Realan K3 - 2400G Linux Box - Final Thoughts

[Stevo_]

This build is sort of an AMD/Linux test bed for me especially as a replacement for my aging i3770K(have only ever used Intel since the 80s, only AMD ever used was a bit slice 2900) which is now in an MX500 case(long journey Node 304 -> Lone L1 -> L2 -> S4C -> Morex 557 -> MX500). Thread link below is from my post in the hardware forum, an unboxing of sorts.

Realan K3 as delivered

Mobo - MSI B450 Gaming Plus AC
PSU - Mini-Box PicoPSU 160XT 12V
RAM - Corsair LPX MK16GX4M2B3000C15R 2x8Gb
CPU - AMD 2400G and Wraith Stealth cooler
HSF - Titan TFD-9515M12ZP/KE(RB) 95 x 95 x 15 mm Fan
SSD - Samsung PM981 Polaris 256GB M.2 NGFF PCIe Gen3 x 4, NVME Solid state drive SSD, OEM (2280) MZVLB256HAHQ-00000B
M.2 NVMe SSD NGFF To PCIE 3.0 X16 Adapter

I needed a low profile cooler for the K3 case so I had bought an IS-30 off ebay for the CPU but the provided AMD brackets were also good for AM3 which due to length interfered with VRMs so I couldn't mount it.

Edit: SFF.Network member tnysff alerted me to the fact that ID Cooling had an AM4 dedicated bracket shipping on rhe latest IS-30s, contacted ID Cooling and they immediately responded and offered up the AM4 bracket for free.

So onto Plan B, use the included Wraith Stealth, but it was too tall by about 5mm even without the shroud. So onto Plan C, find an alternate fan. After scouring the internet/ebay found the titan fan which had the same fan diameter and mounting holes but only 15mm tall, bingo. Runs silent, fan was semi-passive at first but adjusted the BIOS fan curve to always be on but comes up ~400RPM.

The K3 came with a 12V PSU but the cables were hideously long and had built-in sata and molex connectors which I didn't need so I turned to the mini box picoPSU 160XT, also pulled the stock switch and installed a vandal switch which fit perfect in the hole.

Up and running, go team Red!

Could likely make this brickless but no real need as I use the 12v brick for a variety of computers. The Linux install was pretty smooth, pretty much the same as if you were doing an install with an Nvidia GPU. Initial USB load will black screen, hold power button til goes off again then power back up to recovery screen, edit grub to change "quiet splash" to "nomodeset" and boot to rendered mode. Continue with normal install, reboot, edit grub again, then go thru all the updates. Next boot will have proper kernel, mesa, and amdgpu driver and no need to edit grub.

After install command inxi -F

System:    Host: Ryzen2 Kernel: 5.0.0-15-generic x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: Cinnamon 4.0.10
           Distro: Linux Mint 19.1 Tessa
Machine:   Type: Desktop Mobo: Micro-Star model: B450I GAMING PLUS AC (MS-7A40) v: 2.0 serial: <root required>
           UEFI: American Megatrends v: A.60 date: 03/06/2019
CPU:       Topology: Quad Core model: AMD Ryzen 5 2400G with Radeon Vega Graphics bits: 64 type: MT MCP L2 cache: 2048 KiB
           Speed: 1562 MHz min/max: 1600/3600 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1422 2: 1600 3: 1422 4: 1453 5: 1441 6: 1600 7: 1422
           8: 1454
Graphics:  Device-1: AMD Raven Ridge [Radeon Vega Series / Radeon Vega Mobile Series] driver: amdgpu v: kernel
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.19.6 driver: amdgpu,ati unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,radeon,vesa
           resolution: 2560x1440~60Hz
           OpenGL: renderer: AMD RAVEN (DRM 3.27.0 5.0.0-15-generic LLVM 7.0.0) v: 4.5 Mesa 18.2.8
Audio:     Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] driver: snd_hda_intel
           Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] driver: snd_hda_intel
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.0.0-15-generic
Network:   Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet driver: r8169
           IF: enp27s0 state: down mac: 00:d8:61:38:81:d3
           Device-2: Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3168NGW [Stone Peak] driver: iwlwifi
           IF: wlp28s0 state: up mac: 20:79:18:b6:d4:b0
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 21.80 GiB (9.1%)
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Samsung model: MZVLB256HAHQ-000H1 size: 238.47 GiB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 233.24 GiB used: 21.79 GiB (9.3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 52.0 C mobo: 44.0 C gpu: amdgpu temp: 52 C
           Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 641 mobo: 0
Info:      Processes: 253 Uptime: 1h 20m Memory: 13.70 GiB used: 1.37 GiB (10.0%) Shell: bash inxi: 3.0.27

Sharpie "mod" to audio and usb jacks, pink and green were hideous

 

[Stevo_]

Not sure the settings were exactly the same but just to check the GPU/Linux performance ran Unigine Heaven 4.0 and got just bove 30fps whereas Tweaktown got just below in Windows I believe(Tdie leveled at ~61C). So far have not been able to get 4kx60 videos to play smoothly but 4kx30 no problem, though there are some known setup issues with hardware acceleration to do this, just have to find the right combo for mpv, VLC does not support AMD iGPU acceleration yet. Linux kernel v5 dropped the other day which has Raven updates, updated to latest BIOS as well(3 revs since mobo was boxed). Looks like Unigine misreports the GPU memory as 2GB(maxed out in BIOS) has been allocated. Getting an occasional freeze here and there but software updates are coming hard and fast.

mpv does not use hardware acceleration by default, it must be specified

[MPV HW ACCELERATION SOLVED] was specing mpv hwdec=vaapi <vid.file> s/b mpv hwdec=vaapi-copy <vid.file>

mpv reports:

Using hardware decoding (vaapi-copy).
VO: [opengl] 3840x2160 p010

Edit2: mobo fans weren't showing up in lm-sensors sensors-detect. Mobo uses nuvoton nct6795D super IO chip(proprietary, but hacked). Looked in hwmon kconfig under linux generic headers and it listed support for 6795D in the nct6775 driver so forced it to load by adding into /etc/modules. Added 6795 specific setup to /etc/sensor3.conf. Now reports temps, volts, and fan speed in all tools,sensors, psensor, gkrellm etc! sensors-detect still does not detect but currently on v3.4 of lm-sensors, I think v3.5 in github will support it better as some values seem off, 12V scaling especially [fixed in sensors3.conf]

sensors
k10temp-pci-00c3
Adapter: PCI adapter
Tdie: +39.5°C (high = +70.0°C)
Tctl: +39.5°C

amdgpu-pci-3800
Adapter: PCI adapter
vddgfx: N/A
vddnb: N/A
temp1: +39.0°C (crit = +80.0°C, hyst = +0.0°C)

nct6795-isa-0a20
Adapter: ISA adapter
Vcore: +0.69 V (min = +0.00 V, max = +1.74 V)
5V: +5.04 V (min = +4.76 V, max = +5.24 V)
AVCC: +3.36 V (min = +2.98 V, max = +3.63 V)
+3.3V: +3.34 V (min = +2.98 V, max = +3.63 V)
12V: +12.00 V (min = +11.42 V, max = +12.58 V)
3VSB: +3.36 V (min = +2.98 V, max = +3.63 V)
Vbat: +3.25 V (min = +2.70 V, max = +3.63 V)
CPU 1P8: +1.82 V (min = +0.00 V, max = +0.00 V) ALARM
CPU VDDP: +0.91 V (min = +0.00 V, max = +0.00 V) ALARM
CPU NB/SOC: +2.26 V (min = +0.00 V, max = +0.00 V) ALARM
DRAM: +1.36 V (min = +0.00 V, max = +0.00 V) ALARM
5VSB: +5.08 V (min = +4.74 V, max = +5.24 V)
CPU 1: 759 RPM (min = 0 RPM)
SYSTEM 1: 0 RPM (min = 0 RPM)
SYSTIN: +44.0°C (high = +0.0°C, hyst = +0.0°C) ALARM sensor = CPU diode
CPUTIN: +43.0°C (high = +115.0°C, hyst = +90.0°C) sensor = thermistor
CPU MOS: +40.5°C (high = +115.0°C, hyst = +90.0°C) sensor = thermistor
B450: +50.0°C sensor = thermistor
CPU die: +48.0°C
beep_enable: disabled

 

[Stevo_]

One downside of this case is there is no middle row of ventilation slots and using the low profile fan meant that it was not really getting any fresh air, so CPU and mobo temps were running high 40s to low 50s C with cover on. After being on awhile it was just recirculating warm air.

So I started looking at the Wraith Stealth stock cooler again and only needed 1-2mm to fit. As I looked further, I noticed that there were spacers on the screw tabs and these were about 3mm and a subtle but different color of black than the fan housing. Applying a fingernail and these easily slid off, only weakly glued with a gum rubber apparently. Re-mounted the Wraith and it now fits with 1-2mm to spare, photo shows the spacer on lower right with gummy residue. Still quiet except for initial boot when fans max out, but silent otherwise. So far about 10C lower temps depending on sensor, high 30s to low 40sC with cover on

 

[Soul_Est]

Very nice build there @Stevo_ ! I'll definitely have to try your method of getting sensor data for my board.

 

[Stevo_]

Very nice build there @Stevo_ ! I'll definitely have to try your method of getting sensor data for my board.

Thanks! If you goto to the github lm-sensors page and look around there's a nct6795D conf there( IIRC from a B350 board). I'm using below from there added to the end of /etc/sensors3.conf file but edited to ignore a bunch of stuff displayed above. I don't think the 12V is correct at all added a comment below for in4.

chip "nct6795-*"
label in0 "Vcore"
compute in0 1 * @, @ / 1

label in1 "5V"
compute in1 ((12 / 3) + 1) * @, @ / ((12 / 3) + 1)
set in1_min 5 * 0.95
set in1_max 5 * 1.05

label in2 "AVCC"
set in2_min 3.3 * 0.90
set in2_max 3.3 * 1.10
label in3 "+3.3V"
set in3_min 3.3 * 0.90
set in3_max 3.3 * 1.10

ignore in4
# always reads 1.00
# label in4 "12V"
# compute in4 ((220 / 20) + 1) * @, @ / ((220 / 20) + 1)
# set in4_min 12 * 0.95
# set in4_max 12 * 1.05

ignore in7
# label in7 "3VSB"
# set in7_min 3.3 * 0.90
# set in7_max 3.3 * 1.10
label in8 "Vbat"
set in8_min 3.0 * 0.90
set in8_max 3.3 * 1.10

label in9 "CPU 1P8"

# might read as 0V if a CPU without iGPU is installed
label in10 "CPU VDDP"

# no VIN8 input in this chip?
ignore in5
#label in5 "VIN8"

# likely AUXTIN0 thermistor
ignore in6

# likely AUXTIN2 thermistor
ignore in11

label in12 "CPU NB/SOC"
# 2:1 agrees with BIOS, but the MS-7B00 schematic is
# unclear whether this is scaled 2:1 or 1:1
# compute in12 2 * @, @ / 2

label in13 "DRAM"
compute in13 2 * @, @ / 2

label in14 "5VSB"
compute in14 ((768 / 330) + 1) * @, @ / ((768 / 330) + 1)
set in14_min 5 * 0.95
set in14_max 5 * 1.05

# FIXME: resolve the remaining fan inputs
label fan2 "CPU 1"
# label fan3 "SYSTEM 1"
ignore fan1
ignore fan3
ignore fan4
ignore fan5
# likely
label temp3 "CPU MOS"

# AUXTIN1 is used as VIN5
ignore temp4

# the same temperature as reported by k10temp
label temp7 "CPU die"

# on MS-7B00 this is a thermistor under the B350 chip itself
#
# seems to work properly only on some boards (at least one
# has it stuck at 23°C)
label temp5 "B450"

# AUXTIN3 is used as VIN7
ignore temp6


# stuck at 0°C
ignore temp8
ignore temp9
ignore temp10

# likely DEEP_S5 signal
ignore intrusion0
ignore intrusion1

# beep status
ignore beep_enable

 

[Soul_Est]

Thanks! If you goto to the github lm-sensors page and look around there's a nct6795D conf there( IIRC from a B350 board). I'm using below from there added to the end of /etc/sensors3.conf file but edited to ignore a bunch of stuff displayed above. I don't think the 12V is correct at all added a comment below for in4.

chip "nct6795-*"
label in0 "Vcore"
compute in0 1 * @, @ / 1

label in1 "5V"
compute in1 ((12 / 3) + 1) * @, @ / ((12 / 3) + 1)
set in1_min 5 * 0.95
set in1_max 5 * 1.05

label in2 "AVCC"
set in2_min 3.3 * 0.90
set in2_max 3.3 * 1.10
label in3 "+3.3V"
set in3_min 3.3 * 0.90
set in3_max 3.3 * 1.10

ignore in4
# always reads 1.00
# label in4 "12V"
# compute in4 ((220 / 20) + 1) * @, @ / ((220 / 20) + 1)
# set in4_min 12 * 0.95
# set in4_max 12 * 1.05

ignore in7
# label in7 "3VSB"
# set in7_min 3.3 * 0.90
# set in7_max 3.3 * 1.10
label in8 "Vbat"
set in8_min 3.0 * 0.90
set in8_max 3.3 * 1.10

label in9 "CPU 1P8"

# might read as 0V if a CPU without iGPU is installed
label in10 "CPU VDDP"

# no VIN8 input in this chip?
ignore in5
#label in5 "VIN8"

# likely AUXTIN0 thermistor
ignore in6

# likely AUXTIN2 thermistor
ignore in11

label in12 "CPU NB/SOC"
# 2:1 agrees with BIOS, but the MS-7B00 schematic is
# unclear whether this is scaled 2:1 or 1:1
# compute in12 2 * @, @ / 2

label in13 "DRAM"
compute in13 2 * @, @ / 2

label in14 "5VSB"
compute in14 ((768 / 330) + 1) * @, @ / ((768 / 330) + 1)
set in14_min 5 * 0.95
set in14_max 5 * 1.05

# FIXME: resolve the remaining fan inputs
label fan2 "CPU 1"
# label fan3 "SYSTEM 1"
ignore fan1
ignore fan3
ignore fan4
ignore fan5
# likely
label temp3 "CPU MOS"

# AUXTIN1 is used as VIN5
ignore temp4

# the same temperature as reported by k10temp
label temp7 "CPU die"

# on MS-7B00 this is a thermistor under the B350 chip itself
#
# seems to work properly only on some boards (at least one
# has it stuck at 23°C)
label temp5 "B450"

# AUXTIN3 is used as VIN7
ignore temp6


# stuck at 0°C
ignore temp8
ignore temp9
ignore temp10

# likely DEEP_S5 signal
ignore intrusion0
ignore intrusion1

# beep status
ignore beep_enable

Thank you for the thorough reply. I unfortunately have an IT8665E chip on my ASUS ROG STRIX B450-I Gaming board. No driver and installing https://github.com/electrified/asus-wmi-sensors has not helped. Oh well. I'll work on other stuff for now.

 

[Stevo_]

Thank you for the thorough reply. I unfortunately have an IT8665E chip on my ASUS ROG STRIX B450-I Gaming board. No driver and installing https://github.com/electrified/asus-wmi-sensors has not helped. Oh well. I'll work on other stuff for now.

Bummer, looks like really crappy support for that one, lm-sensors driver not even written yet and won't be in the it87 module but some info at the end on probing the 8665 chip using other IDs by forcing it.

https://github.com/a1wong/it87

 

[Stevo_]

Overall I really like the case, the one big nit is that it really needs one more row of vents in the top panel for ventilation. On the plus side there's enough room to build/move things around in but still possibly brickless. I purchased a Meanwell 12V and it looks to have room, a future mod maybe. As it is, the setup performs desktop duties quite well so no need to mess with it.

On the OS front, AMD Linux support over the past year has really stepped up especially with the amdgpu driver compiled in the kernel. Updates were fast and furious the first few weeks. Currently running Kernel: 5.0.0-15-generic x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: Cinnamon 4.0.10 Distro: Linux Mint 19.1 Tessa. At first appeared to be some random freezes but was just the wireless mouse batteries, not an issue since changing. Of course there's always going to be some hands on stuff with Linux and presently not all apps 100% support the AMD for using the graphics for things like hardware decoding(e.g. VLC), where this is supported quite seamlessly on Intel UHD chips even my J5005 box.

Cleaned up the cabling of which there was already damn little and added a 50mm Gelid fan to flush the heat from the front of the case and provide a bit of cooling for the 981 EVO in the x16 heatsink where the heat was primarily coming from. So in all; 1) 12V in cable, 2) CPU power cable 3) USB cable , 4) 2 fan cables, and 5) 2 -power/led cables.

First up: removed the stupid mini-Fit connector from the power cable, this is just too much space to give up for a real SFF build, Mini-Box should just make it a plug connection at the PSU like the CPU cable below, but the cable was still long enough after measuring and cutting off.

Gelid fan fixed at ~1000 RPM though it does seem to wander a bit, both fans are silent in normal operation. Also removed the audio cable from the front panel as there seemed to be a ground loop which manifested by plugging/unplugging USB corrupting the sound, think a chassis ground wire would help. Saw a similar issue with my old Node-304., wasn't using anyway.

Ambient is 19C when sensors snapshot taken

k10temp-pci-00c3
Adapter: PCI adapter
Tdie:         +41.4°C  (high = +70.0°C)
Tctl:         +41.4°C

amdgpu-pci-3800
Adapter: PCI adapter
vddgfx:           N/A
vddnb:            N/A
temp1:        +41.0°C  (crit = +80.0°C, hyst =  +0.0°C)

nct6795-isa-0a20
Adapter: ISA adapter
Vcore:        +0.73 V  (min =  +0.00 V, max =  +1.74 V)
5V:           +5.08 V  (min =  +4.76 V, max =  +5.24 V)
AVCC:         +3.38 V  (min =  +2.98 V, max =  +3.63 V)
+3.3V:        +3.34 V  (min =  +2.98 V, max =  +3.63 V)
in6:          +0.82 V  (min =  +0.00 V, max =  +0.00 V)  ALARM
Vbat:         +3.25 V  (min =  +2.70 V, max =  +3.63 V)
12V:         +12.04 V  (min = +11.40 V, max = +12.62 V)
CPU VDDP:     +0.91 V  (min =  +0.00 V, max =  +0.00 V)  ALARM
CPU NB/SOC:   +1.13 V  (min =  +0.00 V, max =  +0.00 V)  ALARM
DRAM:         +1.36 V  (min =  +0.00 V, max =  +0.00 V)  ALARM
5VSB:         +5.11 V  (min =  +4.74 V, max =  +5.24 V)
CPU Fan:      818 RPM  (min =    0 RPM)
SYSTEM Fan:   986 RPM  (min =    0 RPM)
SYSTIN:       +39.0°C  (high =  +0.0°C, hyst =  +0.0°C)  ALARM  sensor = CPU diode
CPUTIN:       +34.0°C  (high = +115.0°C, hyst = +90.0°C)  sensor = thermistor
CPU MOS:      +35.5°C  (high = +115.0°C, hyst = +90.0°C)  sensor = thermistor
B450:         +42.0°C    sensor = thermistor
CPU die:      +41.5°C

EDIT: Was having some freeze up issues that in retrospect may have been Firefox as it only happened when running that, anyway got my hands on some Flare-X 3200 C14 sticks XMP'd right up after BIOS noticed the change.