[LAU] 16 frames, no xruns -> Mobo + CPU + RAM + PSU < 180,- €

Hi, if you should need a cheap computer for audio, the setup I'm using might be interesting for you, too. RME HDSPe AIO 48 KHz, 32 frames, no xruns Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 2nd Gen 48 KHz, 16 frames, no xruns Another advantage, the PC is absolutely silent, but there are also two disadvantages. There are issues with the Intel graphics and the PSU cables already smelled bad, when it wasn't used. For compiling in tmpfs I'll get 4 additional GiB of RAM soon or later, since 4 GiB aren't enough to compile a kernel. However, compiling a kernel using a SSD instead of tmpfs takes 60 minutes. Even with the shared IRQs there are no xruns, at least not for a test song I already used with my old mobo and the Focusrite. On the 9 years old mobo the RME AIO at 256 frames run with inaudible xruns and the Focusrite at 128 frames without xruns, so the test song already says a little bit about the audio performance of the new mobo. I didn't check MIDI jitter and a test is just a test, but seemingly this cheap computer is usable for audio. Some IRQs differ after a reboot, but the RME card, the TerraTec card and ehci always share IRQ 16. [root@archlinux rocketmouse]# hwinfo --bios | grep Manufacturer -A1 | head -2; hwinfo --cpu | grep Model | sort -u; hwinfo --memory | grep Size Manufacturer: "Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd." Product: "B85M-D3H" Model: 6.60.3 "Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU G1840 @ 2.80GHz" Memory Size: 3 GB + 768 MB [root@archlinux rocketmouse]# cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governorperformance performance [root@archlinux rocketmouse]# aplay -l | grep -v HDA\ Intel | grep -v Sub **** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices **** card 0: HDSPMx579bcc [RME AIO_579bcc], device 0: RME AIO [RME AIO] card 1: EWX2496 [TerraTec EWX24/96], device 0: ICE1712 multi [ICE1712 multi] card 5: USB [Scarlett 18i20 USB], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio] [root@archlinux rocketmouse]# uname -rm 4.9.11-rt9-1-rt-celeron x86_64 [root@archlinux rocketmouse]# rtirq status PID CLS RTPRIO NI PRI %CPU STAT COMMAND 102 FF 90 - 130 0.3 S irq/16-ehci_hcd 105 FF 90 - 130 0.1 S irq/25-xhci_hcd 121 FF 89 - 129 0.0 S irq/23-ehci_hcd 257 FF 85 - 125 0.4 S irq/16-snd_hdsp 373 FF 80 - 120 0.0 S irq/16-snd_ice1 38 FF 50 - 90 0.0 S irq/9-acpi 52 FF 50 - 90 0.0 S irq/8-rtc0 103 FF 50 - 90 0.0 S irq/1-i8042 106 FF 50 - 90 0.0 S irq/26-ahci[000 256 FF 50 - 90 0.0 S irq/27-mei_me 258 FF 50 - 90 0.0 S irq/5-parport0 260 FF 50 - 90 0.0 S irq/28-snd_hda_ 262 FF 50 - 90 0.0 S irq/29-i915 374 FF 50 - 90 0.0 S irq/18-i801_smb 375 FF 50 - 90 0.0 S irq/31-snd_hda_ 485 FF 50 - 90 0.0 S irq/30-enp3s0 3 TS - 0 19 0.0 S ksoftirqd/0 21 TS - 0 19 0.0 S ksoftirqd/1 The BIOS is used with it's defaults and I didn't update the BIOS. Since everything seems to be ok for audio, I'll only disable the onboard sound and the full screen logo, but won't upgrade the BIOS or change any serious settings. Regards, Ralf