[lcrim]

I need some help from the members of this forum. I am looking for a recommendation for a very low cost PC platform to serve as place to store music, probably in wav format and send it to a bit perfect card like the Chaintech AV710. A decent CD ROM for ripping is also a requirement. I work in network security so I have hardware knowledge but not vendor knowledge.
Dell, for instance wants over $400 for a low level box w/ an 80 GIG drive but I'm sure there are better deals.
Ultimate quiet is not a necessity as the PC can be behind a wall with a fiber cable to a DAC which is part of a playback system. Processor speed and RAM quantity don't need to be anything special either. Sound quality and low price are the highest considerations. Planned OS is XP Pro, ripping software probaly EAC, and Foobar 2K for playback.
Questions and/or feedback welcomed.
TIA
Larry

 

[Helter Skelter]

Those Dell boxes aren't too bad a deal for this sort of thing, actually. You can order from newegg and build your own, but it gets to be about as much as you'd spend on the Dell box anyway.

Example quality DIY system:
Antec SLK3700AMB Case/PSU - $69
Asus A7N8X-VM (onboard video)- $79
Sempron 2300+ Socket A CPU - $63
512MB Corsair Value Select PC3200 RAM - $45
Seagate 160GB IDE HD - $90
Lite-On CD-RW - $24
Chaintech AV-710 - $25

Total - $395 + shipping

 

[J@ck]

Where did you get that Dell deal?
Here is a bit better one.

http://www.dealcatcher.com/
Dell SB - Dimension 4700 2.8GHz P4, 256MB, 40GB, FREE 19" LCD Flat Monitor
Only $529 AR + Free Shipping
# Click on Customize It under Dimension 4700 $529. All lowest options should be selected, you may want to do some upgrades. Price is after a $150 mail in rebate. Free Shipping. Pentium 4 2.80GHz (800 FSB)
# 256MB DDR2 SDRAM
# 40GB S-ATA Hard Drive
# 48x CD-RW
# 19" Flat LCD Monitor ($400 value)

If you don't need the 19" LCD you can sell it and the system price will be around $200. Of course you can add as much HDs as you need.
Or you can wait for the SC420 server deal.

I am using a SC400 as my music server. It is quiet, cheap and stable.

 

[jefemeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lcrim Ultimate quiet is not a necessity as the PC can be behind a wall with a fiber cable to a DAC which is part of a playback system.

So you're going to cue up the song in one room of your house, and then run over to another room to listen to it? I tried that for awhile and it's a pain. I moved to using a squeezebox (www.slimdevices.com) which is much more convenient and still has bit-perfect digtial output. Roku Soundbridge, Apple Airport Express, Sonos, etc are the same principle but I have no experience with them. Just a thought.

 

[lcrim]

The wireless squeezebox @ $300 adds enormous convenience. The most economic method of ripping and storing the wav files, offering reasonable redundance is still the issue. for me.
The squeezebox doesn't seem to need much in the way of computer resources, I'm not sure what EAC requires in resources to rip the files from a CD but now I'm thinking more in terms of a slightly older server w/ RAID5 and plenty of disk space set up remotely.
Larry

 

[Sleestack]

I use a Roku M2000 in my main system and a Roku M1000 in my kitchen. I use a $600 small PC with a 400 gig drive just to act as a server. I store everything in WAV on it and run the Rokus through and external DAC and tube buffer. I find it extremely convenient. Furthermore, with the use of an external DAC, sound qulaity is excellent.

 

[jefemeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lcrim The wireless squeezebox @ $300 adds enormous convenience. The most economic method of ripping and storing the wav files, offering reasonable redundance is still the issue. for me. The squeezebox doesn't seem to need much in the way of computer resources, I'm not sure what EAC requires in resources to rip the files from a CD but now I'm thinking more in terms of a slightly older server w/ RAID5 and plenty of disk space set up remotely. Larry

Yeah, I really think that's the best way to go right now. Squeezebox2 can stream FLAC directly for 1/2 the storage and network requirements over wav. Figure about 7-8 albums per gig.

I've also been considering a RAID setup too. Especially since my old desktop I'm using now needs to go anyway (one word, RAMBUS)

EAC can be run by basically any PC out there with a CD-R drive. EAC (and other programs) can compress rips on the fly. You would go straight to FLAC and also don't have to manually add tags later like you do with wav.