Computer Audio Asylum

• RE: Choice of H55M Mobo for i3 530 32mn CPU - jackwong96 20:40:58 07/01/10 (2)
  In Reply to: RE: Choice of H55M Mobo for i3 530 32mn CPU posted by Audio Bling on June 30, 2010 at 17:59:34

  Hi, GA H55N USB3 (itx) lack flexibilty as it has no PCI slot. There are less capacitor onboard too. SQ-wise, it should be on par with its H55M USB3 counterpart and exceeding the UD2H due to better PS components. Regarding power consumption it will consume no less than the the H55M USB3 because the same no. of chip and PS components are present on both boards. Being smaller in size doesn't mean that it will draw less power, it is only in a more compact format.
  
  I'm using the Musiland 01USD and have compared it with ESI Juli@. The Juli@ is a better choice because it is already very good in stock form (digital output only) when compared to my heavily modifed 01USD. I have a Musiland 01US too which I extracted its I2S output for use only, and I consider its SQ cannot match other other good DACs.
  
  All I can say is that the Corei3 530 setup has got extremely high sound quality and a high quality digital receiver or sound card is needed to bring out its potential. The stock Musiland 01US or 01USD cannot match the SQ of the new H55M board and CPU. So I recommend MATX board for potential upgrade.
  

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  • RE: Choice of H55M Mobo for i3 530 32mn CPU - Audio Bling 21:30:39 07/01/10 (1)
    In Reply to: RE: Choice of H55M Mobo for i3 530 32mn CPU posted by jackwong96 on July 01, 2010 at 20:40:58

    Thanks Jack, for your detailed reply.

    I take your point about the limitations of the Musiland and the flexibility offered by an m-ATX board like the UD2H - for example, upgrading to an on-board soundcard (like the juli@). Also, I can foresee that an m-ITX board will necessarily restrict the choice of coolers one can fit (due to space limitations). However, I really like the notion of making everything as compact and power efficient as possible and putting it in a smallish box. So, for now, I am pursuing the idea of an m-ITX board.

    Just to be clear, I am using a Musiland 01USD and outputting via coax to a quality DAC. Overall SQ with GA-G31-S12L (my current mobo) is good but if I could go another 15-20% improvement with GA-H55N-USB3 + i3-530 then I would be more than happy. Famous last words! I will certainly report back my experience - good or bad.

    As an aside, do you have any opinion of ION boards? I suspect their bias towards graphics would make them less than ideal for audio.

    Regards,
    
    

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    Edits: 07/01/10

    • RE: Choice of H55M Mobo for i3 530 32mn CPU - jackwong96 19:37:36 07/02/10 (0)
      In Reply to: RE: Choice of H55M Mobo for i3 530 32mn CPU posted by Audio Bling on July 01, 2010 at 21:30:39

      Apart from the one you've mentioned, other shortcomings of ION boards are:
      
      - lack of flexibilty in BIOS setup. Limited CPU, DRAM voltage and DRAM timing adjustment,
      
      - ATOM CPU is not powerful enough for heavy duty upsampling
      
      - lacks SSE4.1 and small L2 cache.
      
      - inferior onboard PWM power supply
      
      
      I have a Gigabyte D510M which does not sound as good as my GA-G31M-S2C + E7500 combo.
      
      The GA-H55N-USB3 is the best you can get. It has got a 6+2+1 phase PWM PS which is a standard requirement for 1156 CPUs. BIOS is very flexible, similar to other Gigabyte MATX mobo. Your choice is correct.
      
      
      

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