Tír Na HiFi

I f this oc genie was near the BIOS chip I would not even consider it - but it is on the other side of the board. I think it is some kind of monitoring device. I think it must go.

Have you tried using PS2 mouse and keyboard and turning off USB entirely? You should.

I do not like converting either - it could be neat having the USB card right next to USB to I2S and having a vestigial cable and there is the isolation factor. It is not on my wish list just interesting.

I do worry that the power wiring with the ASROCK is much smaller gauge than I would have used. For the USB card I will use very little of it.

What do you think of the "audiophile" SATA cables? I have never used one. Don't doubt they make a difference but how much of one?

I think I was the only one who followed JW with the chips removal. Did it to GIGABYTE H55 and H61 boards - much the same as with this one - no USB, vga, dvi, network, sound jacks and associated chips. It was easier to tell what was what then, the chips were bigger and GIGABYTE indicated what most of them were on the board. The MSI is nothing like that.

Pictures will be taken tomorrow evening. No camera. Have to use the office camera.

rickmcinnis wrote:I f this oc genie was near the BIOS chip I would not even consider it - but it is on the other side of the board. I think it is some kind of monitoring device. I think it must go.

Have you tried using PS2 mouse and keyboard and turning off USB entirely? You should.

i remember usb 2 been destructive to the dpc latency test usb 3 always seemed ok
cant say it made any difference sq wise
dont think ive ps2 ports on my mobos

I do not like converting either - it could be neat having the USB card right next to USB to I2S and having a vestigial cable and there is the isolation factor. It is not on my wish list just interesting.

I do worry that the power wiring with the ASROCK is much smaller gauge than I would have used. For the USB card I will use very little of it.

What do you think of the "audiophile" SATA cables? I have never used one. Don't doubt they make a difference but how much of one?

compared to which cable?
yea they work but the expense:sq ratio is high
why not diy them

I think I was the only one who followed JW with the chips removal. Did it to GIGABYTE H55 and H61 boards - much the same as with this one - no USB, vga, dvi, network, sound jacks and associated chips. It was easier to tell what was what then, the chips were bigger and GIGABYTE indicated what most of them were on the board. The MSI is nothing like that.

Pictures will be taken tomorrow evening. No camera. Have to use the office camera.

maybe take the camera home every day :)

Have you a SATA recipe?

Doesn't look like it would be difficult. Just three conductors, right?

Biggest problem I would think are the connectors. What would (or did) you do? Clip off the connector of an existing cable and solder to the new conductor? Not elegant but I guess it would work. Did you use raw connectors?

Just looked at MOLEX's and find the durability spec disturbing - 50 cycles! Mine are all worn out if that is the case! This is for the female side - the male are rated 500 cycles.

Any suggestions on how to proceed?

Take care,

rickmcinnis wrote:Have you a SATA recipe?

Doesn't look like it would be difficult. Just three conductors, right?

Biggest problem I would think are the connectors. What would (or did) you do? Clip off the connector of an existing cable and solder to the new conductor? Not elegant but I guess it would work. Did you use raw connectors?

Just looked at MOLEX's and find the durability spec disturbing - 50 cycles! Mine are all worn out if that is the case! This is for the female side - the male are rated 500 cycles.

Any suggestions on how to proceed?

Take care,

never made one but should be simple enough
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA

http://www.mouser.ie/ProductDetail/Mole ... 7%2fx00%3d

im still rocking the usb3 but im tempted to try the sata dom

I saw all of that stuff!

Wondered if you had any idea for the conductors and if geometry makes any difference.

I have this silver foil I got from Allen Wright for interconnects - would probably do just fine. Had intended to use it for USB.

Guess I should order some connectors?

Pictures to follow.

Not the best as if anyone was expecting otherwise.

Thought I would show the big battery.

Need to take a picture good enough to allow reading the designations on those chips! Might need to remove the board to do that.

Middle picture does not show what I intended very clearly.

Oh, well.

Figured those caps are no longer doing anything so I did not bother with them. I will remove them later.

nige,

Do you know what is the purpose of the three xtals?

Are they all needed?

Which one/s were you replacing?

rickmcinnis wrote:nige,

Do you know what is the purpose of the three xtals?

Are they all needed?

Which one/s were you replacing?

the 25mhz and the 32.768khz crystals surrounding the southbridge chip are needed and benefit from replacing/better power

whats the frequency off the one in pic 3
its prob either ethernet or usb

Pretty sure from memory another 25.

It looks ripe for the picking. I figured the same, USB or LAN.

When I remove the board this weekend I can take a clearer picture.

Wish I knew what that chip close to the PS2 jacks was for. Just cannot read the writing no matter what I use.

So what do you think is more important? Replacing those two xtals or memory power? I am startgin to worry I may be optimistic with the BELLESON reg supplying even one stick. Going to ask Brian if I can use an outboard transistor to boost the current.

Meant to say in previous note that using a shunt reg to supply the memory and having it powered by the 3.3 volts batteries might not be such a good idea. The shunt reg being so wasteful.

Might be better to stick with a good series reg.

Asked Brian Lowe if the low voltage reg can have its current delivery increased.