gmac82

Yep. For a cold boot from power on to Windows login screen it's 60 seconds with no manual intervention.

 
Nope. For example I'm using a USB key that came with a peripheral and it has a capacity of 256 MB. DUET/REFIND takes up about 5 MB of space on the drive.
 
I don't think so, I just have it plugged in on the top most USB port on the rear I/O. Just make sure your BIOS is set to boot from USB (in my case the motherboard detects USB keys as HDD High Capacity Devices), in which case just make sure your DUET USB Key is set to the top most priority. As for using extension cards, I would think that as long as your BIOS detects it and its a selectable drive I don't see why it wouldn't work.

As far as performance is concerned, I have the PCIe expansion card plugged into the 2nd x16 PCIe 2.x slot. Here's an out of the box, no tweaks run base settings from CrystalMark:



Follow this guide to the letter and you'll be fine:
https://youtu.be/eSPnRB1aVAE
 
Here's the equipment I purchased:

PCIe to NVMe adapter: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01N09W21D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
512 GB NVMe drive: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07KZXJTLN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
So for around 150 CAD or less after shipping and taxes I'm getting great performance. Excellent value.

Interestingly after doing some forum reading, its recommended to not use the GUI for preparing the DUET USB. Using the command line as Administrator and only doing FORMAT, DUET, REFIND options (using safe removal when prompted) makes everything work seamless. Windows 10 is now installing on the NVMe!

Awesome, let us know how it turns out! I've been interested in DUET for a while, I'd like to know what kind of performance you get, and whether or not it permits for a hands-off, silent boot. Does DUET require a certain size of usb drive? Does the drive need to be connected to a specific USB port, like on the motherboard? Or will it work with an expansion card. I have a bunch of pci usb cards with internal usb headers, I think it would be cool to have the usb stick inside the case.
 
Unrelated question, I'm started to get bothered by the noise my cooler makes. I'm thinking about a Be Quiet! Product, but I'm stuck on which TDP to use. Intel's description of TDP is confusing, so I have no idea how many watts of heat a 980x will put out. I know it's rated at 130w, but that is not indicative of how hot it will get under load or overclocked. Would a cooler with 150 watt TDP be effective? Or should I shoot for 200 if I plan to overclock to around 4ghz?
 
Also, I saw some people posting their builds, so here's mine!

Interestingly after doing some forum reading, its recommended to not use the GUI for preparing the DUET USB. Using the command line as Administrator and only doing FORMAT, DUET, REFIND options (using safe removal when prompted) makes everything work seamless. Windows 10 is now installing on the NVMe!

Rest of the parts came in from Amazon, system is built, tomorrow will be the troubleshooting/setup effort.

Rest of the parts came in from Amazon, system is built, tomorrow will be the troubleshooting/setup effort.

In case anyone has a case big enough, this is a pretty good deal on an SR-2: https://www.ebay.com/itm/EVGA-Classified-SR-2-Motherboard-with-2x-Intel-Xeon-x5675-CPU-OC-7x-PCIE-x16/223873428149?hash=item341fe56ab5:g:1KwAAOSwhe9eK6FP
 
Someone please save me and buy this so I can be an idiot and buy racecar parts instead....

Rest of the parts came in from Amazon, system is built, tomorrow will be the troubleshooting/setup effort.

Bought some goodies to finish the rebuild of my x58 machine:
 
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0799FW19P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07398XQBN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07DXF94K9/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07654W3F2/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07N4HDTNS/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B081HWKF5Z/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B083LZWGLZ/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01N09W21D/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07KZXJTLN/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07R4XZK52/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00KF7NGUE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Gonna play around with DUET, looks pretty straight forward. I'm re-habbing my NZXT S340 Elite case, window is a bit scuffed up so going to use some automotive plastic scratch removal stuff, see if that works out, worst case scenario I get a new window cutout of lexan and attach using nuts and bolts.

Will end up having 512 GB nvme boot, 360 GB SSD JBOD and 2x 2TB platter drives for large file storage/archival.

Bought some goodies to finish the rebuild of my x58 machine:
 
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0799FW19P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07398XQBN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07DXF94K9/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07654W3F2/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07N4HDTNS/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B081HWKF5Z/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B083LZWGLZ/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01N09W21D/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07KZXJTLN/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07R4XZK52/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00KF7NGUE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Gonna play around with DUET, looks pretty straight forward. I'm re-habbing my NZXT S340 Elite case, window is a bit scuffed up so going to use some automotive plastic scratch removal stuff, see if that works out, worst case scenario I get a new window cutout of lexan and attach using nuts and bolts.

Will end up having 512 GB nvme boot, 360 GB SSD JBOD and 2x 2TB platter drives for large file storage/archival.

Bought some goodies to finish the rebuild of my x58 machine:
 
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0799FW19P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07398XQBN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07DXF94K9/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07654W3F2/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07N4HDTNS/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B081HWKF5Z/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B083LZWGLZ/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01N09W21D/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07KZXJTLN/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07R4XZK52/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00KF7NGUE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Gonna play around with DUET, looks pretty straight forward. I'm re-habbing my NZXT S340 Elite case, window is a bit scuffed up so going to use some automotive plastic scratch removal stuff, see if that works out, worst case scenario I get a new window cutout of lexan and attach using nuts and bolts.

Will end up having 512 GB nvme boot, 360 GB SSD JBOD and 2x 2TB platter drives for large file storage/archival.

I recently re-discovered my long lost x58 gear nearly a year after moving, and am in the process of rebuilding the machine. I had taken the motherboard, cpu and ram and stuffed it into an unused HTPC case for safe keeping.

Components:
Motherboard: EVGA X58 LE (141-BL-E757-TR) Processor: Intel i7 980X Memory: 24GB Corsair Vengeance 1600 mHz  
Other components going into it:
GPU: MSI Gaming GTX 980 4G (I presently have one, and may look to pick up a second for cheap off eBay for SLI) Storage: Kingston 120GB Sata3 SSD (Boot drive), Kingston 240GB Sata3 SSD (Games) PSU: EVGA Supernova 850B2 CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i V2  
When I originally uncovered this gear, I was going to use it as a Plex Media server, but after researching the lack of on board graphics prevents me from using GPU based acceleration since the CPU does not support Quick Sync Video. So instead my i7-2600 system will be moved into Plex duty (Asus Maximus IV z68/16 GB Corsair Dominator, these were recently purchased and still pending arrival before rediscovering the x58 gear. I may look to grab a i7-3770K for the system, but we'll see.)

I know the x58 platform is getting a bit long in the tooth, but I've had enough of schlepping on a Core i3-7100 8GB DDR4 system on a Gigabyte H170 based motherboard, which is being pushed finally to HTPC duty where it belongs.

I mostly play Star Wars: The Old Republic (MMO), maybe some NFS: Underground/Underground 2 or some EA NHL 2K (Revival). I don't play a ton of modern games, although I do want to try the new remake of Resident Evil 2.

If I recall correctly, the only way you can get a seamless experience with NVMe on x58 is to find a drive with a built in legacy boot rom. That's why the Samsung 950 pro works on old systems. A few other drives have the code on board as well, but the internet does not provide that information easily, you will need to dig deep to find the info you want. I believe plextor also made a drive with legacy boot room as well.
 
There are other options, but they require a usb stick to inject a boot rom code prior to booting windows.

I recently re-discovered my long lost x58 gear nearly a year after moving, and am in the process of rebuilding the machine. I had taken the motherboard, cpu and ram and stuffed it into an unused HTPC case for safe keeping.

Components:
Motherboard: EVGA X58 LE (141-BL-E757-TR) Processor: Intel i7 980X Memory: 24GB Corsair Vengeance 1600 mHz  
Other components going into it:
GPU: MSI Gaming GTX 980 4G (I presently have one, and may look to pick up a second for cheap off eBay for SLI) Storage: Kingston 120GB Sata3 SSD (Boot drive), Kingston 240GB Sata3 SSD (Games) PSU: EVGA Supernova 850B2 CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i V2  
When I originally uncovered this gear, I was going to use it as a Plex Media server, but after researching the lack of on board graphics prevents me from using GPU based acceleration since the CPU does not support Quick Sync Video. So instead my i7-2600 system will be moved into Plex duty (Asus Maximus IV z68/16 GB Corsair Dominator, these were recently purchased and still pending arrival before rediscovering the x58 gear. I may look to grab a i7-3770K for the system, but we'll see.)

I know the x58 platform is getting a bit long in the tooth, but I've had enough of schlepping on a Core i3-7100 8GB DDR4 system on a Gigabyte H170 based motherboard, which is being pushed finally to HTPC duty where it belongs.

I mostly play Star Wars: The Old Republic (MMO), maybe some NFS: Underground/Underground 2 or some EA NHL 2K (Revival). I don't play a ton of modern games, although I do want to try the new remake of Resident Evil 2.

Yup, and given the fact that my home network is 99.9% Mesh WiFi N, I'm not able to saturate Sata 2 speeds yet. I'm waiting until we buy our first house before wiring rooms for 10 Gbit LAN

Yeah, that's always a consideration. I definitely have some more research to do before making any additional purchases.

Yeah more than likely. I am looking to pick up a 1440p monitor, so that's why I'm potentially looking to SLI my 980. I think I saw an exact same card as mine for under 250 CAD on eBay

I recently re-discovered my long lost x58 gear nearly a year after moving, and am in the process of rebuilding the machine. I had taken the motherboard, cpu and ram and stuffed it into an unused HTPC case for safe keeping.

Components:
Motherboard: EVGA X58 LE (141-BL-E757-TR) Processor: Intel i7 980X Memory: 24GB Corsair Vengeance 1600 mHz  
Other components going into it:
GPU: MSI Gaming GTX 980 4G (I presently have one, and may look to pick up a second for cheap off eBay for SLI) Storage: Kingston 120GB Sata3 SSD (Boot drive), Kingston 240GB Sata3 SSD (Games) PSU: EVGA Supernova 850B2 CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i V2  
When I originally uncovered this gear, I was going to use it as a Plex Media server, but after researching the lack of on board graphics prevents me from using GPU based acceleration since the CPU does not support Quick Sync Video. So instead my i7-2600 system will be moved into Plex duty (Asus Maximus IV z68/16 GB Corsair Dominator, these were recently purchased and still pending arrival before rediscovering the x58 gear. I may look to grab a i7-3770K for the system, but we'll see.)

I know the x58 platform is getting a bit long in the tooth, but I've had enough of schlepping on a Core i3-7100 8GB DDR4 system on a Gigabyte H170 based motherboard, which is being pushed finally to HTPC duty where it belongs.

I mostly play Star Wars: The Old Republic (MMO), maybe some NFS: Underground/Underground 2 or some EA NHL 2K (Revival). I don't play a ton of modern games, although I do want to try the new remake of Resident Evil 2.