# Building a PC based on UFX+ - need recommendations



## David Chappell (Nov 9, 2019)

I bought a UFX+ assuming it would just plug in, install, and work... that definitely wasn't the case, as apparently my system is a perfect storm of components that RME won't get along with.

As a result, I'm looking to build a new PC specifically to work with the UFX+, so if anyone has a UFX+ running with perfect stability, I'd really appreciate any recommendations on a build.

This is my system at the moment:
Intel i7-5820k
Asus Sabertooth X99
Noctua NH-D15
4x16GB Cosair Vengeance DDR4 2400MHz
Asus Nvidia GeForce GTX750Ti
Seasonic P760 760W 80+ platinum power supply
Fractal Design Define R5
Samsung 850 EVO 500GB
Windows 10 professional 64 bit

Google has pointed to RME taking issue with X99 mainboards, Asus mainboards, and Nvidia cards... my system having all three was a recipe for disaster, it seems.

I think I can reuse the RAM, case, PSU, cooler, and drives from the current system, as none have issues currently, and those don't appear to be behind any of the UFX+ issues, unless it's bad practice to reuse those.

Firstly I'll need a new mainboard, specifically not an Asus one, as RME won't work with ASMedia USB, apparently. Nor does it agree with X99, it seems. I've no idea where to start with this, other than supporting 128GB of RAM, if I were to upgrade RAM in the future. Also, not sure whether I should use the UFX+ in USB or thunderbolt. It seems thunderbolt is better, so I'd maybe look for a mainboard that either has thunderbolt built in, or can have this added via PCI.

The i7-5820k only works with X99 mainboards, so I'll need a new processor. Looking at an i9-9900k.

Finally, a new graphics card, again, no idea other than not Nvidia. I have 2 1080p monitors, and am considering an additional 4k one , so might be good to future proof.

Aside from the UFX+, I use Cubase 8.5 and Sonarworks systemwide all the time, if those might affect the system with a UFX+.

Would appreciate any advice, thank you!


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## Solarsentinel (Nov 10, 2019)

Hi, can you describe your issues?

First and before buying a new pc try to identify your real problems. Is the thunderbolt? If this is the case, the The first advice that i can give you is to buy a cheap pci express usb 3.0 card which is not drived by asmedia and connect your UFX with it on usb 3. This will cost you 15 dollars and worst the try. You can also buy a pci express thunderbolt can which is not asmedia if you find one but the usb 3.0 is cheapest and works really well.

Otherwise It is true also that for daw performance amd is better than nvidia. Amd drivers are not problematic and have less latencies. So buying an amd card is also a good option.
You can try to desactivate your graphic card and see if the problem persist. Use latency mon to identify your problem.


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## David Chappell (Nov 10, 2019)

Solarsentinel said:


> Hi, can you describe your issues?
> 
> First and before buying a new pc try to identify your real problems. Is the thunderbolt? If this is the case, the The first advice that i can give you is to buy a cheap pci express usb 3.0 card which is not drived by asmedia and connect your UFX with it on usb 3. This will cost you 15 dollars and worst the try. You can also buy a pci express thunderbolt can which is not asmedia if you find one but the usb 3.0 is cheapest and works really well.
> 
> ...


Hello! Thank you for replying 

Truth be told, I'm not 100% sure. RME support is non-existent, and it's been getting beyond my troubleshooting capabilities.

I think it's a problem with the USB, but I'm not sure what. From device manager, only the USB3.1 ports are ASMedia, the 3.0 are Intel eXtensible, but those aren't working either. When I was still on 7, installing the Intel drivers did actually fix the problem... but broke my elicenser . So I had to uninstall them again.

I don't think Nvidia is causing all the dropouts and errors, as nothing I've done on that side has fixed it. It's probably worth changing the GPU though since Nvidia is problematic.

Great idea about trying a pci USB3.0 though - I'll give that a try and see if it helps.


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## Pier (Nov 10, 2019)

Solarsentinel said:


> The first advice that i can give you is to buy a cheap pci express usb 3.0 card which is not drived by asmedia and connect your UFX with it on usb 3



I was going to recommend that too. If the problem is with the chipset I imagine a PCIe card should solve it.


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Nov 10, 2019)

I also had issues with RME on X99 (also a 5820k) and their support never helped as they couldn't recreate the problems on their end. My Fireface UC worked fine (although there were other issues with my mobo) but my Digiface USB had issues with dropouts (even just in Windows audio). The issue didn't show up anywhere like latencymon or even the performance meter in Nuendo. The system would simply cut out and then cut back in as if the USB had been disconnected and my computer didn't notice anything. The mobo did have other USB issues so I even had to disable certain USB controllers.

Building a new computer with a 9900k made all of the problems go away. Exact same programs installed and same GPU. Not a single dropout has happened since I built it a few months ago (other than when I'm pushing it to its limit).

I'd say I'm very skilled at troubleshooting and digging deep in Windows like going through the registry and using the WPA so considering that I was never able to find any causes (or even anything reporting the issue other than me hearing the dropouts), I doubt you'll fix it. I'm 99% sure it was a hardware issue with my mobo and from what I've heard, X99 in general often had issues with audio.


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## ckeddf (Nov 10, 2019)

From what I understand, getting rid of the X99 chipset should be enough to solve the issues. I have a UFX-II with X99 and at least got to a point where the dropouts are not as frequent. Support suggested a dedicated PCI USB card with a non ASMedia USB-controller - which I tried but it didn't make any difference.


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## EvilDragon (Nov 11, 2019)

UFX+ running smoothly over here on Z170 chipset. Using Thunderbolt, BTW.


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## chrisr (Nov 11, 2019)

RME HDSPe Aio (PCIe) here with ASUS X99 Deluxe running smoothly for many years now. Never had a single issue, besides wanting more TotalMix channels to loopback.


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## David Chappell (Nov 11, 2019)

Gerhard Westphalen said:


> I also had issues with RME on X99 (also a 5820k) and their support never helped as they couldn't recreate the problems on their end. My Fireface UC worked fine (although there were other issues with my mobo) but my Digiface USB had issues with dropouts (even just in Windows audio). The issue didn't show up anywhere like latencymon or even the performance meter in Nuendo. The system would simply cut out and then cut back in as if the USB had been disconnected and my computer didn't notice anything. The mobo did have other USB issues so I even had to disable certain USB controllers.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks for sharing your experience! Could I ask what motherboard you're using with your 9900k build?



EvilDragon said:


> UFX+ running smoothly over here on Z170 chipset. Using Thunderbolt, BTW.


Thunderbolt certainly seems less problematic then USB - are you using a motherboard with built in thunderbolt, or an additional PCI card for it?


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Nov 11, 2019)

David Chappell said:


> Thanks for sharing your experience! Could I ask what motherboard you're using with your 9900k build?
> 
> 
> Thunderbolt certainly seems less problematic then USB - are you using a motherboard with built in thunderbolt, or an additional PCI card for it?


It's an Asus TUF Z390M-PRO. I didn't really have any other choices because I wanted a Micro-ATX mobo to have a smaller PC. Didn't end up being all that much smaller. With a normal ATX I'd go with something much more stripped down and cheaper. All I was looking for was Z390, 4 ram slots, dual M.2, and an Intel NIC.


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## EvilDragon (Nov 11, 2019)

David Chappell said:


> Thunderbolt certainly seems less problematic then USB - are you using a motherboard with built in thunderbolt, or an additional PCI card for it?



AsRock's Thunderbolt AIC card for my mobo (Z170 Extreme 4).


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