[vvs_75]

So I think I am ready to switch from CD transport as a source to desktop computer. Since I will be buying everything I would like to get it right from first time. I basically decided already which soundcard I am getting, its ether RME 9632 or AES16. (These only cards that can output AES3 24/196 digital output which I need.)

I have no experience with computer for audio purposes but I know that stuff like RAM, HD, CPU or PSU important if you use it for graphics design or games.

So how important RAM or Hard Drive in sound quality in my case and what to get?
Should be Windows based and in smaller form factor at list bit smaller then regular desktops. I don’t need best of the best just good enough to power my soundcard and do the job.
Thanks!

 

[Uncle Erik]

Look into running at least RAID 1 on your system. That mirrors a second hard drive with the information from your first. If you're going to rip an entire collection or store a lot of music, you're going to want to have a backup. RAID is the most convenient way to do it. As for brands, I've gone with Seagate and Western Digital. Haven't had problems with either.

You should invest in a quality power supply. I've liked the ones from PC Power & Cooling. They're not the cheapest, but they last forever. You can reuse them again and again when you upgrade the rest of your system. Don't go cheap on a power supply. If it goes, it can take everything with it.

Don't get less than 2GB of RAM. Go for 4GB or more if you can afford it.

Are you sure you want to run Windows? Having to buy a copy will add a lot of expense. Unless you need specific applications, give Ubuntu a try. It's free, low maintenance, stable, virus/malware free, and should do everything you need.

 

[FasterThanEver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvs_75 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have no experience with computer for audio purposes but I know that stuff like RAM, HD, CPU or PSU important if you use it for graphics design or games. So how important RAM or Hard Drive in sound quality in my case and what to get? Should be Windows based and in smaller form factor at list bit smaller then regular desktops. I don’t need best of the best just good enough to power my soundcard and do the job. Thanks!

Basic choices:

Which operating system? Windows, Linux or Mac OSX

If Windows, XP or Vista? 32 bit or 64 bit?

If Vista, be sure that RME has stable, full function drivers for the soundcards you would use.

What will you do with it? games, video playback, multi-channel audio, audio recording, video editing

Will it be in the room with your good stereo system? if so, then a low noise level is important.

What's important or not depends on your answers to the basic questions. I dedicate a PC to 2 channel music playback and nothing else. I went with Win XP and PCI soundcards and built a PC from parts. Here are the things I felt to be important for my use:

- a case with sound vibration damping and adequate room for a SATA DVD drive and 2 SATA hard drives

- quiet, power supply with high quality power output. Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, PC Power & Cooling. You can find some test reports on The tech report website. Be sure the power supply has enough SATA connectors. < 400 wats was enough for me.

- a motherboard with integrated graphics. I don't play games and don't need the 3D performance of a PCIe graphics board. No need for the extra power draw, heat and noise either. No need for overclocking either. A Intel 945-based board is fine.

- Either an Intel or AMD dual core will work. A low clock rate, low power model with work for audio. (If you want to use s/w upsampling, you might want extra CPU horsepower.)

- CPU cooler heatsink & fan - I just use the stock Intel fan that came with the CPU. Its speed is controlled by s/w. I did replace the push-pin attachment method by a secure screws and backplate attachment. If the stock fan is too loud, consider using a big heataink cooler without a fan.

- If XP, 2 GB of Ram is a good choice. If Viista, go for 4 GB. Ram is the mother's milk of PC performance.

- Hard disk - make sure it's big enough to hold your current and anticipated music collection. I've used both Seagate and Western Digital and found them reliable and fairly quiet. If I need another hard drive now, I'd consider a Western Digital green power 1 TByte drive. uses less power than conventional 1 TB drives and is probably a bit quieter. Hard disk manufacturers all have production problems so your experience may depend on your luck. All hard disks are functionally similar for 2 channel audio playback.

- CD ripper s/w - use something that does secure ripping. EAC has lots of vocal fans. dBpoweramp is quite fast if you have the right sort of CD/DVD drive. I use J. River MC 12 because it lets me get the tag info right when I rip a CD.

- DVD drive (for ripping CDs) - get one that doesn't cache audio data and provides C2 error info. Drives that don't slow to a crawl on disks with errors are good too. CDRLabs.com - Optical Storage News and Reviews has reviews that provide the relevant info. The Samsung 203 series are good choices right now.

- music player s/w - There are lots of choices for Windows. Most are free or cheap. You need to figure out what features matter to you and pick a player that fits you. Try a few out. Foobar has lots of fans on the forums. I use J. River MC 12 since it provides what I need for browsing my classical music collection.

Bill

 

[majid]

Some HDD (e.g. Samsung SpinPoint) are quieter than others.

RAM should not be an issue, audio playing is not that memory-intensive (do you really think CD players ship with a GB of RAM?).

If you are building a dedicated PC just for music rather than reusing your existing PC, consider instead getting something like a Linux-based NAS and a Logitech SqueezeBox. It's much quieter and power efficient than a PC, and you can keep it running 24/7. The Netgear ReadyNAS is a turnkey solution if you don't want to mess with Linux. If you are knowledgeable about Linux, the Shuttle KPC 4500 is an excellent option.

 

[vvs_75]

Thank you guys!
I thought it will be a bit easier.
I will be using windows XP since I have it on my laptop and familiar with it but I give a try to Ubuntu. No games just stereo audio. Foobar2000 as player with SRC up sampling and EAC for ripping.

I am already feeling pain to find box that will accept PSU and mother board that will fit CPU.

Is there a ready to go PC like DELL XXX which has at list most right components already with stock configuration?

So I only need to upgrade RAM, DVD ROM or HD.

If no then I need to do more and more homework to get everything right.

Thanks

 

[Logistics]

Why is everyone stressing so much performance from his Audio-transport PC?

If you only want to use this system as an audio-transport then you only need basic, but quality options. I agree with Uncle Erik's suggestion for a quality power-supply. Although, I don't understand why people stress a "quiet" PSU all the time. But I use closed head-phones so that may be why. In any case, this is the heart of your systems power distribution and an area I would concentrate funds on. No need for crazy wattage, but a quality brand is a must in my opinion.

I don't see the need for more than 1GB of RAM, though. RAM is cheap at the moment, but I would be more inclined to save every penny I could and invest it in a better sound-card or amplifier.

I don't see the need for RAID, but I've never had an interest in backing things up.

I agree with FasterThanEver on the motherboard with on-board video. Don't need aftermarket video in this case.

And in the case of XP, I would definitely run the install with NO ACPI!!!11ONE

Edit: Do not buy something like a Dell or similar system as their hardware is always plagued by future capacitor problems; often the Power-supply failing and frying the motherboard and other components. And they won't give you the hardware options that will be suggested here. Build it yourself.

 

[vvs_75]

Thanks majid!

I checked the squeexebox and it doesn't support high sample rates. Never heard off ReadyNas. Looks interesting need to check it out. Thanks.

Thank you Logistic!

I will do some home work and come back with more questions.

Edit: Is this PSU would be OK?

http://cgi.ebay.com/PC-Power-and-Coo...2em118Q2el1247

 

[panda]

y do u need high sample rates? upsampling does not give better sound. it does alter the sound however and if you happen to like the effect i guess i could see why you would want to use that feature. i'm more of a purist so i try to avoid anything that actively alters the sound.

get the cheapest possible parts with the exception of a good psu and quiet hdd like stated before. are you going to be using a dac? if so, you don't need to invest in a soundcard. instead get something that outputs a digital signal only. i use a hagusb and it does just what it's meant for...

 

[b0dhi]

Search for a PSU from silentpcreview.com | Everything about Silent / Quiet Computers. Don't rely on advertised sound ratings. And you certainly won't need anywhere near 500W. I would get a good, quiet modular one, so you can use less power (and quieter) for the meantime but you have the extra power connectors available if you choose to upgrade your computer later. I can suggest this as a high quality, cheap and very quiet modular PSU.

 

[royalcrown]

that 520W corsair is a decent power supply, but the 450(something) by corsair is a great PSU and will probably be cheaper - 450W is still overkill, especially considering how much corsair jacks the +12V line. Honestly, for a dedicated audio server I would put most of my money in hard drive backups (i nthe case of a disaster, calling re-ripping everything a pain would be an understatement of epic proportions) and get maybe 512/256MB RAM and a Celeron processor. Run Windows 2000 or XP with all aesthetics disabled, and you're golden. Actually, one of those old Via processors would be ideal because they can run solely off of a heatsink with no fans at all needed in the case.

 

[nor_spoon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by royalcrown /img/forum/go_quote.gif that 520W corsair is a decent power supply, but the 450(something) by corsair is a great PSU and will probably be cheaper - 450W is still overkill, especially considering how much corsair jacks the +12V line. Honestly, for a dedicated audio server I would put most of my money in hard drive backups (i nthe case of a disaster, calling re-ripping everything a pain would be an understatement of epic proportions) and get maybe 512/256MB RAM and a Celeron processor. Run Windows 2000 or XP with all aesthetics disabled, and you're golden. Actually, one of those old Via processors would be ideal because they can run solely off of a heatsink with no fans at all needed in the case.

I purchased the Corsair HX620 about 1,5 years ago, after reading rave reviews about them, and I have to tell you this PSU does not dissapoint! It is very quiet, delievers loads of juice when it needs to, and build quality is AFAIK excellent. You won't be needing 620W and I think the 450W should be enough for your use. Highly recommended.

 

[Geoff Rymer]

Silentpcreview is a good place to start. Don't cheap on the PSU or the case. A good case has good airflow so you can use a minimum of fans to keep the noise down, and the importance of the PSU has already been covered.

Personally I have an aftermarket CPU cooler too, but that's mainly because I have a crappy Pentium D Presler processor which runs so hot it makes the stock cooler work hard all the time. But with modern Core2 Duos running much cooler this probably won't be necessary.

I suppose Logistics may have a point with closed phones, but quiet passages with open phones are much nicer with a quiet PC...

Other than that, with no gaming intended, I would say minimal spending on the CPU, onboard video, as much RAM as you can justify, within reason (I run 3gb on XP 32 bit, and turn off the page file. It runs nice. Vista needs more than XP but both have a limit of 4gb in 32bit versions, so don't go buying 8gig for a 32bit OS...not that you would, overkill) and obviously as much storage as required. I think Erik's suggestion of a RAID array is a good one too, especially as such things are no longer expensive to setup.

Oh yeah, and get a passively cooled motherboard. Not sure how many still have fans on the Northbridge but those that do get loud over time...

 

[LnxPrgr3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvs_75 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I will be using windows XP since I have it on my laptop and familiar with it but I give a try to Ubuntu. No games just stereo audio. Foobar2000 as player with SRC up sampling and EAC for ripping.

If you do try Ubuntu, look into Audacious for playback (supports upsampling). As for ripping, pretty much anything will do, as it will all use cdparanoia as the backend.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logistics /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why is everyone stressing so much performance from his Audio-transport PC? If you only want to use this system as an audio-transport then you only need basic, but quality options. I agree with Uncle Erik's suggestion for a quality power-supply. Although, I don't understand why people stress a "quiet" PSU all the time. But I use closed head-phones so that may be why.

My power supply supposedly puts out 10dBA of noise (Enermax Noisetaker, if anyone's interested). Unfortunately, the rest of my fans are still loud enough that, with open phones, I prefer letting the desktop sleep and running my audio through the MacBook.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logistics /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't see the need for more than 1GB of RAM, though. RAM is cheap at the moment, but I would be more inclined to save every penny I could and invest it in a better sound-card or amplifier.

Same here. 1GB is plenty for an audio PC. 1GB is probably plenty for most applications with XP or (especially) Ubuntu. Now, if it were Vista, it'd be another story

If you're planning on doing more intensive things with this PC, more RAM might also be a good thing, but for pure audio, it seems pointless. Then again, memory has gotten pretty cheap, and I've only seen extra hurt Windows 98

 

[b0dhi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by royalcrown /img/forum/go_quote.gif that 520W corsair is a decent power supply, but the 450(something) by corsair is a great PSU and will probably be cheaper - 450W is still overkill, especially considering how much corsair jacks the +12V line. Honestly, for a dedicated audio server I would put most of my money in hard drive backups (i nthe case of a disaster, calling re-ripping everything a pain would be an understatement of epic proportions) and get maybe 512/256MB RAM and a Celeron processor. Run Windows 2000 or XP with all aesthetics disabled, and you're golden. Actually, one of those old Via processors would be ideal because they can run solely off of a heatsink with no fans at all needed in the case.

Agreed, even 450W is too much. But the 450 Corsair I think you're talking about is surprisingly louder than the HX520 (under equal load). So that's why I suggested the OP get the 520HX, which can be had for cheap, but only use the modular cables he needs, which will result in a very quiet PSU, and give room for upgrades down the track.

 

[vvs_75]

Thanks everybody!