Possibly returning to MS Windows ...

[AllenB]

Though I find the GUI a little sluggish for everyday use as a VM.

I'm not sure I see your need, but that could be because I use a desktop switcher in the taskbar.

I start the VM the first time I use it and it can stay running on a background virtual desktop if necessary. I use twin displays and can have it fullscreen on one next to a native linux screen, and functionally seamless for drag/drop operations etc.

 

[CharlieLaub]

... the NTP OS clock synchronization. By this I mean the stereo image is stable. Gstreamer has been improving its synchronization algorithm to make it more resistant to glitches in the timing info it gets via RTP and NTP and I need to go back and take a closer look.

Posting this here for @phofman and others... Over the last couple of days I set up three NTP servers on my LAN in order to get an RTP client up and running properly. The NTP servers are just using public NTP timeservers in and around my area in Germany. I use these to discipline the OS clock on my playback machines, which are reachable only via 2.4G WiFi due to living in an old farmhouse with thick stones walls (interior walls, too!). Anyway, below you can find data on the offset from "true" NTP time, printed every 2 minutes. This is not a measurement of the audio data timing as that is more complicated to obtain, but Gstreamer does use the NTP synchronized OS clock as a time reference for playback timing. As you can see from the data the offsets are in the range I mentioned, about 20-50usec with many being much less than this. This synchronicity is more than sufficient to keep the stereo image centered when there are two different playback clients, each running one of the left or right speakers.

Last offset     : -0.000038427 seconds
Last offset     : -0.000017788 seconds
Last offset     : -0.000119421 seconds
Last offset     : +0.000112821 seconds
Last offset     : +0.000000841 seconds
Last offset     : -0.000012944 seconds
Last offset     : +0.000117312 seconds
Last offset     : +0.000012447 seconds
Last offset     : +0.000034801 seconds
Last offset     : +0.000019077 seconds
Last offset     : +0.000026957 seconds
Last offset     : +0.000025322 seconds
Last offset     : -0.000002515 seconds
Last offset     : +0.000027467 seconds
Last offset     : +0.000022474 seconds
Last offset     : +0.000014672 seconds
Last offset     : +0.000013988 seconds
Last offset     : +0.000071804 seconds
Last offset     : +0.000008142 seconds

The offset (time error) data above is given in seconds. Remove the first three zeroes from each number to get the value in milliseconds, e.g. -0.000038427 becomes -0.038427 milliseconds, or -38.427 microseconds.

 

[JukkaM]

Or pick one of the other main tech channels.

I only see Intel being blamed everywhere (incl this thread).
Point is that they are most certainly and obviously not the only one to blamed here. In fact only a small part.
The other obvious part are the motherboard manufactures.

Once again, don't jump into definitive conclusions, before you have all the information.

It most certainly doesn't have anything to do with older generation systems.

I personally own one of the affected CPUs (i7-14700K). I've used it for software video filtering and (h.265) encoding, which is one of the most demanding workloads there is for a CPU. It has a water cooler and during summer I assist it with a floor fan. With that I can make the CPU consume 200 W for its task. I have not noticed any crashes during many hours of encoding.

For audio, no one would get a CPU like that for obvious reasons. And you probably couldn't even get it to crash with any audio related workload. As mentioned, best CPUs for audio are those that can be passively cooled.

 

[Kev06]

Thankfully yes, I went for a lower power CPU in order to permit passive cooling. It is a locked type and also the generation prior to Intel's microcode problems, so I should be safe with the current setup. Specifically, it is an i7-12700 with a modest base power of 65W, teamed with one of those passive Noctua NH-P1 coolers. The max/turbo power is more of course (180W), so there is a virtually silent fan should it ever be needed, but it doesn't come on during my normal media usage.

The intention was to use the PC for everything and run my media stuff in VMs. However the more I pursue this route the more I'm thinking of abandoning that idea. There are issues with virtualisation not being real hardware, I've largely overcome this on my audio process by passing-through a USB controller to use a real hardware USB gadget (raspberry Pi) prior to the DAC. But there are still issues keeping virtualised video in sync and free from tearing. I could get over those with a GPU passthrough, but am running out of controllers (or expansion slots for new ones) to pass everything through that is wished.

So, I have now decided to just dedicate the existing PC to media and hobby/fun stuff, and use a separate laptop for my work and banking etc. This would make everything much, much simpler. The PC is perhaps a bit over-specified for just media playing, but it will idle at not much over 50 watts (without monitor) which shouldn't be too expensive to run, especially as I don't run it 24/7. It will also still allow for VMs for peripheral stuff - for example to run a roon remote in windows. I do need to decide if I will give it windows natively though, or stay with Linux, for the main/host OS.

 

[JukkaM]

There are many BIOS settings that you should adjust to reduce heat. Like disabling Hyper-Threading or (some version of) turbo boost if not needed. Maybe even set the maximum allowed power in Watts.

I've set some of those. The CPU runs hot enough without HT...

 

[Kev06]

Thanks, yes I will have a look at the bios/uefi settings, and see what can be done; I've tried to reduce power consumption of small devices that were on 24/7 before, but not yet a full PC. It isn't massively important as it will be turned off unless I'm actually at home and using it, but no need to be wasteful either, especially now that the demands upon it are going to be lower. I got a locked CPU (albeit low TDP), but happily the motherboard has reasonable bios flexibility (the more basic ones had worse VRM cooling etc, so less suitable for a passive system). Much to explore.