Build a dedicated Audio PC

[tony]

you must still have the i7 in your price calculations and theres no point comparing the price of an i7 with an i3
if you look at frans chart
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... sp=sharing

you will see the 62 euro gigabyte mb, the 70 euro g860 cpu, the 120 euro picu psu, 50 euro for 8gb ram, 40 for a usb stick and 200 for the plex case.
all for less than 550 euro and many reusable parts[/quote]

Sorry yes that is what I was comparing it to.The case,i7 chip and ram was the difference.Nuc iwth i3 idea pricing circa €550,
i7,plex case,usb drive,16gb ram €800-50 mark.

Difference circa €300 extra for plex case and faster chip so really depends if there is noticeable difference in performance/sq.
This arrangement would be upgradable to SSD,more ram etc. One would have to factor all these things when deciding which to take.

But no doubt if Johns arrangement as a standalone delivers same or very close to zuma option it will be the winner and provide a more sensibly priced solution for people.

[nige2000]

you must still have the i7 in your price calculations and theres no point comparing the price of an i7 with an i3
if you look at frans chart
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... sp=sharing

you will see the 62 euro gigabyte mb, the 70 euro g860 cpu, the 120 euro picu psu, 50 euro for 8gb ram, 40 for a usb stick and 200 for the plex case.
all for less than 550 euro and many reusable parts

Sorry yes that is what I was comparing it to.The case,i7 chip and ram was the difference.Nuc iwth i3 idea pricing circa €550,
i7,plex case,usb drive,16gb ram €800-50 mark.

Difference circa €300 extra for plex case and faster chip so really depends if there is noticeable difference in performance/sq.
This arrangement would be upgradable to SSD,more ram etc. One would have to factor all these things when deciding which to take.

But no doubt if Johns arrangement as a standalone delivers same or very close to zuma option it will be the winner and provide a more sensibly priced solution for people.[/quote]

im finding very little difference between my i3 build 6 gb ram (picu psu stock cpu cooler) and my i7 build 16gb ram (which is completely passive) with the windows to go stick. i suspect the smallest advantage to the i7 is because of the stock cpu cooler. ill know by next wed/thurs when i get a build in the case.

the nuc/nuc mod will be a good option i think and hope it will succeed, unless its got funny network driver/adapters and if its passively cooled i can see it been as good as any we can build under 550 euro, but it is for the most part a disposable product with nearly no parts reusable.
for someone that doesn't even want to look inside the case its a great product for them.

[nige2000]

nuc delivered at 275 not bad

http://www.komplett.ie/komplett/product ... 4QodQhcAMw

[tony]

Fran you have gone quiet? Have you got the processor yet?

[jkeny]

A lineup of fanless cases for the NUC starting from €99 http://www.fanlesstech.com/2013/03/fanl ... undup.html

[Sligolad]

Some nice cases there John, you could end up with a really nice Ciunas Audio PC there....

[nige2000]

like where your going with this john looks good

[Claus]

http://www.minipc.de/catalog/il/1649
This one is really tempting for me. If it could run the Windows USB stick I would only have to add RAM as far as I can see... I am sure it could be controlled with Android somehow making remote/keyboard/mouse redundant... It would also fit with my principle of not putting a fan PC into my listening system.... Hmm... very interesting!

[jkeny]

http://www.minipc.de/catalog/il/1649
This one is really tempting for me. If it could run the Windows USB stick I would only have to add RAM as far as I can see... I am sure it could be controlled with Android somehow making remote/keyboard/mouse redundant... It would also fit with my principle of not putting a fan PC into my listening system.... Hmm... very interesting!

Yep, that's the one at bottom right of the photo & at €349 for barebone NUC & case it really is very attractive working out at about €70 for case. I have asked them for more pics of the case & they will be doing so when they have stock in early April.

Edit: The TraquilPC case at top right is the chunkiest case & most like the Zuma

[Fran]

Don't worry, I'm not gone away - just busy scrounging and making!

I did some work on the case today, and modified the power supply and made up the little fan controller for the CPU fan. I mounted this one a PCI bracket so that it would fit neatly in.

The power supply with the new socket - I needed 4 pins here, the 12V supply for the picoPSU and the 12V supply for the fan:


IMAG0297 copy by francis morrin, on Flickr


And the inside showing the second supply - as it turned out when I broke open the wallwart it was actually a linear supply in there.


IMAG0296 copy by francis morrin, on Flickr


The case is a recycled compaq PC case. I cut filler panels to cover over where the CD-rom and floppy drive were(remember them!). Its handy case because its a uATX as per the intel mobo. I sprayed the poxy front panel black. Doesn't look great with teh flash from the phone, but in real life its fairly passable:


IMAG0301 copy by francis morrin, on Flickr

And the fan controller, mounted (backways at the moment!) on the PCI bracket:


IMAG0302 copy by francis morrin, on Flickr

Gonna wait until next week to order the CPU. That's the last piece of my puzzle (I think) and I just want to see how it shakes down. BTW, be a little careful buying on amazon - as they charge in sterling, your credit card people will normally charge a good fee for the non-euro transaction. You can turn on local currency on amazon, and at least you will see the charge, but you're still paying it. At current time, komplett is still the best deal for the i7 3770.

Who know by the time I get to order, the nuc will have been compared to the zuma and i5 will have been proven to be fine!


Fran

PS: this and the ciunas thread tidied up earlier....