Build a dedicated Audio PC

[tony]

Talking to Fran a few minutes ago.Got some(most) of the answers.

i3 closed gap significantly using wtg stick on the minipc(nuc) and a battery supply created by John. Streaming from a laptop.

It would seem the conclusions are WTG no ssd drive needed on the audio pc. Maplin power supply turned down to the correct output level(important). 8Gb ram. Underclocking i7 not sure if the suggestion applies to the i3.

For me unless things change dramatically in the next few weeks I will go ahead on the following basis. plex fanlesscase H5s with pico supply, Intel motherboard,I7 3770S cpu, 16gb ram, WTG USB stick, Maplin power supply(Nige's) and windows 8. Pricing for that I hope comes in at circa €870-970 but will post full list if I get there.

Johns or Claus's Nuc option maybe with i5 chip which is due soon I think would seme to be close enough to make little difference. The pricing for that seems to be €500-600?? Maybe somebody can confirm that?

[jkeny]

Yes, Tony you have it correct.
After you left we went through the permutations & came to the conclusions Fran itemised.

Nige's RAM was 6gB

What I meant about CPU cores was that Jplay stated quad core CPUs are needed to get optimal sound - that's not what we experienced - i3 CPU (dual core) sounded about as good as i7 (quad core).

[Fran]

When we tested the USB3 WTG sticks: on mine and Nigels builds the WTG stick was in a USB3 port, the music was on a USB3 stick in a USB2 port, and the dac was plugged into a USB2 port.

In case yis are wondering like.

[tony]

Fran Where did you get the WTG stick one of the usual local stockists?

[jkeny]

Fran Where did you get the WTG stick one of the usual local stockists?

Nice & cheap here 32gB @ €31 with cheap delivery also €7 http://www.computerpartsireland.com/pro ... 2d-USB-3.0

[Fran]

mmm I paid not far off 2x that in PCworld.

Thats a good deal.

Sandisk extreme Pro USB3 32gb


Fran

[tony]

Don't think I can wait much longer to start buying(the pressure is too much) Have to stop going to these meets. Re the NUC I can't see the reason to go for that except size. I did a quick price on the desktop case and came in at €880 minus windows 8. This is for H5 case inc pico power supply, wtg stick,maplin power supply,i7 processor, Intel DH77EB board and 16 gb of memory yet to be sourced,SSD no longer needed. For the SQ one was listening to last night with the ciunas as dac it is a bargain. From what I can ascertain price shouldn't go above a €1k.

If one went nuc route with the desktop(i.e processor and ram size) you can save €150 by getting i3 processor, 8gb ram will drop €60 off the price leaving it priced at €670 for the desktop case option. It is a more versatile and upgradeable route from what I can see. John did suggestion Nuc prices will probably drop when they come fully onstream. Maybe the barebones nuc gives the option of omitting SSD might make the price difference enough?

[Sligolad]

If you do go for the NUC Tony you will have to give some thought on how you power it.
You will have to find an 18 - 19 volt linear supply or talk to John about the cost of a battery solution.

I did like the unit Claus had as it had no fan and it had enough usb ports for mouse, keyboard, usb sticks and all that. Just leave out the SSD and add linear supply, win8 stick and you should have a nice silent unit capable of some sweet sounds.

[tony]

John thanks for link.Pearse no nuc for me.

http://www.computerpartsireland.com/pro ... 2x8GB.html


Can one of our resident experts confirm this ram is ok to go for? Don't care if it is overkill once it works. If there is better more suitable ram with better latency etc please point me in the right direction (once the price is not off the wall)

Always price conscious but the build using the usb key instead of ssd looks like it is circa €850.
Zumalike but not quiet.(case different/maplin supply/different memory maker, No SOTM USB and No sata noise Filter) Will be very happy if I can pull it all together for that.


Another question the sandisk is not windows certified but I am assuming it works ok?

[jkeny]

Another question the sandisk is not windows certified but I am assuming it works ok?

I'm using it as WTG stick - it works when you follow the procedure I linked Claus to a few posts back