[Punnisher]

I wanted to make this thread for planning and discussion for my project.

My goal is to build a small, silent and versatile PC for music playback only. A full-size pci card is preferred for the wide range of outputs.

I've ordered the following parts which should be arriving next week:

Newegg.com - ASUS AT3GC-I Intel Atom 330 479 Intel 945GC Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo - Motherboard / CPU / VGA Combo

Newegg.com - HT | OMEGA CLARO Plus+ 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Sound Cards

Travla-product

I already have a 320gb 5400rpm laptop drive that I'll be using which is more than enough to hold all my lossless files.

For a display, I am looking into a 7" touchscreen monitor which is popular for car pc applications. Though that will be my last purchase for the system.

More to come soon.

 

[mamba315]

Any updates?

I was looking into the possibility of doing something similar, but possibly using a different mobo:

Newegg.com - ZOTAC IONITX-B-E Intel Atom 230 1.6GHz NVIDIA ION Mini ITX ION Platform Motherboard/CPU Combo - Motherboard / CPU / VGA Combo

A fanless m-ITX mobo with a wide range of video and audio outputs. This would allow for a silent PC capable of outputting to almost any external DAC (USB, optical, & coaxial). And has enough video capability for most tasks, including movies if desired. Haven't pulled the gun on it yet but looking at the possiblity.

 

[Pageygeeza]

You could go super tiny and efficient with this. TechConnect Magazine - VIA announces the EPIA-T700 computer-on-module

A very brief Wiki on Mobile ITX. Mobile-ITX - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Or after a brief googling, this. mCubed HFX Micro M2 Mini-ITX Fanless Bundle Systems

 

[Pageygeeza]

A few other little Gems:

TechConnect Magazine - VIA reveals Vinyl USB 2.0 audio controller

Auzen X-Fi Bravura from Auzentech, Inc. : World First soundcards for Music, HTPC, and Gaming. Yup, all the opamps ARE replaceable! With these actually. Auzentech, Inc. OPAMPs They're actually VERY interesting.

 

[ROBSCIX]

I would go fo something a little newer over the claro. The Bravura is a good bet as was mentioned and does have fully replacable opamps and a seperate output section and 1/4" headphone output.
The replacable opamps allows you to dial in thte sound more to your liking or for better synergy with your gear.
Alternatley, if the ITX has a optical out you could just go to a high qualty external DAC.
Some of the units mentioned above have USB/firewire so you can go with external sound cards or DAC's.

Do you have any plans for remote control?

I am interested in this project as I have been considering something along these line myself.

 

[linuxworks]

I have an old (at least 2 yr) via EIPA that is fanless by design. I'm not convinced that atom is fanless BY DESIGN. its just too hot a chip. via epia often has coax spdif onboard (mine does). you run a 12v power brick to a dc/dc inside the itx box and you are 100% fanless. add in a sata ssd (I have one) and you are completely noiseless. its great! do it!

consider the via chipsets. they run linux VERY well and windows, well, ok (even though windows does not see my widescreen width and linux does. and windows also has problems with the usb chip from via and linux works with it no problem).

an netbooks are also an option. not fanless but pretty close.

 

[Punnisher]

Thanks for the opinions, everyone.

I have already ordered all the parts, unfortunately! Though there is plenty of room for customization in terms of sound card, fans, etc. I can always use the Claro with my htpc and get something else.

I really wanted to be able to playback high resolution files (though, it's not obvious that anyone can really tell the difference). I also wanted a variety of digital outputs and a solid analog output. It seems the Claro plus can deliver that very well, as I am listening to its analog output through an amp and 880s.

I am struggling with the choice of a monitor. Lilliput 7" touchscreens are popular but I'm not sure how practical and accurate they are for browsing through music and playback programs. If anyone has info on a cheap, slim, PORTABLE display then help me out!

I did tons of research on itx systems but perhaps I jumped the gun a bit with some of my purchases. I'll just see how it goes. Tomorrow the PC components will arrive and next week the case will be here. I'll be able to make an overall assessment at that time.

As for fans, I'll probably remove the stock cpu fan and put a larger fan beside the motherboard (either a 12v fan fed with 5v or 24v fan fed with 12) and see how temps and noise level go. I could also run the stock fan on 5v. My goal is to have only one slow moving fan in the system. I think this is reasonable since the system is never going to see significant cpu usage and only has a modest GMA 950 video chipset. Just be thankful I didn't choose the ION.

 

[linuxworks]

if you want to output 'high res' why not get an emu 0404usb and that will work with anything (realistic) you throw at it via its advanced usb 2.0 interface.

if you are talking about dolby blu-ray yadda (...) then that's outside the normal spdif and dac world. can't help there.

but a mini-itx and that emu box are a perfect combo. cost effective, too! that dac compares to ones in 10x its price point ('miracle dac' chip).

 

[linuxworks]

as for fans, THIS is why I said 'avoid atom'. I'm not kidding. consider sending yours back. fans are STUPID hacks and should not be tolerated for music playback systems. quite serious about my silence in playback systems

VIA epia works just fine. look around at the mini-itx specialty shops and you may find older via-epia boards for cheap from last year's models.

there are not too many TRULY fanless systems. I tried once with an atom (local store told me to swap a passive fan for the installed active one). big mistake. took the system back and kept my old epia.

been there. I'm trying to save you the hassle..

 

[ROBSCIX]

Have you considered a remote control for this unit?

 

[Punnisher]

I was thinking about the 0404, but I also wanted the flexibility of the mini itx form factor. It would have saved me a heap of money, though. I already have a netbook.

I understand your desire for silence, but I think you overestimate the sound of the stock fan. Even if it is loud, I have no doubt that I can come up with a silent solution.

A remote? haven't thought about it much. Would be cool.

 

[linuxworks]

one 'easy' remote is just a wireless rf usb keyboard. try it

 

[Punnisher]

I won't worry about a remote just yet. I want to get the basic system configured the way I want. More advanced options will come later. That probably includes a display as well. There are lots of options but not many that seem to be ideal for what I want.

As far as sending the motherboard back, I really want to avoid doing that. I do admit that I went with an odd system board. It's probably the fastest atom cpu, dual core etc. I should have went with something slower, single core and possibly fanless.

 

[linuxworks]

I once used a firefly RF usb remote. for universals, its pretty good for PC stuff.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Very true, there are many options you can go with for control. Now, you have me planning one out also. I have been wanting to build one for awhile although I have a bit of a different type of plan.

Good luck on your build.