music computer

[JRT]

For the few that seem interested here's a bit of a review of my new music computer.

Truth be told, I should have taken Woog's advice to go smaller. With that said, I really like the case I chose because it's so well ventilated.

Did I spend too much? Yes. Does it bother me? No.

This thing boots up in 30 seconds. It's quieter than my old computer. It isn't loaded up with a bunch of software I'll never use, and,,,,,,,, it sounds pretty darn good!

I think I could argue that it sounds better than the old one.

I could be biased because I built it.

YMMV, Mark

Congrats... Good that everything is running well.

Just in case you later have any trouble with Win10 forcing updates, etc., check out the info at the following link to a related thread at Gearslutz.com

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-computers/1191619-solution-w10-updates-drivers-tweaks.html

[Psycoacoustics]

For the few that seem interested here's a bit of a review of my new music computer.

Truth be told, I should have taken Woog's advice to go smaller. With that said, I really like the case I chose because it's so well ventilated.

Did I spend too much? Yes. Does it bother me? No.

This thing boots up in 30 seconds. It's quieter than my old computer. It isn't loaded up with a bunch of software I'll never use, and,,,,,,,, it sounds pretty darn good!

I think I could argue that it sounds better than the old one.

I could be biased because I built it.

YMMV, Mark

[bohdan]

I run Bodzio's Ultimate Equalizer on a PC I built around the following:

ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS Motherboard
AMD FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera 8-Core 4.0 GHz CPU
M-Audio Delta 1010LT sound card (NLA)
Peachtree Audio T1 USB to SPDIF Converter

I run Windows 7 and use VLC Media Player as the front end to play my Flac and video file collection. I have a Blu-Ray drive and VLC will play them. I have a very quiet listening room and I keep the PC in the room next door and use a wireless keyboard and mouse to control it.

Ron

Hi,

Ultimate Equaliser is also used in HTPC system: http://www.bodziosoftware.com.au/Hyb...gue_System.pdf

This system evolved over the years and is documented here: http://www.bodziosoftware.com.au/Hom...re_Updates.pdf

Best Regards,
Bohdan

[Psycoacoustics]

Got the new one up and running. Do computers 'BREAK IN"? lol!

[dst]

Check on the Volumio forum, it is pretty good and active. There is a Tinker Board forum but it is not too active for audio. A number of the Pi HATs are now being qualified for Tinker Board, but list is still small.

[TN Allen]

"If you need an onboard DAC a number of them now work on the Tinker Board."

Has anyone tried the IQaudIO DigiAmp+ on a Tinkerboard? I ordered both for student use, but haven't tried them yet. I wonder how the Behringer UFO202 will work with the Tinkerboard, that would give it phono and line in capability.

[dst]

Try an Asus Tinker Board (it's an SBC like a Rpi) and run Volumio on it. It has very good USB out (vs the Pi's poor USB out). You can also solder an SPDIF out if you want. Runs via ethernet or wireless. Pulls files flawlessly from a NAS. You can also plug a jump drive or SSD into it for its own drive. On sale now a MicroCenter. A few dollars more than a Pi but much faster and far better audio on board. I run mine right into my DAC. App for iPhone or Android works well. Can be up and running for $75. If you need an onboard DAC a number of them now work on the Tinker Board.

[tmhutson]

I just built my first pc. I have worked on several before (upgrades, repairs). Building was fun, but I was still nervous.
I went with a mini atx board and chip set designed for it. New 8th gen, 4 core i3.
I went with biggest i3 I could find. Even with no hyper threading, its as fast as (or faster with normal work load like music) as some i7's, and cheaper!

Seems like you are nerding out and excited like I was while accumulating parts, and then building. I am enjoying your build pics.

The mobo has built in fan controls. I replaced the front fan with a bequiet one (220 mm), removed cheap rear case fan and mounted directly on the huge fx70 cpu tower air cooler and placed two 140 mm fans on top of case (where a water cooled radiator would go). It's an areocool DS cube (dead silent). Mid sized tower. I have NO exhaust fans. All are intake. Chip shows to be super cool all the time, even with fans spinning as slow as they can go. Fans are all sealed and no holes or gaps other than open rear case (no pci slots used).
When I first boot computer, fans kick on full speed. You can hear them, but are still reasonably quiet. Then program kicks in quickly and slows them to super quiet speed. I can cool even better by removing beauty covers (which also quiet), but is plenty cool now. My old computer had one fan in psu that sounded like jet taking off. :(
This fan control will increase speed as temp increases, at my choice. Highly recommended to get fan controller for noise reduction.

I ripped out the floppy drive and cd drive holder. Removed optical drive shelf. Used peel n seal style sound deadening on everything. I even used urethane on the top cover to fill sections of plastic to add strength and mass damping.

I broke the base because I am an idiot. But it looks fine.

The back of case is wide open.

I forgot brand of power supply, but it has bequiet top of the line silent fan, and only kicks on if hot.

I am running SSD, just one drive. Will add external as hard drive fills up.

I was worried it was difficult to install windows.
I bought an external dvd drive to keep case simple.
Went to local computer store and bought windows 10 on dvd (I dont have internet at house).
Put disc in drive, turned on computer. Computer asked if I wanted to but from dvd drive. Yes. Then it installed.
BAM! Done.
I almost cried it was so easy.

I then messed with fan control. It was a bit glitchy, but after a few tries and restarts, you can't hear the fans at all. Computer sits right next to me in completely untreated room. I have always wanted fan controls!

The computer boots up so fast, that you dont even see it boot up because the monitor takes longer to boot! When monitor logo comes off the screen, the computer is all ready to go!

My old computer was 17 years old, and bought on day xp came out.
My old music production program would lock up with too many track or effects. The old program is not supported and cant be registered anymore. :D (acid 3.0)

It is a dedicated D.A.W.
Windows is overkill, but only option for me. I hate it. Prompting crap all the time. But Ableton live 9 is awesome for what I am doing.

I am using an interface from PE. Art usb pre.
Works well. I use it for measuring speakers on my laptop, too. I will probably buy a better one in future.

My old, crappy yamaha keyboard has midi (not usb), so I bought a cheap midi/usb interface. Works great.
Apc40mkii for midi controller.

It's a beginner/hobbyist musician/producer's dream.
I am not a good musician or producer, so wont be getting too crazy with vst's or controllers.
I am learning the program first before I worry about making full songs/tracks. Starting with acid 3.0 was actually helpful. Many similarities.

The sound quality difference from old to Ableton program is so ridiculous. I can truly feel the power in my hands, and hear the quality coming out of my sound system. I have synth sounds that sound like real guitars. I can hear variations in pick/pluck style. And the effects are easy to control with add on midi controls. Turn a knob, not click a mouse...

Anyways, I am talking about the DAW setup, because if upgrading and modernizing music production computers increases sound quality, then I am sure it will effect normal music/movie listening.

My old crap computer had fubar2000 and sounded great with same interface.
This new mobo has nice soundcard with good caps. But have not listened to sound from it.

I am curious how your setup runs and sounds when running...

Enjoy your new computer venture.
Mine was painfully overdue.

[TN Allen]

Mark,

I'm looking forward to your progress reports, and your user and listening impressions.

[johnnyrichards]

That's the case I use in my Nerdery pc.

[Psycoacoustics]

Some progress today. I really like this case! The wife thinks it's too big but,,,,, what do women know? LOL! Considering there really won't be much in it, it should run pretty cool.

This is FUN! I'm surprised it took me so long to try it. After today, I don't see me buying a premade PC ever again!

Hopefully my power supply will show up early this week. Than the scary stuff will start. Loading the operating system and software! Luckily, I have a friend that will help.

Mark

[wogg]

Nice! I like that HTPC case. I've had the same Coolermaster HTPC case for a good 15+ years, it's on somewhere around the 5th generation of guts now and has had some cooling updates since then.

Happy building!

[Psycoacoustics]

Well Wogg, I went a little more upscale. I liked the look of this Silverstone case so I didn't need to go mini ITX. I've been working quite a bit of OT so I splurged a little. I5 gen 8, MSI MoBo, Samsung 500gb ssd and 16 gb of Ballistix ram. A Bequiet PS isn't in the pic but it's on it's way.

In this case the PS mounts on it's side so I didn't think I should use the Seasonic Fanless PS. It needs to be mounted with it's "up-side" up, so convection could do it's job, and I didn't want to take the chance that it might run too warm on it's side.

Some Assembly required but sadly,,,,,, no SOLDERING!

Later, Mark

[wogg]

Thank You Wogg for you reply. Yea, I know I can just go out and BUY something,,,,, and maybe even save some cash. However,,,,, this IS DIY! LOL Besides, the stuff you buy is so loaded up with crap, (software) that I never use. I need an operating system and a browser and that's about it. Again, please correct me if I'm wrong. Oh yea,,,, it also needs to be Wi-Fi so my JRiver ipad app will control it.

So, how much CPU would you buy?

I have this Dell as my daily driver for e-mail, photos, Quicken, etc. All I want is something, (the best thing/a good thing) to hold and play my music.

Thanks, Mark

I have a Haswell core Pentium in my server, dual core and plenty fast. I would go for entry level Intel, maybe an i3 at most. I'd also build a mini ITX system if I was starting from scratch.

[JRT]

Hey Guys, as long as I'm asking questions. Let's start with the motherboard. ATX, mATX, or mini ITX? This will determine what size case I need. No?

Take a look at these before deciding.

https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/File:JRiverId.jpg

https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Id

https://jriver.com/Id/