Interesting,
didn't think a HDD's motor will use ore than the fans' motor
I still used a HDD till last year,
but my HDD started doing problems,
luckily I do backups every month,
and was able to get out of that HDD 90% of the changes that occurred since the last backup.
Due to the prices of SSDs, I highly recommend you to switch.
I id not switch to it because I am using Windows XP and was worried that it will not ork well, or might require too much mess with settings..
But it didn't.
I should've moved to an SSD earlier.
When you buy an SSD, buy Samsung.
Their body is Aluminum made, much better for hear dissipation.
Sandisk's SSDs body on the other hand is made of plastic, and so much less good in heat dissipation,
which makes them "die" unexpectedly.. (happened to several friends).
All this is relevant for SATA SSDs.
If you have a motherboard from the past 2 years, you mostlikely can use an NVMe SSD, which is terrifically fast, and does not have an enclosure,
hence all I wrote is not relevant for NVMe SSDs.
Why not to try this way of generating electricity for you amp? (really I'm feeling to be taken as stupid, but...)
Most likely not a captured noise, but the ground loop and large currents running in the motherboard ground lines. That is what balanced inputs eliminate. Most small analog amps do not offer them though. For my tripath amp (SE inputs only) I had to build a small 12V PSU. The TPAs run fine from the same PSU, the common-mode rejection of balanced inputs removes the common-mode ground noise on ground and line terminals of the soundcard.
IMO you will not be able to hear any distortion. For bass it may lack the power, depending on your type of music and listening.
But you will definitely hear the ground loop noise if you use non-balanced connection + the same PSU, I can guarantee that. IMO that analog amp has only single-ended inputs.
Try a decent TPA3116 board with internal soundcard and you will hear yourself. No need to keep just talking about it, the board costs a few bucks.
I can recommend the one I know and like DC 12V 24V TPA3116 Dual Channel Stereo 2x50W BTL Mono 100W Audio Amplifier Board | eBay - decent input caps, decent output caps, closed-core inductors, reasonable layout (short input/output traces, no outputs/supply lines close to inputs), trivial to modify for balanced inputs (just unsolder the grounded pin of the cold-line (IN-) capacitors). Solder the balanced cables either directly on the motherboard audio output connector from the bottom side, or solder the two cables into a 3.5 stereo jack. Or use internal MB audio pins if they are close to the HDA codec chip (most likely not, usually the chip is close to the 3.5 female sockets). Do not run the board without speakers connected since it does not have output protection diodes. Later on you can solder them on.
For connection use something like MIC.5 HD RH 20 GA 2 Conductor + Shield, Balanced Mic Cable in 10 Foot Units | eBay , the connection diagram is in my post. Do not connect the shield on amp side, only on the soundcard side.
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Thank you very much phofman for all the tips.
For some reason, this board does not include a volume potentiometer..
While many people would suggest to simply add one, acting as a voltage divider, and so giving the amplifier a partial input (according to how you rotated the potentiometer), I think this is a less recommended way to implement volume.
The better way, is that the amplifier gets the full signal, and the potentiometer affects the amplifier's Gain parameter..
Now I am not sure if it's opssble to customize that board, to implement volume using the second method I wrote..
Good to know, will be careful with that.
Is that generally an issue with amplifiers, or just with the TPA3116 amplifier, or just with this specific board?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-12V-24V...-Mono-100W-Audio-Amplifier-Board/232635677546
For some reason, this board does not include a volume potentiometer..
While many people would suggest to simply add one, acting as a voltage divider, and so giving the amplifier a partial input (according to how you rotated the potentiometer), I think this is a less recommended way to implement volume.
The better way, is that the amplifier gets the full signal, and the potentiometer affects the amplifier's Gain parameter..
Now I am not sure if it's opssble to customize that board, to implement volume using the second method I wrote..
Oh, I did not know amplifiers have a problem with temporarily running without a speaker(s) connected..
Good to know, will be careful with that.
Is that generally an issue with amplifiers, or just with the TPA3116 amplifier, or just with this specific board?
All the time I am talking about balanced inputs. A volume pot would have to be dual for each channel (i.e. 4-gang) with great synchronization for hot/cold gangs which is almost impossible to obtain. Otherwise the common-mode rejection will not work.
Use digital volume control in your soundcard. You will not be able to notice any difference with this amp. This is no highend.
Theoretically yes, practically the chip has a limited range of gain, far smaller than what you need for a usable volume control. Every amp is stable only at a specific range of gain and must be designed accordingly if a large gain range is required.
Not possible.
Look at https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/class-d/237086-tpa3116d2-amp.html#post3528020
I do not know, but the newer TPA32XX already have the diodes inside the chip, AFAIR.
Damn..
O, good to hear.
In any case I will avoid that,
don't want to discover If my boards are protected or not..
Actually my fault about the volume pot. If you put the pot (voltage divider) on soundcard side (i.e. a regular stereo version) and run the quasi-balanced line from the pot to the amp, it should attenuate the common mode noise between the soundcard ground and amp ground without any deterioration. It is technically better to run the soundcard at full output and attenuate with the pot if a stereo version is enough.
I see.
This is interesting,
I will try to search with google for an article showing all the ways to implement volume control,
with hopefully a small remark regarding each method's effect on sound quality..
It's quite simple. Digital/software volume control (be it before the soundcard or in the digital part of the DAC chip) does not change the noise floor of the DAC/soundcard, it just reduces the digital sample levels.
Unlike the potentiometer which attenuates everything including the noise.
Again, start with the software volume, and later you can add the pot if you wish. In my experience the properly connected TPA3116 (shielded cables, inputs kept away from outputs, no extra input filters on the TPA3116 board, balanced connection) is dead silent even at lowest digitally attenuated volumes (as well as max levels), usually less noise than basic analog amps (LM3886 in my case).
Unlike the potentiometer which attenuates everything including the noise.
Again, start with the software volume, and later you can add the pot if you wish. In my experience the properly connected TPA3116 (shielded cables, inputs kept away from outputs, no extra input filters on the TPA3116 board, balanced connection) is dead silent even at lowest digitally attenuated volumes (as well as max levels), usually less noise than basic analog amps (LM3886 in my case).
-12VDC was used for RS232 serial ports, and way, way back for very old DRAM chips. But it has never been rated for much current. Recent computers are dumping the power supply 5VDC etc in favour of local 12v to etc on the mother board, ie 4 pin 12V only (2 yellow+2 black) , so 12VDC is a good choice for tapping power.
There are several 12VDC amplifier modules on Amazon, linear and class-D, 2 ch, 2.1, 4ch.
There are several 12VDC amplifier modules on Amazon, linear and class-D, 2 ch, 2.1, 4ch.
Because old computers (286, 386 and some 486's) work direcly from 5V and TTL logic drain lots of power still in low speeds. 486's (My preferred) and most pentiums have been using lower and lower voltages in order to reduce power waste, increasing speed and efficiency. Some of them uses such a low voltages of 0.8V. As the current has increasing, MOBO's has migrated from linear regulator to simple buck and then to synchronous rectifier and to the multiphase buck converters, with high switching frequencies going in the MHz (or near), range, enabling the use of lower capacitor values and inductor sizes. This IC's usually need 12V at high current values to power those PWM controllers, and feed the µPs at as high currents as 100Amper at voltages below 1V. From there is that the main control on the 5V is not too important nowadays.
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