UPDATE: cMPÂ² (cMP+cPlay) new hardware (Gigabayte GA-G31M2SL & E7200) setup - cics

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UPDATE: cMPÂ² (cMP+cPlay) new hardware (Gigabayte GA-G31M2SL & E7200) setup

Posted by cics (A) on September 3, 2008 at 12:13:19

In Reply to: cMP - the open source high-end Memory Player posted by cics on December 30, 2007 at 05:42:01:

Further refinements for cMP is documented here - ignore BIOS changes.

This post covers all optimizations necessary for cMPÂ² (cMP + cPlay ) using Gigabyte's GA-G31M-S2L mobo and Intel's E7200 processor. There's no need to review previous posts here or in cPlay's thread.

cMPÂ² using SRC @ 145db SNR betters previous best setup (Biostar P4M900, E1200, cMP, cPlay 1.0b19). E7200's suitability for audio is superior to previous best (E1200) irrespective of CPU load requirements.

Overall Setup

PCI card must be installed in slot 1 (closest to CPU) to ensure dedicated interrupt. Slot 2 forces interrupt sharing - avoid this!
Use high quality RAM - a minimum of 1GB is recommended. Best results are gained using a single 1GB RAM module. cMP setup gives ~920MB available RAM.
Update Gigabyte BIOS to F6x ( Download found under "Additional files"). Refer to Gigabyte manual on how 2.

GA-G31M-S2L BIOS Setup
Each point below refers to BIOS menu item. Before applying BIOS changes, perform "Load Fail-Safe Defaults" followed by "Load Optimized Defaults".

System installation can be done before or after these changes.

In BIOS main menu, press [Ctrl]+F1 keys to access advanced BIOS settings. Items in red are high risk and requires a low temperature CPU setup.

Standard CMOS Features
Disable Drive A (floppy disk drive)
Advanced BIOS Features
Disable:
1. HDD S.M.A.R.T. Capability
2. No-Execute Memory Protect
3. CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)
4. CPU Thermal Monitor (TM2)
Make sure CPU EIST Function is Enabled
Set Init Display First to Onboard
Set Onbaord VGA to Always Enable
Integrated Peripherals
Set On-Chip SATA Mode to Non-Combined
Disable Azalia codec, Onboard LAN Boot ROM, Serial & Parallel ports
Disable Onboard H/W LAN, SMART LAN (if not using networking functionality)
Disable USB 2.0 Controller (if NOT using USB soundcard)
Enable USB Keyboard and/or Mouse support if needed
Power Management Setup
Set ACPI Suspend Type to S1
Disable PME Event Wake-Up, Power On by Ring, Resume by Alarm, HPET Support
PnP/PCS Configuration
Set PCI Latency Timer (CLK) to 128 (maximum benefit is gained when ASIO latency is below 64 samples)
PC Health Status
Disable CPU Smart FAN Control (if no Fan is used)
Disable CPU Warning Temperature
Disbale Thermal Throttle TEMP
MB Intelligent Tweaker (M.I.T.)
Set CPU Clock Ratio to 9
Set fine control to 0.5
Disable Spread Spectrum
Enable CPU Host Clock Control
Set CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) to 175 - this sets FSB to 700Mhz (BIOS should reflect max CPU frequency of 1.66GHz). (Highest setting recommended is 180)
Set System Memory Multiplier (SPD) to 2 - this sets RAM speed to 350
Set DRAM Timing Selectable (SPD) to Auto
Set FSB DeOverVoltage Control to -0.15V
Set CPU Voltage Control to 1.12500V

This is an initail value. Depending on mobo / CPU manufacturing, lower voltages can be set and is better. Iteratively try lower voltages. Lowest voltage recommended is 0.87500V - this allows for stable operations. Some setups will NOT go below 1.00625V, in which case BIOS must be reset from CMOS - refer to Gigabyte manual for How 2 (be sure to disconnect power when doing this procedure).
Best results achieved with lowest voltage giving stable operations as power consumption is reduced. For safe passive CPU cooling, a voltage of 0.95000V or lower is recommended.

Set CPU GTLREF Voltage Ratio to 0.636 (default) / 0.603 / 0.566 / 0.540 [each to be tested]

Only test this option once above CPU Voltage has been set to lowest stable value. Impact to sound quality is significant and there's no 'right' setting for GTLREF ratio. Depending on CPU voltage, a specific ratio is best. I get best results with 0.566 using CPU voltage of 0.87500V for 24/192k output.

Perform Save & Exit.

Using latest CPU-Z (1.45) utility, you should get:

CPU at 1.05Ghz, FSB @ 700MHz, Vcc depends on above CPU voltage (and is always lower). Only CPU-Z version 1.45 or later will recognize the E7200.

Allow for at least 48 hours of burn-in (this applies to existing setups as well).

System Devices
Under System Devices, disable the following :

Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) - PCI Express Root Port - 27D0
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) - SMBus Controller - 27DA
When SMBus Controller is disabled, System Restart will not work - you can only perform a System Shutdown (and power-up).
Intel(R) 82802G Firmware Hub Device
Numeric Data Processor
Microcode Update Device

Power Settings in Windows XP SP2 Professional
Under Power Option from Control Panel, Set Power Scheme to "Max Battery".

Kernel Optimisations
See section 4.14 in AOB Computer Transports version 0.3 for more details. Add "/3GB" which gives more available RAM (~30MB).

Registry Optimisation (Priority Setting)
Locate following in registry:

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\PriorityControl\Win32PrioritySeparation

If priority was set for 'Background Processes' the value is 18, change to 28. Note these are hexadecimal values and correct setting must reflect as 0x00000028(40). Reboot.

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