Build a dedicated Audio PC

[tony]

Whats going on here? One of the design team is in new york surely some of the rest of the team should get to do that research also?

Cant check today but from memory the zuma gets warm in use. On the visuals I think the zuma case really looks the part. Again just a subjective view I think the case is state of the art in design with regard to thermal cooling.

Nige what is the spec for your build? Maybe it is buried further up the thread(sorry if that is the case)

[jkeny]

Ah right, Tony, the Zuma case does get warm? OK, I hadn't realised that, thought it was cool all the time. Anyway, is it still over-speced for the thermal duties needed?

I like the looks of this case too http://www.hd-plex.com/hdplex-h3.s-fanl ... -case.html
The front USB port maybe let's it down a bit but I would consider the thermal management in this more efficient to the Streacom version.
€174 & Free shipping from Germany if you write a review with pics

[tony]

Just thinking about the test last week.

My laptop is an i5 6gb of ram. The zuma has knowing pearse at least 16gb (Will confirm that).
The differences are ssd drive,no fan,noise filter and ok the i7 is faster but i5 is not that far behind.
SSD can be installed on the laptop.Is there anyway of cooling a laptop without the internal fan? can you turn it off for a short period to test a couple of tracks? Going to check if there is a heatsink available for laptops but assume even if there is they will work in conjunction with the internal fan.

Is it possible for John to shut off the fan on the nuc for a short period? my thinking is based on trying to remove as many anomalies as possible. Of course it would only be worth trying that if it is found the zuma still had the edge.

John on the visuals the zuma looks a lot nicer than that case. Zuma looks like a very expensive power amp chassis. You were looking at it the other night on a side profile with the fins which isn't great. But of course nobody here cares what it looks like?

[Fran]

Honestly - it could be in a shoebox if it all works - but I know that no everybody feels like that!

I was talking to John earlier today a bit, and thought it might be useful to shortlist the main questions on this build. Most are to do with scabby gits like me wanting to cheap out on stuff:


1. Is fanless really necessary? Apart from the noise of the fan itself, is there any effect on SQ
2. Is there some kind of magic in the DH77EB that Chris Connaker got lucky on or will other mobos work OK (I realise that the ease of passive cooling on the DH77EB maybe be important if 1 is shown to be true).
3. Do we really need an i7 - would i5 or even i3 affect SQ negatively.
4. Importance of picoPSU/linear supply?


My intuition says: #4 comes first, followed by the others a distance behind. But it will be interesting to hear.

This thread deserves a forum of its own!

[tony]

A lot of us are in the scabby gits corner. Otherwise this thread wouldnt exist we would all be driving new zuma's already with 64gb of ram, sotm usb cards, noise filters everywhere and adnaco firewire whatever that is just in case.

sotm noise filter should that not be on that list as well.??

Honestly - it could be in a shoebox if it all works - but I know that no everybody feels like that!

I was talking to John earlier today a bit, and thought it might be useful to shortlist the main questions on this build. Most are to do with scabby gits like me wanting to cheap out on stuff:


1. Is fanless really necessary? Apart from the noise of the fan itself, is there any effect on SQ
2. Is there some kind of magic in the DH77EB that Chris Connaker got lucky on or will other mobos work OK (I realise that the ease of passive cooling on the DH77EB maybe be important if 1 is shown to be true).
3. Do we really need an i7 - would i5 or even i3 affect SQ negatively.
4. Importance of picoPSU/linear supply?


My intuition says: #4 comes first, followed by the others a distance behind. But it will be interesting to hear.

This thread deserves a forum of its own!

[jkeny]

But as the phrase goes "necessity is the mother of invention" so instead of throwing money at it, finding the critical elements to address is much more informative & interesting, to be honest.

In researching this I've learned some new things of interest for the future - one of which is a seemingly easier/more efficient way of cooling CPU's other than the bulky copper heatpipe, heat block & large radiation area?

[tony]

http://www.hd-plex.com/hdplex-h5.s-fanl ... -case.html

This one on the same site John posted on seems very similar to the streacom fc10 at €107 less. It recommends the i7 3770s and same mobo. Also suggests the same pico stuff.

Ideally getting it sub €1k is desirable.See Frans post for reason. It is getting close to that.

Done a bit of hunting around various forums and the same game plans seem to be playing out. Some people suggesting as Nige that the 2core processor is sufficient but more going for at least i3.

Wonder when all this is done should you put up a sticky with a variety of system configs.Just to save people slaving through all the posts.

[tony]

Put a price list together for i7 based unit just to start the ball rolling on costs. One thing I noticed on the jplay forum is the spec of a lot of posters. 32gb of ram is common i5 or i7,fanless dedicated pc's with chassis same or similar to hd-plex and streacom. Some of the dacs make the meitner look cheap and cheerful.

i7 3770S Processor €274.86 DABS Link http://www.dabs.ie/products/intel-core- ... 70S&src=16
MotherBoard(MOBO) Intel DH77EB €98.40 Elara link http://www.elara.ie/productdetail.aspx? ... ECE2393479
Crucial CT2KIT51264BF160B 8GB Kit €83.64 Elara link http://www.elara.ie/productdetail.aspx? ... ECE2291680
HD PLEX H5.S €196 HD-PLEX link http://www.hd-plex.com/hdplex-h5.s-fanl ... -case.html
This case is from the same range that John picked up on earlier.It is just a bit more expensive. See review here relating to both cases http://www.hd-plex.com/blog/htpc-hardwa ... er-builds/
Samsung SSD 120GB €113.86 Dabshttp://www.dabs.ie/products/samsung-120 ... ssd&src=16
Samsung SSD 120GB €91.62 Dabs no link included.
(Cant find the recommended drive for zuma.Need confirmation this is ok substitute)
Pico PSU-150-XT + 102w Adaptor Power Kit €120 Ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PicoPSU-160XT ... 43b8707ef1
Flexible Riser: EXP1-362-10 €56 (€35 in Dabs) Logicsupply Link http://www.logicsupply.eu/catalogsearch ... XP1-362-10 Not sure if the dabs one is correct type.
Sata Power Noise Filter SOTM €65 QuietPC.ie Link http://quietpc.ie/sotm-sata-noise-filter


This comes in at circa €985 if cheaper samsung disk used also need to confirm pico/ps as I think it can be got cheaper. Getting a little more affordable assuming that I have covered everything. If anybody has links to cheaper prices please post. Could somebody cast an eye over this to confirm it is correct. Using an i3 would knock €100-140 off the cost bringing it close to €800. Also located a german site mindfactory.de that seems to be €10-15 cheaper on some of the components i.e I7 processor. If it works postage wise it is coming down to €900ish for i7 spec.

[Fran]

Great work tony,


You'll also need w8 if you don't already have it...

Fran

[nige2000]

Whats going on here? One of the design team is in new york surely some of the rest of the team should get to do that research also?

Cant check today but from memory the zuma gets warm in use. On the visuals I think the zuma case really looks the part. Again just a subjective view I think the case is state of the art in design with regard to thermal cooling.


Nige what is the spec for your build? Maybe it is buried further up the thread(sorry if that is the case)

i like to get as much parts of the the same retailers to save on delivery cost if any and for fast delivery
komplett and scan are two of my favorites atm


http://www.komplett.ie/komplett/product ... 55/details.
http://www.komplett.ie/komplett/product ... tails.aspx
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/160w-pic ... acom-cases
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/streacom ... -atx-black
http://www.komplett.ie/komplett/product ... tails.aspx
http://www.komplett.ie/komplett/product ... tails.aspx
http://www.itemaudio.com/index.php/upgr ... l?sef=hcfp


heres the benchmark on the g860 has a score of 2,870
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup. ... Hz&id=1117
i3 will be somewhere between 3000 and 4000 at almost twice the price
the g860 is 70 euro well fit for the task and you can upgrade it in a year or two if its necessary

fran but together some good questions i dont think we will know until we get comparing these builds

nige