I finally broke down and ordered the parts for an i7 build.
My i5 is fine and perfect for stage streaming, but the more Scripting that Kontakt use the more IPS are needed.
These boards are heavily tested with the PCI-e 1X Lossless Audio cards that are included, and after seeing the Easy Switch OClocking hardware used for gaming and frame rate increases I am convinced MSI had a great run in the last 3 years.
I usually would never OClock, and always have stuck with stock Intel boards.
But the benefits of OClocking has finally been proven to me after years of sitting on the sidelines.
My i5 is perfect for stage, but I need a 32/64bit board where an entire template can house thousands of articulations from dozens of instruments and synths.
I really like this studio gig and pre production can be used to avoid any excessive engineering fees, but the last 2 times I worked there the engineer wanted to audition sounds.
Using 32bit i5 for loading samples was painfully and embarrassingly slow.
Now I can pack a template with everything I own and rifle through any articulations necessary.
The hardware Easy switch is nice too.
Switch 1 can be for TurboMode/1 Core live work.
Switch 2 can be medium scripting...medium OC
Switch 3 can be heavy scripting w/ VSTi synths.
The fact that PCI-e 1X was heavily tested, and MSI has been cranking out much better boards than Intel makes this an easy choice.
i7 finally 2 years later.
MSI Military Grade X58
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
Are those PCIe x16 slots all tied together and dedicated to video only or can they be used as a regular PCIe slot? My experience has been they only work for SLI video.
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
They're for video which I have meger needs. They are SLI and Crossfire configs.
Great for video geeks, but my meger 128MB DDR3 Vid card is plenty for audio work.
I just wanted to wait a while for prices to drop and more stability before jumping in.
The i7 930 is 199 USD now.
This board is also 199 USD which is reasonable for an X58.
Some are still 275-350 USD....????
I always wondered why when there less chips to attach since the CPU is starting to take over more and more tasks on die.
Great for video geeks, but my meger 128MB DDR3 Vid card is plenty for audio work.
I just wanted to wait a while for prices to drop and more stability before jumping in.
The i7 930 is 199 USD now.
This board is also 199 USD which is reasonable for an X58.
Some are still 275-350 USD....????
I always wondered why when there less chips to attach since the CPU is starting to take over more and more tasks on die.
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
because intel charges as much for the remaining chip as they used to for 2 (more for triple channel), and also "because they can"
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
i got intel dp55wg for i7. did you check that?
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
55's are nice. But I need Triple Channel RAM at 1600 since that seems to cover the Native stuff from all aspects.
Intel actually has the stability still, but thier X58 w/ dual channel RAM was politically correct mobo, plain and simple.
Asus and Gigabyte I am quite sure have handshake agreements with Intel. Makes no sense to have a high end chipset made for triple channel RAM and then have only a dual channel choice.
Below is the package and it comes with several hardware jumpers along with the switch, which may or may not work in realtime.
But I feel like the time has come since the 6 core CPU's have knocked down the old i7 prices, and the sheer number of BIOS updates on MSI's website shows they are listening to their user base, so these helped in the decision making. The extended warranty is also a bonus.
But I have appealed to the Gods by making sure all gear has a capital X in it's name somewhere.
Intel actually has the stability still, but thier X58 w/ dual channel RAM was politically correct mobo, plain and simple.
Asus and Gigabyte I am quite sure have handshake agreements with Intel. Makes no sense to have a high end chipset made for triple channel RAM and then have only a dual channel choice.
Below is the package and it comes with several hardware jumpers along with the switch, which may or may not work in realtime.
But I feel like the time has come since the 6 core CPU's have knocked down the old i7 prices, and the sheer number of BIOS updates on MSI's website shows they are listening to their user base, so these helped in the decision making. The extended warranty is also a bonus.
But I have appealed to the Gods by making sure all gear has a capital X in it's name somewhere.
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
ya Native is getting stronger. like poco/ssl update their new software.. calling them New Hybrid Core Processing Engine. both sound card and pc processor will work at a time. if this is the future (except sonic core/ hd protools i believe) than i should build a duel porcessor based xeon 24Mb L2 !
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
Dual cpu's are overpriced now that you can have 4-6 physical cores imo. Take this from someone who has insisted on duals since 1995.
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
cool .. you have been using duel xeon since 1995 
.. bro i got my 486 machine on 1999 
... hey i saw a pic here .. a duel xeon with a beautiful cat... is that was your pc setup?
.. bro i got my 486 machine on 1999 ... hey i saw a pic here .. a duel xeon with a beautiful cat... is that was your pc setup?Re: MSI Military Grade X58
That looks like a great board jimmi!
I ve had my msi neo v2 for 3 years before the psu decided to crap out on the 5v side and it took the regulators for the cpu voltage with it....
It was very stabile until then.
I know its not really i7-i5 related but for the c2d or c2 quad guys,this is what ive been upgraded to and it has been a bliss to setup and use.I can run my rme card on 32 samples buffer without a hiccup!And..its kinda cheap.All solid caps and good heatpipe supply.I still use my E6750 @ 3.2 and i can use the new 45nm quads aswell.
DCP Latency with this setup has been lower than 100Mü/s.And the fan controll is awsome!For a 100€...winner.
I ve had my msi neo v2 for 3 years before the psu decided to crap out on the 5v side and it took the regulators for the cpu voltage with it....
It was very stabile until then.
I know its not really i7-i5 related but for the c2d or c2 quad guys,this is what ive been upgraded to and it has been a bliss to setup and use.I can run my rme card on 32 samples buffer without a hiccup!And..its kinda cheap.All solid caps and good heatpipe supply.I still use my E6750 @ 3.2 and i can use the new 45nm quads aswell.
DCP Latency with this setup has been lower than 100Mü/s.And the fan controll is awsome!For a 100€...winner.
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
FWIW the C2D I was using was faster than the i5 I built.
The 1U was a good way to shrink down to a 1U where no video card was needed, but the memory controller latency being on the package added a huge latency to the QPI link.
Live I didn't notice any trouble since I would only stack instruments when Horn sections were being used. But in the studio its wise to sequence everything for 1 pass and that's where the i5 shows it weak performance.
The Wolfdale C2D smoked my i5 for audio. No biggie as I still had the P35 rig, it was in a 4U though.
I really think the Conroe CPU's were great audio CPU's. Low heat and fast.
I was running Bidule and Kontakt at 128 buffers and even Rewire w/ Reaper which added latency in the loop was fine.
The i5 is fine for live work, but I almost spoiled by britches while setting the buffers to record.
Even overclocked to 3.786 doesn't address the QPI latency.
That was a close call.
Nice to see your still beatin' em up.
The 1U was a good way to shrink down to a 1U where no video card was needed, but the memory controller latency being on the package added a huge latency to the QPI link.
Live I didn't notice any trouble since I would only stack instruments when Horn sections were being used. But in the studio its wise to sequence everything for 1 pass and that's where the i5 shows it weak performance.
The Wolfdale C2D smoked my i5 for audio. No biggie as I still had the P35 rig, it was in a 4U though.
I really think the Conroe CPU's were great audio CPU's. Low heat and fast.
I was running Bidule and Kontakt at 128 buffers and even Rewire w/ Reaper which added latency in the loop was fine.
The i5 is fine for live work, but I almost spoiled by britches while setting the buffers to record.
Even overclocked to 3.786 doesn't address the QPI latency.
That was a close call.
Nice to see your still beatin' em up.
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
Sounds right.I use Omnisphere-Reaktor(with samples) Stylus Rmx and Alchemy usually and until now it holds.I dont run crazy trackcounts(around 20) and my buffer is set to 256 when working.Still with only 2 gb ram this setup is...flying good.Most synths come from my second pc with 2x scope pro via adat and for me this is it for the moment^^.XITE-1/4LIVE wrote:FWIW the C2D I was using was faster than the i5 I built.
The 1U was a good way to shrink down to a 1U where no video card was needed, but the memory controller latency being on the package added a huge latency to the QPI link.
Live I didn't notice any trouble since I would only stack instruments when Horn sections were being used. But in the studio its wise to sequence everything for 1 pass and that's where the i5 shows it weak performance.
The Wolfdale C2D smoked my i5 for audio. No biggie as I still had the P35 rig, it was in a 4U though.
I really think the Conroe CPU's were great audio CPU's. Low heat and fast.
I was running Bidule and Kontakt at 128 buffers and even Rewire w/ Reaper which added latency in the loop was fine.
The i5 is fine for live work, but I almost spoiled by britches while setting the buffers to record.
Even overclocked to 3.786 doesn't address the QPI latency.
That was a close call.
Nice to see your still beatin' em up.
I do not use Heavy Sample based Instruments like you and i guess if i would the system may fall over quickly.
I will buy 2 gb ram and a better hd soon tho(Quadcore next year i suppose).The hd has just 8 mb buffer and is ooold and long in the tooth.
Curious how your setup will perform.Please post results if you have the time.
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
Count on it. 
I think I will have everything in 32bit Windows 7 running first, just to see if I can have a template. The NCW based samples use half of the RAM so 64bit might not be needed.
But if I want to use those expensive Chiggabyte sized, hardly optimized, giant Orchestras, that are supposedly used on majoe motion pictures, I will surely need 64bit.
But I believe Kontakt 4.0 has addressed this wasteful practice used by so many developers.
I think I will have everything in 32bit Windows 7 running first, just to see if I can have a template. The NCW based samples use half of the RAM so 64bit might not be needed.
But if I want to use those expensive Chiggabyte sized, hardly optimized, giant Orchestras, that are supposedly used on majoe motion pictures, I will surely need 64bit.
But I believe Kontakt 4.0 has addressed this wasteful practice used by so many developers.
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
Well I went when I was summoned to see the build and saw the DAW smokin' along at 4.2GHz after a 12 hour Prime torture test. Under advisement I have decided that 3.8GHz is perfect for the high end switch. I see no need for the middle switch so default settings at 133 will be fine.
I will see how far I can get w/ 32bit Windows 7 at 133 stock settings, and if its not enough I think the 3.8GHz will be plenty fast.
6GB's of Corasir XMS 1600 and this board with an i7 930 is very mature now and fast.
After a short vacation to Tahoe I will come back and install the XITE-1 and the VST software.
I will see how far I can get w/ 32bit Windows 7 at 133 stock settings, and if its not enough I think the 3.8GHz will be plenty fast.
6GB's of Corasir XMS 1600 and this board with an i7 930 is very mature now and fast.
After a short vacation to Tahoe I will come back and install the XITE-1 and the VST software.
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
Btw fwiw the later Core2 chips were screamers because they were the peak of that tech. Intel is going to slowly parse out the speed increases for it's new generations to keep things scaling for people willing to spend $700 on 20 cents worth of silicon (manufacturing/labor costs for actual production for the lynnfield i5/i7 chips.)
My money has been on 32nm being a good 'sweet spot' once they get the middle tiers filled out with sandybridge (and not just hexa cores & cheapos). Downside to this of course is that they're sticking with current model number branding and just adding some additional letter codes to signify 32nm (and the lower TDP figures) so you'll have to keep an eye on cpu's as usual to know what's what.
My money has been on 32nm being a good 'sweet spot' once they get the middle tiers filled out with sandybridge (and not just hexa cores & cheapos). Downside to this of course is that they're sticking with current model number branding and just adding some additional letter codes to signify 32nm (and the lower TDP figures) so you'll have to keep an eye on cpu's as usual to know what's what.
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
Sandy Bridge will replace my lame i5 1U Streamer in 2011 sometime.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3885/sand ... ics-update
It's a great looking package, and the on dye GPU and Memory Controller are outpacing the AMD GPU/CPU combos for once.
FWIW, this motherboard/CPU combo is perfect for the XITE-1, especially if one wants to use XTC when it is optimized.
Perfect PCI-e 1X/16X performance, great stock cooling for OC'ing, and the triple channel bandwidth is far ahead of the software available.
After a few more OS tweaks, this DAWg is ready for stage in 64bit..........
I thought for sure this would need adjustments and take a month to get ready, but it's primed and ready to hunt.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3885/sand ... ics-update
It's a great looking package, and the on dye GPU and Memory Controller are outpacing the AMD GPU/CPU combos for once.
FWIW, this motherboard/CPU combo is perfect for the XITE-1, especially if one wants to use XTC when it is optimized.
Perfect PCI-e 1X/16X performance, great stock cooling for OC'ing, and the triple channel bandwidth is far ahead of the software available.
After a few more OS tweaks, this DAWg is ready for stage in 64bit..........
I thought for sure this would need adjustments and take a month to get ready, but it's primed and ready to hunt.
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
Finally got the best settings for Kontakt 4.1.1 and WIndows 7 64bit Home Premium.
I am limited to 16GB's but I can always upgrade later if I have to.
After all of the various overclocking experts and opinions, I simply selected the hardware overclocking switch that is mounted on the motherboard and it works perfectly well.
Using the i7 930 and the 200MHz switch I have jumped my RAM from 1066 to 1332.
This also jumped the CPU from 2.8 to 3.6GHz.
This doesn't require any special cooling on the chips or CPU. All stock HSF's and RAM sinks are just fine.
Anyone who has been waiting and watching for a good mobo/CPU fort he PCI-e 1X options should check out this midrange priced i7 930 / MSI X58A-GD65.
It's parts are military grade, the PCB traces are purposely kept short,and it is just stable.
I am a very happy camper.
I only spent 700 bucks and that included the CPU / Mobo / RAM / Video Card and OS.
This DAWg Will Hunt for anyone wishing to use the i7 for native and an XITE-1.....
I am limited to 16GB's but I can always upgrade later if I have to.
After all of the various overclocking experts and opinions, I simply selected the hardware overclocking switch that is mounted on the motherboard and it works perfectly well.
Using the i7 930 and the 200MHz switch I have jumped my RAM from 1066 to 1332.
This also jumped the CPU from 2.8 to 3.6GHz.
This doesn't require any special cooling on the chips or CPU. All stock HSF's and RAM sinks are just fine.
Anyone who has been waiting and watching for a good mobo/CPU fort he PCI-e 1X options should check out this midrange priced i7 930 / MSI X58A-GD65.
It's parts are military grade, the PCB traces are purposely kept short,and it is just stable.
I am a very happy camper.
I only spent 700 bucks and that included the CPU / Mobo / RAM / Video Card and OS.
This DAWg Will Hunt for anyone wishing to use the i7 for native and an XITE-1.....
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
Waiting to see of the PCU/EIST/CoreParking stuff disappears in the next 32nm stuff here, glad to know you have things tuned up nicely though 
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
yeah Jim, have you tried turning PCU/EIST off in the bios?
the power stepping might really be limiting what the processor can do.
the power stepping might really be limiting what the processor can do.
Re: MSI Military Grade X58
Here's one to make sure and check off too.
It's called Programmable Interupt Controller, which is a contradiction it terms actually since you can't program it............
But disabling it helps with the crackles in the audio.
I still have some audio crackles when I pack the RAM which is only when I need a large 4-5GB template.
So while the live config. is fine this is something that still concerns me.
The mobo is pretty amazing though as I can switch to a 200 x 21 hardware overclock using the switch for a 4.2GHz speed w/ stock cooling.
I still think 3.6GHz is plenty of free power.
EIST has been disabled, but what is the PCU....?
It's called Programmable Interupt Controller, which is a contradiction it terms actually since you can't program it............
But disabling it helps with the crackles in the audio.
I still have some audio crackles when I pack the RAM which is only when I need a large 4-5GB template.
So while the live config. is fine this is something that still concerns me.
The mobo is pretty amazing though as I can switch to a 200 x 21 hardware overclock using the switch for a 4.2GHz speed w/ stock cooling.
I still think 3.6GHz is plenty of free power.
EIST has been disabled, but what is the PCU....?