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Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2018 12:34 am
by micmac34
Wow fraz, the Asus H310 TUF looks amazing !!!

I've been searching this forum for ages to renew my old config with 3 PCI boards, for something newer that may allow me to lower
my ULLI latency, and have more juice for my DAW. Currently I have ULLI on the medium setting (6ms in/out I think, so a little more than
12ms total in DAW) with 48Khz sampling rate, that's the best I could get on a 775 motherboard (and I have one pci-e to pci adapter for
one board).

Are 1151 motherboards and H370 chipset supposed to be ok with Scope PCI boards ?

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2018 7:24 am
by garyb
yes, they have been so far...

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 5:03 am
by Music Manic
micmac34 wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 12:34 am Wow fraz, the Asus H310 TUF looks amazing !!!

I've been searching this forum for ages to renew my old config with 3 PCI boards, for something newer that may allow me to lower
my ULLI latency, and have more juice for my DAW. Currently I have ULLI on the medium setting (6ms in/out I think, so a little more than
12ms total in DAW) with 48Khz sampling rate, that's the best I could get on a 775 motherboard (and I have one pci-e to pci adapter for
one board).

Are 1151 motherboards and H370 chipset supposed to be ok with Scope PCI boards ?
Wow, supports 8th generation i7’s. How much better are these to 6th genaeration?

Only down side for me is 32G RAM and only 4 SATA ports. Looks fast though.

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 5:54 am
by micmac34
Ok so I bought this Asus H310 TUF and Core i7 8700K + 16Gb RAM.
But I have to wait for Christmas, it will be my gift !!! And hope that all goes well for my 3 PCI scope boards...

Music Manic, 32 Gb ram is a limitation for you ? I had only 5Gb with my old 775 motherboard and could do plenty already,
since I'm mostly using the scope boards (maybe a few VSTis).

What do you use all this RAM for ?

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 6:39 am
by Music Manic
micmac34 wrote: Wed Oct 03, 2018 5:54 am

What do you use all this RAM for ?
Sample libraries and recorded tracks.

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 8:56 am
by micmac34
Sample libraries and recorded tracks.
Wow ok, so you have sampler plugins or software that require GBs of samples in memory ? Impressive.

What kind of software is this ?

And why recorded tracks in RAM ? I'm curious. Can't you just store tracks on a hard drive / SSD ?

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 9:31 am
by Music Manic
micmac34 wrote: Wed Oct 03, 2018 8:56 am
Sample libraries and recorded tracks.
Wow ok, so you have sampler plugins or software that require GBs of samples in memory ? Impressive.

What kind of software is this ?

And why recorded tracks in RAM ? I'm curious. Can't you just store tracks on a hard drive / SSD ?
32GB is probably enough but for big sessions I would like the overhead. Loading audio to RAM helps with speed but I guess these boards will hepl with that too.

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 11:00 am
by fraz
Music Manic wrote: Wed Oct 03, 2018 5:03 am
micmac34 wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 12:34 am Wow fraz, the Asus H310 TUF looks amazing !!!

I've been searching this forum for ages to renew my old config with 3 PCI boards, for something newer that may allow me to lower
my ULLI latency, and have more juice for my DAW. Currently I have ULLI on the medium setting (6ms in/out I think, so a little more than
12ms total in DAW) with 48Khz sampling rate, that's the best I could get on a 775 motherboard (and I have one pci-e to pci adapter for
one board).

Are 1151 motherboards and H370 chipset supposed to be ok with Scope PCI boards ?
Wow, supports 8th generation i7’s. How much better are these to 6th genaeration?

Only down side for me is 32G RAM and only 4 SATA ports. Looks fast though.
What you need to remember is the H310 chipset is a NEW lowe end chipset - With few PCI-e lanes to the chipset (PCH)
Z370 > B360 > H310

B360 will have more PCI-e lanes to the chipest

article
https://techreport.com/review/33420/exp ... 0-chipsets

But for me for example if VEP Pro was used - (LAN)_VSTi/fx networking - Then using H310 won't matter so much - Z97 only has 8 chipset lanes, so H310 is only 2 worse off - But the point is there are 3 PCI slots !!!

A Z170 chipest board with 3 PCI slots will also have 20 PCI-e lanes to the chipset as well as 16 to the CPU - So more M.2's can be used etc....but these are harder to get hold of.

If 32 OS is used as well (100% use of Scope devices_guaranteed) - then only 4 gb is addressable anyway]

Asus also have this
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/PRIME-B360-PLUS/

which has 12 PCI-e lanes to the chipset - and will support 64 GB RAM and is higher up in the chipset chain - but only 2 PCI slots - !!! - Still good for Scope PCI cards

A server board I got recently

https://www.asus.com/uk/Commercial-Serv ... P10S-V-4L/

Has 4 PCI slots & 4 LAN connectors - looks like it only works with 64 bit drivers (so no 32 bit OS please correct me if I'm wrong) - and supports 64 GB RAM - on 1151 (C236 chipset)-Also supports a SAS3 card for (12 Gb/s HDD's)-(enterprise level HDD's)

This would run Scope well in 64 bit mode with 64 GB RAM but not 100% use of Scope devices - eg - STS samplers & ...(I forget)

I suppose the Z170 chipset for the PCI cards on Scope 5.1 / 7 is the best it gets - with 3 PCI slots on some boards but the H310 chipset gives people Coffee Lake CPU's eg-i5 7600 K (+5-10% over 7700 K) -But fewer chipset lanes

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 6:01 am
by micmac34
So, I received my Asus H310 TUF gaming plus + i7 8700K for Christmas.

I can confirm that it works really great with 3 PCI boards (2 lunas + one 15 dsps), minimal ULLI latency with no crackles at all under heavy load.

So far so good. Unfortunately, screen went black and computer wouldn't reboot. After days of diagnostic, it appeared that my 8700K just fried for no reason (didn't OC it, it's not possible with this MB anyway...)

I'm waiting for a replacement CPU, but appart from this, best motherboard ever for PCI boards !

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 11:57 am
by fraz
Hello Micmac,

Sorry to hear the CPU is damaged - are you sure the board didn't cause this? -I don't see why it should but it is a 6 core CPU on a very low end motherboard (I've got one)and I'll try it out soon with the i5 8600 K.

Did you put enough thermal paste on the CPU? = The 8700 K is a powerful CPU (think of 5820K/6850K) + a little extra on top

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:14 pm
by micmac34
Hi fraz,

I don't see any reason why the board would do this... it's an ASUS one, they tend to be pretty solid.
The only thing I did is update the BIOS to latest version 1405, and also set the power mode to "performance" mode.
Basically it sets all the cores to 4.3 Ghz all the time, wihch is the turbo speed for all 6 cores active on an intel i7 8700K according to the specs.
(Same as setting the cpu to 100% in Windows's power settings).

Also, I did put enough termal paste, and a good brand (Artic Silver 3) together with a Dark Rock Pro 4 heatsink...

So, I guess I was unlucky. Either that, or these motherboards do kill CPUs for some reason, which would be very surprising.

You can't imagine how frustrated I was when I received this miracle MB for my Scope boards, played with it a few days, and end up with a dead CPU...

Hopefuly everything goes fine when I receive a replacement part, which is not gonna happen soon enough... At least I still have my old computer with an old 4 cores Xeon to make music in the meantime.

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 9:48 pm
by valis
It's possible that it had a manufacturing defect, though they are rare they do occur to CPU's. I had an AMD cpu die within a month last year and had to RMA it. That system has run stably 24/7 since with the identical SKU cpu recieved via RMA.

It's also possible however that the VRM's on that board weren't capable of running full turbo speed at the required voltage and the BIOS bumped the voltage up, which would perhaps reveal a defect much earlier than otherwise.

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 11:14 pm
by micmac34
When the crash occured, I first tested one RAM stick alone, then the other, then tried to reset the BIOS, then I bought a replacement MB (same model) because I thought it was it the problem. Then when I ruled out the MB, I had to buy a cheap G4900 celeron to confirm that it was the 8700K that fried (it booted fine with the G4900). Bottom line, now I have a new MB same model, and I will use that one when I receive my replacement CPU. So even if the VRMs on the first board had caused the problem, with this new board I think I should be fine (two bad MBs from ASUS, it's unlikely to happen, except if there is a particular problem with this exact model...). Also, this board has a "performance" mode in the BIOS, so I think it's capable of running the CPUs on the supported list at turbo all the time. I hope it was just the CPU that was dammaged/weak at first.

EDIT: I will also check the temperatures at full load with the new CPU, I thought my heatsing was well mounted but it's worth verifying.

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 2:55 am
by fraz
I hate computer issues.

Did you have the "best" most suitable BIOS for the 8700 K?
Have you tried "turbo mode" = OFF - (worth a try)- example-AMD FX9590 (derived from FX8350) only worked with turbo mode off

https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/TU ... pDesk_CPU/

BIOS support for your board Asus TUF H310

I find it hard to believe the CPU was damaged @ 4.7 Ghz (i mean permanent damage)-turbo mode is 4.7 Ghz right? - on all cores ? - if so this is a big overclock (i feel) as the base clock = 3.7 Ghz (turbo mode=1 Ghz / 1000 Mhz) above the base clock - try turbo mode off - but you may alrready have tried this ?

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 3:48 am
by micmac34
I did update the BIOS to the latest version 1405 as soon as I received all the parts (but the computer booted before that, 8700K is on the supported list since the first BIOS revision).

Also it's useless to try turbo OFF now, because I bought a new MB, so this option was disabled by default and it still not POST with the i7.

Turbo On on all cores means 4.3Ghz, not 4.7, which is when you use one or two cores only (looked at intel specs for this processor).

4.3Ghz is the normal turbo speed for all cores active, it's just that the performance mode enables this permanently (no more speedsted involved, which was the goal to prevent crackles with Scope PCI boards). Also I don't want to use a damaged processor that can't turbo anymore, it's not acceptable.

I find it very unusual too for an Intel CPU to fry like that. Never seen that in my whole life... But I guess it happens.

Honestly with all the MB replacement, the celeron booting normally and all, it is certain that this CPU is damaged.

The question is: when I receive the new one and put the same settings with the new MB (same model), will it damage the processor AGAIN ??
I certainly hope not !

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 7:20 am
by fraz
Well yes it would have me a bit worried as I have one too - but I'd use the 8600 K -

Would you try the 8700 K in another board? - just to see if it works? -

How much was the board used with the 8700 K before there was a problem? - And how did the problem occur - eg - no bootup? - or was the computer on and working and then it just blacked out? -

EDIT-I read your post above- :) -all is explained :)

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 7:21 am
by fraz
If the CPU is fried 100% Intel should send you a replacement...

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 12:36 pm
by micmac34
Alas, I don't have any other compatible motherboard to test it, but with all the tests I did I think it confirms that the CPU is faulty.

I have used the motherboard for 4 or 5 days, 4 hours a day, before it happened.

And to be precise, it was not immediately unbootable. First it stopped immediately, rebooted, then it loaded windows and showed some clear blue screen like the windows 10 loading screen, not BSOD. it waited forever so I rebooted, then it showed a black screen with a fixed prompt "_", waiting forever again. So I rebooted a last time, and that's when it never rebooted / POST again.

At first I thought it was the SSD that was messed up with so many bad reboots, then when it didn't reach POST and BIOS access at all I understood there was something worse.

In the end, when I could test the new MB with the celeron G4900 and everything went fine (SSD booted, RAM was all OK, and so on...), it confirmed that the 8700K CPU was faulty.

Of course the cpu is to be returned, I already started a RMA. Now I have to go through all the steps of it, and it should be ok...

I can't wait for all this to be over and have my system working again.

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 6:22 pm
by fraz
Yes it's all a big hassle when it goes wrong -

I've had a big problem myself today - with a slave build - where I can't get windows to install or even get the BIOS to post before windows is installed.

I thought it could be a short circuit - motherboard is Gigabyte SOC Champion - I'll try another board tomorrow and then try the SOC again - but I'm a bit annoyed about it

Re: Best mobo and cpu combo

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 8:07 am
by @plonter
Hi,

So i have read all above and tomorrow im getting the Asus TUF-H310-PLUS-GAMING

I'm planning to work with 3 PCI cards 1 Luna 1 Pulsar 2 1 Scope/SP

Can i ask for feedback, please.....
As micmac34 said this Asus Motherboard is great for 3 cards, can anyone give extra positive for this board for 3 PCI cards "1x3" "1x6" "1x15" ?
As micmac34 had is CPU die im about to use the same CPU i7 8700k and also turbo all core can anyone say a pro/con, please? more about the risk due to the dead CPU encounter?

One more ( and believe not last.for now )
can i disable hyperthreading in this Motherboard?
Can i monitor VRM/MOSFETs in this board?

Thank's
Best.