Relic PC to Music PC??

Award Winning Stereo Systems
Kevian

Kevian

New Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2008
Messages
739
Points
0
Location
Secunderabad
Guys,

I have an old intel celeron board from early 2000 years with an installed lan card, 512 mb ram and 40 gig HDD lying idle. I am thinking to convert this into a music pc. I'll be using MPD as my music player and ncmpcpp as front end, but thats when monitor is on...mostly i"ll use MPDroid server and client. So that I can just turn on the Box{not monitor} and use my android phone to control the library and music playback.

I have few doubts and considerations....if Gurus here feel its a feasible idea...I'll start this project..

1) I am not sure if there exists any sound card that sits on my mother board. Any suggestions??
2) I don't want to use standard/large monitors. Can I fit a 7 inch monitor to this old box via VGA??? I'll be turning on this only to update my MPD library and other native applications.
3) I am trying to make this box consume less power.
4) I'll be storing all my music on an external HDD connected to music box via USB
5) I'll be using Xfce based Linux Mint or Arch Linux to keep the system light on processor.
6) This would be a minimalistic Box which is light on power and on my wallet too. This is the reason, I am going for deamon based MPD and console based client ncmpcpp.

Please share your thoughts...pros and cons...this idea has been haunting & blocking me from buying a squeezebox touch/duet for a very long time.

Cheers!!
KVN
 
Last edited:
Depends on if your mobo+cpu combination will allow underclocking it.
You will need a silent fan which is a pain to get for old socket cpus.

Better donate it to an muncipality school and get new hardware.

HTH
--G
 
Gobble...do you read minds?....that was my last option...I thought I'd dump this box in some Govt. School if this Music Box idea isn't feasible....looks like thats the only option I am left with.

Thanks,
KVN
 
After reading the 6 points , its obvious the 7th option is to dump ;).


Check the baby steps in to hi-fi thread by hydra. He has completed a decent HTPC for music.
 
For music, better to go for a CD player with amp, it is a pain waiting for PC to boot up unless you have a Mac.
 
hifi said:
For music, better to go for a CD player with amp, it is a pain waiting for PC to boot up unless you have a Mac.
Click to expand...

Hifi...I have more music on flacs...buying CDs all over is out of question..a music pc or SB touch is on my radar..
 
Kevian said:
Hifi...I have more music on flacs...buying CDs all over is out of question..a music pc or SB touch is on my radar..
Click to expand...

If you can repurpose your current PC as a music server, going the Squeezebox route might work out much cheaper, and should give results somewhat comparable to a Music PC.

I was initially planning to get a Squeezebox Touch, but did not want to set up a PC to act as a squeezebox server (did not have a PC I could use for this). Apparently the SB Touch gives best results with a server feeding it (rather than a HDD feeding it).

EDIT: Going the SB Touch way, you will also have the additional benefits of:
- Being able to use Internet Radio flawlessly and conveniently.
- Having a remote.
- Not needing a big screen in addition to the SB unit.
- Better convenience overall, IMHO.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Hydra.....you've just helped me out....I'll go for Touch.....I'll see if I can do a NAS on this box...else my laptop would be server

cheers!!
KVN
 
hifi said:
For music, better to go for a CD player with amp, it is a pain waiting for PC to boot up unless you have a Mac.
Click to expand...

Will a mac boot up so fast? Will it work with osx loaded on a laptop? I am thinking about loading osx in my lap just to have a feel. Never experienced mac.:cool:
 
Does this board have PCI slots? I think they have been around that long? In which case there would be no problem at all putting a sound card in it.
USB DAC or USB Soundcard is good option.
Click to expand...
If it is USB2.0. USB1.0 was unpopular for sound devices, and you'll still hear people telling not to use USB for sound because those times.
 
1) I am not sure if there exists any sound card that sits on my mother board. Any suggestions??
Click to expand...
Then that, at least, will be no problem. ESI? Asus? I think there are quite a few boards under discussion in various threads.
 
I second hydra's opinion. I use 2004 model dell pc as the music server.
Recently bought Squeezebox touch using the wireless connection between
pc-->wireless modem--> sbtouch. Experiance has been nothing less than awesome.

Dont worry about boot up time. It will take few mins more than the regular cd player, But convieniance wise, It is thousands of times better than that.

Per Fan noise I agree it is there. But its decibel level is so level, it dissappears very quickly when the music is on.

WIth respect to the quality SB is very good. For medium level music system, SBs dac is good enough.

Thanks
Pandu
 
baijuxavior said:
Will a mac boot up so fast? Will it work with osx loaded on a laptop? I am thinking about loading osx in my lap just to have a feel. Never experienced mac.:cool:
Click to expand...

MacBook has got the instant wake-up feature, ready to use the moment you open the cover.

You cannot install Mac OS X on PC/Laptop, however you can run MS Windows under Mac OS X.

PS; There is no HDD activity LED on MacBook, it is not considered necessary.
 
Rega Turntables & Amplifiers
Order your Rega Turntables & Amplifiers from HiFiMART.com - India's reputed online dealer.

Similar threads

A
Is it worth buying mini PC in the 60-120 dollar range? can it work as HTPC?
Replies
6
Views
5K
arnprasad
A
U
How to enhance quality of streamed music?
Replies
7
Views
2K
Kannan
Kannan
T
how do i set up my NAS, server & endpoint to play music?
Replies
0
Views
8K
the_doc735
T
Nairrk
GPD launches Win 4 2025 handheld gaming PC
Replies
0
Views
4K
Nairrk
Nairrk
R
Apple Music Lossless and HiRes on Eversolo DMP A8
Replies
9
Views
6K
rkumarblr
R
Back
Top