want to build music server

[riceaterslc]

after reading about the olive units, i want something like that for myself, but i know i can do it for less. this would be my first pc dedicated to music so i am looking for some guidance. my plan is to get a decent size hard drive (250gb or so), HTPC case (most likely silverstone), mobo/processor (amd of course ) and some inexpensive vid card. i do not think i need to run windows MC, xp will work fine for now. i want to upload all my cd's to the HD, lossless.

my main question is what sound card to get. i notice a lot of people recommend m audio sound cards. since this box will only be used for music, should i go for a 2-channel sound card over the 7.1? The 2496 is slightly more expensive than the revolution 7.1. if i have the desire to use 7.1 sound for music, i am assuming i can just use my pre/pro's ability to handle that as opposed to the revolution. however, if the sound quality of the 2496 is not significantly better than the revolution, i may as well save some money and have a card ready if i want to upgrade to a full HTPC. what would you guys recommend doing? thanks in advance :T

[Vinny]

go for 320gb barracuda 10, should be around $85. That's the fastest and one of the quietest drive you can get for the price(the speed is only below raptor a bit)
Remember the digital signal is pretty much the same, the objective is to minimize the processing in the computer.
Maybe consider USB DAC? Then you can get around with the jitter issue.

[aud19]

You could get away without the 7.1 card if you don't plan to use it for more than music...besides you can always use a digital output for DD/DTS etc anyway.

M-audio is normally what I recommend unless you REALLY go high end to the Lynx Studio products ($$$). But at that price I might be tempted to use a Benchmark DAC1 instead as it's more flexible, portable etc.

I too would go with the 320GB Seagate, I believe it gets you the most GB/$ right now. (I'd be REAL tempted to get at least 3 drives for a Raid 5 array though too)

[riceaterslc]

RAID array, eh? i understand the concept of having a RAID array, but do not know the requirements. do i need additional hardware or can this be done through software? if it can be done through software, is it something that is free and windows compliant? looks like i'll be ordering a 7.1...thanks for the advice guys.

[aud19]

some mobo's have software raid built in but you're better off with a seperate hardware controller...other than the disks that's about all you need.

[Hdale85]

Yes raid is very nice although can be a real hassle if one of the drives dies.

[Brandon B]

?

That's the point RAID. 1 disk death does not result in lost data.

[ekkoville]

Are you talking about a RAID setup with 3 320GB's drives, or maybe three 160-200GB? I am too not so familiar with RAID array's, but I guess you don't necessarily need 5 for a RAID 5 config? Another question, if the RAID setup you go with stripes the data, then should you not have enough capacity on each drive that is equal to what you want in total GB: i.e. Should you really get 3 320GB drives when the array stripes the data across all the drives? Whew.....I am having a hard time following my own question!

[aud19]

For a description of the various RAID levels try this link:

http://www.acnc.com/04_01_05.html

Raid 5 basically gives you redundency and capacity. It requires a minimum of 3 disks and you basically lose the capacity of one of them. I'd likely go with three, 320Gb disks for a 640Gb capacity (or more if you want/can afford them) ...trust me you can never have too much space... and those 320Gb drives are relatively cheap.

[PewterTA]

That's a lot of wasted space, just get a tape backup system and back your server up every once in a while... Then have a Ton of space!

[riceaterslc]

That's a lot of wasted space, just get a tape backup system and back your server up every once in a while... Then have a Ton of space!

yeah, the HTPC case i am looking at is really slim, dont know how much room there is for a bunch of HD's..i've never had HD failure before so i'm not too worried about it.

[Kevin D]

yeah, the HTPC case i am looking at is really slim, dont know how much room there is for a bunch of HD's..i've never had HD failure before so i'm not too worried about it.

Well now you've just gone and cursed yourself..

Kevin D.

[PewterTA]

:agree: You better back up your stuff to CD/DVD/something.

I did say that one time and it wasn't a day or two later I had 2 80GB HDs die on me... and this was back in '98-'99 so they were pretty darn expensive at the time!

[riceaterslc]

:agree: You better back up your stuff to CD/DVD/something.

I did say that one time and it wasn't a day or two later I had 2 80GB HDs die on me... and this was back in '98-'99 so they were pretty darn expensive at the time!

yeah, im glad i jinxed myself all the music i am putting on there will be direct from CD, so i will have a "hard copy" of all the songs. thanks for the advice guys :T

[aud19]

Well at the very least, pick up a second 320GB drive and an external enclosure (preferably with SATA and USB...and/or firewire) for backups