'd push the system on a "normal" track.

I loaded each DSP card as much as I could until audio degradation was heard (generally a combination of pops and digital distortion). Even when the cards were overloaded it was easy to recover and remove the offending plugin. No system crashes, lockups or what not happened.

Test track:

Cubase SX 2.0 - Multi-proc. enabled
24bit / 44.1 Project - 10min length

Audio Tracks:

24x Stereo
6x Mono

Native synths running "live":
1x Waldorf Attack (approx. 6 voices running)
2x Novation V-Station (approx. 4-5 voices)
1x NI Kontakt (3 instruments)
1x Steinberg D'Cota (3 voices)

Native plugs running:
2x Ohmboyz delay
1x Cubase Flanger

DSP Plugins:

UAD-1: (running 92% total)
1x LA2A
1x Pultec
6x 1176LN

TC Element (approx 50% on all 4 chips):
4x ClassicVerb
4x Sony Oxford (demo)
1x Sony Inflator (demo)
1x PowerCore CL
1x TubiFlex

*Note* - The TC had plenty of headroom left, but adding in any other plugins induced cracking most likely due to PCI bus limitations,

Creamware PowerPulsar (approx 75% of DSP):

1x STM1632 Mixer
2x Vinco Compressor
2x MasterVerb Pro
2x MiniMax synth (1 voice each)
1x Vectron Synth (3 voice)
1x Modular III "Flange Pad" patch (3 voice)

During "Test"

CPU: 20-22% (Cubase Meter) 25-28% (Windows)
RAM: 423MB
Disk Activity: nothing on cubase meter...

NO CLICKS OR POPS!! Project would start and stop fine with no studdering. I could freely move about any of the Cubase or Creamware windows without the typical noises I had before.

This test easily represents the max I'd ever use in terms of DSP. If I needed more EQ or compression I could always turn to native plugs with easily another 30-40% CPU to spare.

All in all I'm quite happy so far and would recommend any of these components to someone. I'm especially pleased that 3 high performance DSP cards (different brands) all play together quite nicely in the same box so far. HyperThreading is going just fine with both Cubase and the PowerPulsar environment which seems to be very hit and miss with a lot of users. Not a single crash with the system yet even as I was intentially overloading all the DSP systems which is outstanding. Kudos to Intel for building such a solid board.

Thank you to everyone who gave me advice during my purchasing phase!

Comments / questions are welcome.

[ This Message was edited by: sinix on 2004-02-21 14:39 ]

Basic Pitch · Post by **Basic Pitch** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 8:27 pm

Hey there Sinix,

Just curious if you ended up keeping the slot assignment for the cards you describe in this thread, my D875PBZ just got here, all im waiting on now is my 3.2 CPU to arrive. Ideally having each device on its own IRQ would be spectacular, but with ACPI mode thats a tough task to manage, good thing thge board does not have a bunch of onboard peripherals to be turned off, though I do notice you have a PS/2 mouse, maybe you go swap it to a USB and disable the port for an additional IRQ.

Just curious since I have all three DSP cards aswell and I am going to follow your assignment in hopes of success, I just wish the UAD had its own IRQ, I have ready alot about how bandwidth hungry that card can be.

*Also, in regards to midi timing, are you running into any snags with the Midex 8 and having your system in ACPI mode? with my current system, my timing was un-usable, I mean it was VERY screwed up, I then switched to standard PC and it cured everything, I called CW and they even had said to install in standard mode, so ide like to hear from you on that aswell

Cheers!

[ This Message was edited by: Basic Pitch on 2004-04-23 21:30 ]

sinix · Post by **sinix** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 9:21 pm

BP,

Just a short post as I'm not at my normal location. Yes, I've kept the same PCI assignments. I've wanted to mess around and move cards, but honestly, I haven't had time and things seem to be working well. The most trouble I've had has been since installing SFP 4!

(minor trouble with the installer)

As for the midex8 I only run a few midi parts at any one time, so now problems at all. I run midi, tweak the parts and then record them to audio.

Eventually I'll get to playing with moving the cards around, but I'm happy for now.

AndreD · Post by **AndreD** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 4:26 am

Hi Sinx,
is your system still clicks and pops free if it reached about 70 to 90 % cpu-load?

sinix · Post by **sinix** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 8:32 am

Andre,

I don't know, I'll have to try for you. It should be pretty simple - I'll just load up a bunch of vsti's. Since I mostly use the DSP cards I don't think I've ever used more that 40% system CPU.

AndreD · Post by **AndreD** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 11:11 am

I ran into crackling-problems with the most tested setups if I reached an amount of 50-60 % CPU-load. (ht enebled)

With ASUS P4 P800, I can use up to 90%....

Best,
Andre

maakbow · Post by **maakbow** » Mon Apr 26, 2004 6:16 am

Ive been thinking of getting this mobo [instead of asus p4c800e delux]

Was there any problem fitting the zalman cooler???

I have the Zalman CNPS7000-Cu CPU Cooler.

Maak

sinix · Post by **sinix** » Mon Apr 26, 2004 6:49 am

On 2004-04-26 07:16, maakbow wrote:
Was there any problem fitting the zalman cooler???

I have the Zalman CNPS7000-Cu CPU Cooler.

Maak

Maak,

No, none at all. This was the first time I had used any Zalman products. Aside from them both being much heavier than I thought, installing them was not a problem at all. I'm very happy with the CPU cooler and heat pipe for the video card.

Basic Pitch · Post by **Basic Pitch** » Mon Apr 26, 2004 10:20 am

Well I have all my parts sept the CPU which should be arriving tomorrow, providing everything goes as planned Ill install evcerything and run some tests of my own and hope I can resolve my pops and clicks I get these days..

maakbow · Post by **maakbow** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 10:04 am

HEY SINUX

Is it possible to tell me how many mono tracks of 24bit 44.1 you can get reliably.

if you just added mono tracks to your initial setup post untill it became unstable, you got crackles, CPU gave out, asio overload or PCI overflow happened.

[like others I cant decide between the intel D875PZB or the asus P4C800 E Delux]

sinix · Post by **sinix** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 10:48 am

Maakbow,

Yes, I can do this for you. It may take a day or two - I've been quite busy with work. I'll post the results here again.

maakbow · Post by **maakbow** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 7:09 am

will be very much appreciated...thanks

I wil wait patiently

AndreD · Post by **AndreD** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 7:40 am

Me too !!

Basic Pitch · Post by **Basic Pitch** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 9:58 am

I followed this guide almost exactly, and my new set up stopped the pops and crackles I had with my AMD system, I was using an A7N8X with an XP2500 with a ScopePro,UAD,Powercore and a gig of ram and I had pops and crackles I couldnt stop.

I changed my system to just about the same system as Sinix and things are working great.

- HT Enabled
- ACPI Mode
- Intel D875PBZ
- Intel P4 3.2c 800Mhz FSB
- 1Gig Crucial DDR400 PC3200
- Antec Trupower 430w
- ScopePro (15) DSP
- TC Powercore
- UAD-1
- ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
- 2x80G Seagate 8mb Raptor 7200
- 1x 48x Sony CDRW
- Thermaltake XazerIII Lanfire VM2000A
- Steinberg Midex8
- Nuendo 2.x
- Windows XP Professional
- Scope v4.0

I used the exact placement that Sinix suggested for the PCI cards, used the bottom (2) USB slots, installed normal "ACPI" mode and have not turned off a single thing in the bios or disabled any thing in the hardware profile.

I loaded up a song that had pretty generous proportions of DSP usage on all three cards and on my previous system would cause pops and crackles, on the new set up everything seems to run perfect. Add the fact that CW did some optimizing of v4 devices and mixers things seem nice.

Soon I will run a megga test and make a post but for now I just wanted to thank you Sinix for the heads up on the parts, you were the only one I could find with the same DSP card and even the Midex8 hehe, so it was a good thing for me.

Cheers!

PS. Just wanted to add, so far this system is running very cool, during prime work I have reached a system temp of around 42c, I think it has alot to do with the thermaltake case, it have very good air flow and fan positioning. I used the stock thermaltape that comes with the p4 chipset, almost used articsilver but said screw it, with an intel board and chipset I am thinking things will work well.

[ This Message was edited by: Basic Pitch on 2004-04-30 11:08 ]

sinix · Post by **sinix** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 4:53 pm

On 2004-04-30 10:58, Basic Pitch wrote:
I followed this guide almost exactly, and my new set up stopped the pops and crackles I had with my AMD system, I was using an A7N8X with an XP2500 with a ScopePro,UAD,Powercore and a gig of ram and I had pops and crackles I couldnt stop.

I changed my system to just about the same system as Sinix and things are working great.

- HT Enabled
- ACPI Mode
- Intel D875PBZ
- Intel P4 3.2c 800Mhz FSB
- 1Gig Crucial DDR400 PC3200
- Antec Trupower 430w
- ScopePro (15) DSP
- TC Powercore
- UAD-1
- ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
- 2x80G Seagate 8mb Raptor 7200
- 1x 48x Sony CDRW
- Thermaltake XazerIII Lanfire VM2000A
- Steinberg Midex8
- Nuendo 2.x
- Windows XP Professional
- Scope v4.0

I used the exact placement that Sinix suggested for the PCI cards, used the bottom (2) USB slots, installed normal "ACPI" mode and have not turned off a single thing in the bios or disabled any thing in the hardware profile.

I loaded up a song that had pretty generous proportions of DSP usage on all three cards and on my previous system would cause pops and crackles, on the new set up everything seems to run perfect. Add the fact that CW did some optimizing of v4 devices and mixers things seem nice.

Soon I will run a megga test and make a post but for now I just wanted to thank you Sinix for the heads up on the parts, you were the only one I could find with the same DSP card and even the Midex8 hehe, so it was a good thing for me.

Cheers!

PS. Just wanted to add, so far this system is running very cool, during prime work I have reached a system temp of around 42c, I think it has alot to do with the thermaltake case, it have very good air flow and fan positioning. I used the stock thermaltape that comes with the p4 chipset, almost used articsilver but said screw it, with an intel board and chipset I am thinking things will work well.

[ This Message was edited by: Basic Pitch on 2004-04-30 11:08 ]

AndreD · Post by **AndreD** » Sun May 02, 2004 5:34 am

nice but what about cpu load?

Basic Pitch · Post by **Basic Pitch** » Sun May 02, 2004 11:34 am

My CPU load never seems to go over about 25% these days no matter what I throw at it, though I dont use a ton of VST's at this point with all the DSP stuff. My Guess is that most of my CPU load at this stage is is from reverbs and gui's taxing the CPU.

Soon ill do a test and post the results, just havent had enough time yet

Cheers!

AndreD · Post by **AndreD** » Sun May 02, 2004 2:57 pm

This is a very important fact to me!
As long as I´m an addicted <a href="http://www.sonalksis.com">sonalksis</a> user, I have to charge my cpu to the max

(They are not very cpu hungry by the way)

Best,
Andre

[ This Message was edited by: AndreD on 2004-05-02 16:34 ]

AndreD · Post by **AndreD** » Tue May 04, 2004 10:14 am

any news about native performance?

sinix · Post by **sinix** » Tue May 04, 2004 10:44 pm

Sorry guys, I've really been busy lately... I've barely even touched the music PC the past week.

I loaded up my prior "crush" test, but made a few adjustments as I had uninstalled the Powercore Oxford EQ demo that was being used before. I substituted the TC EQSat plugin - 5 more instances of them actually.

Here's the basic run down (these are approximate, but very close):

Scope Card @ 70% DSP load
UAD-1 Cart @ 92% DSP load
TC Element @ 70% DSP load

I added a nice Reaktor 4.0 pad and brought the poly on it up to 16 voices. This brought my P4 CPU fluttering up to 50% on the Cubase meter and about 58% on the Windows task manager. What I mean by fluttering is that it was not steady. It would quickly shoot up and down by about 10% each way. No pops...

So, I raised the Reaktor voices to 24. This brought the Cubase meter up to about 55% (I didn't check the Windows manager). Still no pops... So then 32 voices @ 65% CPU. Hrm. No pops!

Well, now it was getting interesting! I needed something else, so I fired up another Reakor patch that brought things up to about 70%, but again fluttering to almost 80% on the Cubase meter. FINALLY! POPS!! The CPU was quickly (I mean FAST) jumping around.

I dropped down to another patch that kept the Cubase meter between 70% and 75% and the pops seemed to go away . Somewhere between 75% and 80% is where things start to fall apart.

We also need to keep in mind this is strictly playback. I wasn't trying to record tracks back in at the same time. I'll test that some other day.

Pretty cool! Better than I thought honestly. I imagined things would start to fail around 60%, but it went up much higher. Obviously, the song was a wreck sound wise as I was just lumping all this crap into it at once, especially with the FX. I'm sure some "killer" native synths and plugins will come out in a year or two that one or two instances will bring the system to it's knee's, but I can do a LOT with it right now. Very Happy.

[ This Message was edited by: sinix on 2004-05-04 23:46 ]