The AN Audio PC Project

[ik632]

The more I think about your specific needs the less I think size is really an issue. You have that nice closet to stick stuff in so a standard size machine may be the ticket. There are several Micro ATX boards (so a bit smaller than a standard motherboard, but not super tiny. These are typically about 12x12 and fit a standard case. Good boards can be had in the under $100 range.

I'm a fan of ASUS boards. They make a good product which performs very well. For this type of machine I would stay away from the cheap options out there (since they usually skimp on quality on things). Next, I'd get a nice quiet case. Depending on the case, this can be the most expensive part ($200 for a good quality quiet box).

The last part would be the processor. AMD has a new line of 3 core chips out there which run at lower voltage and use less power while also making less heat. The CPU fan can be board controlled so it will only turn on when things get too warm. With a case using a big fan (120mm or so) it can run at very low RPM and get good air flow. There are even 2 and 4 core chips that would fit the bill. If the machine will run a 32 bit OS I'd install 2-3gb of ram. 64 bit support is out there, but it could make configuration tricky.

Final consideration would be hard disks for storage. Western Digital has released a line of "green" drives which are quiet and use very little power. You can pick up 2 500-750gb drives for a fair price and then set them up in hardware RAID.

Using a standard case/machine you won't need to go with special drives for the OS so you can just go with a small (120gb) drive for the OS and any temp files. I'd get something fast with good cache so the machine can use that space for temp data on the network (nothing meant for long term storage since it's not backed up).

With all that ram and processing power that machine should be able to serve music and work as a primary network storage system and then you can stick the existing NAS somewhere where it won't be heard and use it for increment backup from the server machine.

[Dougie085]

If possible and if your looking at getting into HD disc playback on your HTPC then I'd try and go a little higher up on the video card. If its solely for music then no worries.

[bpape]

Agreed on the ASUS.  That's what I usually buy.  I just couldn't get what I wanted from them (heat pipe plus onboard RAID5) without paying silly money for gaming features I didn't need.  MSI was my next choice as I've had good luck with them too.

For the price of RAM these days, I'd just get 4 GB and call it done. 

The Antec Sonata III would be a perfect choice especially if you can put the machine in another room.  It's pretty quiet by itself and has a large fan with a 3 speed controller.  The PSU is pretty quiet also.

Bryan

[richidoo]

Bryan thanks for the details, some good lookin stuff. I am surprised the prices are so reasonable for such cutting edge stuff. COmpared to a $500 POS Del, this is the WTG.  The mobo has a spdif optical out, that would be fun to try with a DAC. 1394 for my sound card too, looks great!! I'll check out the Antec too.

Nick, thanks for the personalized eval. I think you;re right that the closet is a good place, that's where the structured wiring can is, which I intend to enlarge to tidy things up. So coats can actually hang in there someday.    But the current NAS is too loud, so new PC needs to be really quiet. Do you have some links to mini tower case that is very quiet? Thanks

[ik632]

Here you go:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/section9.html

[bpape]

Just remember the MB's I was speaking about are full ATX MB's - not minis or micros.  Quite honestly, in a closet, the Sonata III will be PLENTY quiet, is VERY easy to work on, has lots of room for disk internal, comes with a good power supply, etc.  All HD mounts are clip in but have bushings to keep things quiet.  It has a removable front filter screen that's easily cleaned and draws air directly over the HD's and the CPU and out the back. 

Between my house and my kids' machines, I have 5 of either the series II or series III cases.  To get signficantly better/quieter, it'll cost you 2-3x the price.

Bryan

[richidoo]

I have the room for a bigger box, and I can put it anywhere as long as it is fairly quiet so ATX is OK. The Sonata looks fine for that. I was reading about P182 also, but like you said it ain't cheap. Just trying to learn a little. Hi performance computers is one more hobby's worth of knowledge that I can certainly do without! So thanks for all the advice guys.

Bry on your MSI mobo, what is "heat pipe" feature?

[ik632]

Some boards have a heat pipe or a heat sink with a big metal pipe that connects to another heat sink next to the cpu fan. This way they can put one fan on the cpu and use it to cool both the processor, north bridge and south bridge (file I/O and system control chips). I've seen MSI boards perform very well, but haven't owned one myself. I have had the best luck with ASUS and Intel branded (direct from Intel). I tend not to play too much with the overclocking or gaming type things so that's why the Intel board worked well for me.

[bpape]

That's exactly how the MSI works.  There is one small fan with cooling fins that's 'piped' from the other chipsets that need cooling.  The tiny little NB and SB fans are many times the ones that make a lot of the noise.  Also, with the direct radial fins, the fan doesn't need to run real fast to efficiently cool everything.

Bryan

[richidoo]

tHANKS   You guys know your stuff!!

[Dougie085]

MSI had a bad moment for a few years due to a lot of fault caps and for a while I would not purchase their stuff because every time I did it failed. Recently though I purchased an MSI board and I can say nothing but positive things about them so I could definitely recommend them now. I'm going to be turning my gaming computer into an HTPC/Audio server here pretty soon. I'm going to be looking for a quite HTPC case and reconfiguring it. I use it for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD as well so I need a little bit on the high side of the specs which I have but I just need to get a quieter cooler for the CPU and Video card. But I definitely like the audio server versus flipping through 1000's of cd's.