Stable System Upgrade - Core2Duo, Intel DG965RY, 3 Scope

[rcaia]

I've been worried that my old system will someday crash and the new one wouldn't have 3 PCI slots...

So for Christmas I very happily upgraded and thought I'd share what's working extremely well for me. This is (I think) the 4th scope system I've built up over I'm not sure how many years (7+?), so I've seen a few of the hiccups... this one is working REALLY first rate.

Motherboard: Intel DG965RY, 2GB RAM
CPU: Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 2400 Mhz
Video: Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT
Creamware: Scope 15 DSP Expansion Card + Original Pulsar (4 DSP) + Pulsar XTC (6 DSP) w/ I/O Expansion Card
Case: Antec Sonata II
Hard Drive: Western Digital WD5000KS - SATA 500GB
CD Drive: Plextor PX-750A - CD-RW/DVD-RW
Video Monitor: 2 Viewsonic VA912b - 19"

Only real complaint with the new is the Thermaltake Jungle 512 CPU fan is a little noisier than I'd like.

For comparison the old system was:

Motherboard: Intel D845PESV, 1GB RAM
CPU: P4 @ 2400 Mhz
Video: ATI Radeon 8500
Creamware: Scope 15 DSP Expansion Card + Original Pulsar (4 DSP) + Pulsar XTC (6 DSP) w/ I/O Expansion Card
Case: Antec (model unknown)
Hard Drive: 2 Seagate ST380021 - ATA 80GB
CD Drive: Plextor PX-W4824A - CD-RW
DVD Drive: Pioneer S706 - External USB 2.0 DVD-RW
SCSI: Adaptec AIC-7850 PCI SCSI Controller
Additional Sound: E-mu 1212M PCI

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Currently I run both the old and new systems side by side with the old one keeping the E-mu 1212m and the new running scope. Cubase 4 runs with the scope system and FL Studio 6 with the E-mu. I route ADAT between the 2 systems, ADAT <-> Beringer ADA8000, ADAT <-> E-mu E4 Platinum, and ADAT from an Alesis QS7.1. Scope is the master clock. I used to run SPDIF quite a bit... but with more than one source life gets complicated... ADAT syncs up so nice and has been problem free, so I've pretty much abandoned the SPDIF.

MIDI is USB Midisport 8x8 from the scope system.

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Hope this helps anyone trying to setup a system.

[dawman]

Hey, Don't go away. I must hear about the MIDISport 8 x 8. Is that in thru mode? PC, or USB. This is a missing link for me that would help solve my Giga dillemma.
BTW, I have an old 8MB card for the Alesis w/ hard to find EMU / Fairlight samples. Let's make a deal. As this has sat for 10 years, and will never see any use from me. glad to see that someone used the Alesis the way it was designed to be used, w/ ADAT's, HD24/96's, etc.

[rcaia]

I use it in USB mode... with all 8 ports full of cables

[alfonso]

What about a nice Masterverb test?
http://www.planetz.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=17078

[rcaia]

Done.

15. 16 reaches DSP capacity. No PCI overflows

[alfonso]

Done.

15. 16 reaches DSP capacity. No PCI overflows

Very good
Thanks.

[bill3107]

i have bought the intel D975XBX2 motherboard (at a very good price soo...) and i will give me feedback when all the components are received....

Jo

[garyb]

it'll work fine.
only 2 pci slots......

[bill3107]

you are right : only 2 pci slots but there are several pcie slots available (and thus not hidden by my big graphic board ), ready for the new creamware soundcards

INTEL board+INTEL chipset+INTEL CPU = APPLE spirit ? But easier to upgrade / customize... that's my humble opinion...

Jo

[garyb]

yep, pretty much the exact same hardware.

[krizrox]

I have similar parts on order for my PC upgrade.

I have to admit though, I've never installed a SATA drive before (I have two on order). Are there any tips that anyone can share? Or perhaps point me towards a good tutorial somewhere that I can read up on? Or is it fairly similar to an IDE drive (I've done lot's of those).

Thanks for sharing your system specs. That came in handy.

[garyb]

just like ide as far as you are concerned. only one drive per port, however. easy, easy, easy.(no jumpers)

[krizrox]

Thanks Gary.

Is there any issue with SATA drivers or anything like that with the DG965 RY Intel board? Will WinXP Home and/or Pro recognize the drives without a problem? I'll be using Seagate drives.

Also wondering about the best type of DDR2 RAM for the Intel board? I'd like to get 2GB. Whats the best? Is there some issue with CAS latency that I should be aware of? 667 vs 800 MHz? Particular brand? Does it matter?

And one last question: should I be installing WinXP Pro in normal or standard mode? This issue of IRQ assignments always confused me. I have both a Scope Pro and an XTC board (the XTC board is currently only being used for DSP resources - like an SRB). If I understood correctly, "normal" is better to take advantage of Hyperthreading right? But what about the IRQ assignments? Anything I should know about or be concerned about there? Thanks again!

[rcaia]

SATA is a snap if you've done IDE.

I suggest you download the DG965RY manual from Intel to better understand your other questions.

I have 2 sticks of 1024MB RAM - Kingston KVR800D2N5K2/2G ... DDR2 800 Mhz. Intel docs explain the memory slots and how to install... I have mine in slot 0 of channels A & B for dual channel interleaved mode. Seems like the best way to go, but I haven't tested or know any technical data on which is best.

I have windows XP pro with ACPI and no problems. I let XP configure everything automatically... and it all works. 3 creamware cards, 8 active USB ports (2 usb ext HD, thumb drive, license fob, ipod, midisport, mouse, keyboard), ethernet, SATA drive.

[krizrox]

Great thanks for the response. I'm looking forward to a machine similar to yours. A real speed demon

I noted your issue with the fan though. I was looking at a Zalman fan briefly this morning but I think I'll wait until I get the Intel processor/fan and see how loud it is before buying an aftermarket device. I have an aftermarket fan on my current P4 (I don't remember which one) but it was so quiet you couldn't hear it unless you stuck your ear right up next to the case. Here's where I was looking: www.quietpcusa.com

[krizrox]

Just a little update - most of the parts are here already. The only hiccup was with the memory chips. My supplier (Tigerdirect.com) recommended the wrong parts so I had to return them and look for the right stuff. I went for the 800MHz Crucial memory (1.8V of course). Pricey but I wanted the best and I think I got it.

I also have 2GB - what do you guys recommend for the swapfile setting? Or with this much memory, should it just be disabled?

I'm dying to put this baby together. The new ram should be here around noon. Still waiting on that Zalman CPU cooler. I hope it might arrive today too.

I went to print out the Intel manual for the mobo and my crappy Epson C86 printer died. I am done with Epson forever and ever amen. I bought a Canon IP4300.

[garyb]

hello Larry!
i wouldn't really bother messing with the swapfile. try it first without changing it.. i'll bet it runs great.

the most important tweaks for xp are making sure that there's no irq sharing(you'll likely have to disable a couple of usb controllers) and setting the performace settings in the advanced tab in the system menu in the control panel to "adjust for best performance". i also disable remote access amd system restore.

if you arrange a time to call me, i'd be happy to go over it with you......

[dawman]

I would not hesitate to talk w/ GaryB. He just left Las Vegas after making my 2 x Giga SFP DAW's so sweet. I anxiously await next months gig @ the Aladdin. I will play more B3, and synth than I have in a long time. It's all cover tunes, but Yes, ELP, Pink Floyd, Head East, and other classic rock stuff w/ a dance floor too!! Scope shall punish the weak @ 105db and better.

[krizrox]

Thanks guys. I got the system assembled yesterday and am reinstalling all the software this morning. So far so good.

I noticed that during system boot up the mobo always looks to the floppy drive (it grinds and cranks away in the usual way). Is there a way to disable that in the BIOS? I didn't see any reference to it. You can change the order of the boot sequence but I would like to simply remove the floppy drive from the boot up sequence. Honestly, I'm not even sure why I need a floppy drive anymore. I rarely, if ever, use it. I suppose I could simply disconnect it or remove it entirely at this point. The only floppy disks I have that mean anything are the system discs that came with my Triton Pro.

I did notice all that IRQ sharing going on with my Scope boards now (yes, USB stuff as Gary mentioned). What's the best way to address that? Disable all that stuff?

[manfriday]

Yeah, to disable the floppy, disable "boot floppy seek".
There should also be a place in the bios to turn off the floppy controller itself.