Discrete PC for living room

Firstly do you only have music/FLAC files on those hdds or HD movies as well? I ask because for the latter you can have a great solution with the more current integrated graphics like Llano but if you just have music you can just fish out used PC parts on the cheap and slap one up if you are DIY PC savvy? If you need 3D Blu Ray playback then the A6-3500 is currently the best bang for buck for that as tested by the peeps @ AVS' HTPC subforums

Look at the program Splashtop to run your music PC with your iPad.

If you wish to rebuild a cheap box that could be used as a big music player the amount you are willing to spend to fix your issue will be required.

and no, a lot of motherboard may come with an optical out but some doesnt and quality will also be questioned if its integrated into the MOBO.

Does your laptop have a external sata connector? if so you could connect your drive directly to it.

If not : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817388021

This is a cheap way to interface all your drive to usb or Esata.

Im sure you can find a USB dac thread on the forum and compare them to find something in your price range.

This is a slight variation of typical 3B Blu ray capable HTPCs that i suggest for peeps with either an older coax/optical AVR capable of DD/DTS or more current HDMI AVRs capable of DTS-HD/Dolby TrueHD as the motherboard has both optical and hdmi out ^^ In view of your 3 hdds though i'd go with the smallest case capable of slotting in 3 hdds (usually go with smaller mATX casings hehe)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorrofox 

Hi folks. I'm trying to move my music listening from my home office to my living room but I can't get my head around all the options. I've been intending to do this for a while but have always been thwarted because my PC is way too loud for the living room. Well that problem has kinda sorted itself because my PC died this morning. I'm guessing at the moment but I think it's probably the PSU that's at fault.
Never mind, it's spurred me on to finally do something about this situation. Since march I've been using my new iPad almost exclusively for the Internet and to be honest my PC has just become a glorified jukebox. So at the moment I have a huge collection of music sitting on three hard drives with no way to access it. What's the best and/or cheapest option for me that will allow me to access this music and play it back through my amp? I was thinking of getting one of those tiny desktop PC's which would presumably be quiet enough but I'm guessing the sound output options are limited. I've also toyed with the idea of going for a Mac Mini but the vast majority of my music files are in FLAC format so that won't really work. Or will it? If I could find a small form factor PC with an optical audio output then I could easily buy a stand-alone DAC. This would be good for my headphones and it would also allow me to pass through the audio to my amp.
It's all so confusing. Any suggestions?
Gordon.

It sounds like the Oppo 95 would fit the bill in your case. Connect your HDDs to your NAS, PC or w/e you have lying around. The Oppo 95 is basically your music player and DAC. This allows you to completely forego a new PC just for music, on top of buying a USB/SPDIF converter. You will access your music collection via DLNA, or using an external HDD via eSATA/USB. The price of $1k surely beats out buying a dedicated PC, converter, and a quality standalone DAC when you combine those 3 by far. Plus, you get additional spiffy options such as SACD and BluRay audio playback and balanced output capabilities! The Oppo 95 really is a steal when you use it to its fullest. Hope that helps :)

Do not be fool by USB3, even though it look neat on paper nothing use it and can use it to its optimal performance. its like building a 5 line hightway with a line reserved for 200 km/h cars yet they dont exist. ( I know the exemple is silly but it's a simple concept)

usb hub? like this : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817111976

most hub are good quality and reliable, just make sure it actually is powered by its own adapter.

I tend to shy away from prebuild computer because they are usually less dependable. difficult to troubleshoot or repair, usually un upgraedable and also more expensive then usually building it yourself.