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Old 01-17-2020, 01:09 PM   #1
vanceen
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Default RME UFX+ Thunderbolt with ASUS X299 Deluxe II

This isn't really a Reaper question but I note that this forum is pretty relaxed about off-topic posts, so I'm asking because I'm not getting much help from ASUS or RME. There's a lot of experienced and helpful people here, so...

I just got an RME UFX+ interface, which has both USB3 and Thunderbolt interfaces. I'm trying to connect it to an ASUS X299 Deluxe II motherboard, which has built-in Thunderbolt 3 support (i.e. no add-in card needed).

The connection is Thunderbolt 2 Corning optical cable going from the UFX+ TB2 port to the X2999 TB3 (USB-C) port via a Startech TB-2 to TB-3 adapter.

After enabling TB in the BIOS, Device Manager shows me a "Base Device" with an error triangle on it. If I try to update the driver, Win 10 tells me that it has found a Thunderbolt 15EB driver but can't install it, because something is keeping "one of the installers" from doing the installation. That's as far as I can get.

RME tells me to update the MB TB firmware and driver and enable the UFX+ in the "Thunderbolt software". The problem is that ASUS's site doesn't list any TB drivers or firmware for the X299 Deluxe II, nor is there any "Thunderbolt software"!

ASUS chat kept thinking I was trying to use one of their add-in cards, which isn't needed (and indeed can't be used) on this MB. I've got a request for help into them, but they are projecting a 48 hour wait, and I'm not filled with confidence that they can really help.

Has anyone used the Thunderbolt on an ASUS X299 Deluxe II for audio (or anything else)?

Thanks in advance.
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Old 01-17-2020, 02:36 PM   #2
HIO
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Have you tried hooking up with a USB 3 cable to see if everything works while checking your latency?
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Old 01-17-2020, 02:41 PM   #3
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^^^^
Process of elimination is what I think they call it. 🤔
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Old 01-17-2020, 03:21 PM   #4
vanceen
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Quote:
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Have you tried hooking up with a USB 3 cable to see if everything works while checking your latency?
Thanks. Yes, it works great with USB3.
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Old 01-17-2020, 06:58 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vanceen View Post
Thanks. Yes, it works great with USB3.
Cool! Try posting/searching at the RME forum. There's a ton of help there if you haven't tried it.

RME makes the best drivers in the business but Thunderbolt hasn't been that that great on PC and looking forward to USB4.

Good luck and let us all know. 🙂
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Old 01-18-2020, 10:55 AM   #6
vanceen
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HIO View Post
Cool! Try posting/searching at the RME forum. There's a ton of help there if you haven't tried it.

RME makes the best drivers in the business but Thunderbolt hasn't been that that great on PC and looking forward to USB4.

Good luck and let us all know. 🙂
I had contacted RME and ASUS before posting here, and posted on RME's board.

RME tells me to update all the firmware and drivers, but ASUS doesn't list any firmware or drivers on their site for the X299 Deluxe II.

I "chatted" online with three ASUS representatives, none of whom had any idea of what they were talking about (to put it politely). The third one helpfully sent me a form to fill out. After two days I got a reply to the form which consisted of a cut and paste from one of their web pages, with detailed instructions on how to install an add-in TB card that isn't even compatible with my board!

I'm hoping I'm not the only one who's had this problem and maybe somebody has a solution.
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Old 01-18-2020, 03:18 PM   #7
HIO
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vanceen View Post
I had contacted RME and ASUS before posting here, and posted on RME's board.

RME tells me to update all the firmware and drivers, but ASUS doesn't list any firmware or drivers on their site for the X299 Deluxe II.

I "chatted" online with three ASUS representatives, none of whom had any idea of what they were talking about (to put it politely). The third one helpfully sent me a form to fill out. After two days I got a reply to the form which consisted of a cut and paste from one of their web pages, with detailed instructions on how to install an add-in TB card that isn't even compatible with my board!

I'm hoping I'm not the only one who's had this problem and maybe somebody has a solution.
Tell ASUS you need the highest level of support personnel that they have and be a dual squeaky wheel in tandem with talking to someone with English as a first language.

Anandtech.com might be helpful.

You paid a whole lot of money for a board that doesn't do what it claims to do, can you still return it? It doesn't have the greatest of reviews and might not be up for primetime.

I was sympathetic to your post because I have an RME HDSP 9652 with daughter card along with having other gear from RME which has been flawless and I can record through my DAW at the lowest latencies and IMHO is the only way to work.

Also, I have had really good luck with ASUS when I build DAWs. I have two running most everyday for ten years in my studio that are super overclocking ready and I just haven't even needed to go there with i7 CPUs.
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Old 01-18-2020, 03:30 PM   #8
vanceen
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HIO View Post
Tell ASUS you need the highest level of support personnel that they have and be a dual squeaky wheel in tandem with talking to someone with English as a first language.

Anandtech.com might be helpful.

You paid a whole lot of money for a board that doesn't do what it claims to do, can you still return it? It doesn't have the greatest of reviews and might not be up for primetime.

I was sympathetic to your post because I have an RME HDSP 9652 with daughter card along with having other gear from RME which has been flawless and I can record through my DAW at the lowest latencies and IMHO is the only way to work.

Also, I have had really good luck with ASUS when I build DAWs. I have two running most everyday for ten years in my studio that are super overclocking ready and I just haven't even needed to go there with i7 CPUs.
Yes, I've generally had very good experiences with ASUS boards, and I've built at least a half dozen systems with them. I defected to Gigabyte briefly for reasons I can't recall. But even if their technical support appears poor, their products are excellent. (Having said that, the first X299 Deluxe II I bought was DOA.)

And RME - don't get me started. I've had a Fireface 800, a UFX, and now the UFX+. Much to my surprise, I can hear the difference with the UFX+ over the UFX, the stereo field is noticeably stabler. RME's technical support is not fantastic, though. They tend to be rather abrupt and sometimes take a "not my problem" approach. But the only real problem I ever had with an RME product was when I jammed a Firewire cable in backwards. I suppose you could call that my fault!
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Old 01-18-2020, 04:08 PM   #9
HIO
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vanceen View Post
Yes, I've generally had very good experiences with ASUS boards, and I've built at least a half dozen systems with them. I defected to Gigabyte briefly for reasons I can't recall. But even if their technical support appears poor, their products are excellent. (Having said that, the first X299 Deluxe II I bought was DOA.)

And RME - don't get me started. I've had a Fireface 800, a UFX, and now the UFX+. Much to my surprise, I can hear the difference with the UFX+ over the UFX, the stereo field is noticeably stabler. RME's technical support is not fantastic, though. They tend to be rather abrupt and sometimes take a "not my problem" approach. But the only real problem I ever had with an RME product was when I jammed a Firewire cable in backwards. I suppose you could call that my fault!
Yeah, I think RME left the USENET and went to a web-based forum partly because of me. 😉

I jumped all over the Germans when they had an attitude that they were doing us all a favor by even being present on the group.

I called them out on the carpet that most questions were answered by their own customers, etc. and how even Einstein would often get lost on his walks and this forum was keeping their support calls to a minimum.

Major attitude but brilliant gear.
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Old 01-18-2020, 08:04 PM   #10
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My studio is nearly entirely German made (RME, Neumann, Sennheiser, Schoeps). It's all the same- brilliant equipment, very much a "if it's broke it's your fault" attitude. The nice thing is that it rarely breaks and is otherwise wonderful to use, and while it's generally taken a but more time than I'd like the customer service eventually gets the job done.
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Old 01-21-2020, 04:36 PM   #11
vanceen
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In case anyone is interested or will be interested in the future, I solved this.

My Windows installation was corrupt. The System Restore files were corrupt too, so I had to do a full fresh install.

Thunderbolt and the RME UFX+ are working swimmingly now.
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Old 01-22-2020, 03:18 AM   #12
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Way to go man and we appreciate the heads-up.
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