Help building a Music dedicated PC

[GenkiElbow]

Hello,
Ive just been asked to build a PC for a club I work in,
I can build a basic PC but dont really know about hardware and whats really out there to choose from.
This PC will be mounted on the back bar of a club and needs to be accessed easily.

Im also after software that could give me details of the frequency of times a song has been played, bpm, the mood of the song etc.

I'd like to be able to look through my collection similar to a jukebox, where I can see the cover art tracks etc.

My budget is is around $2500 (us) or in my currency 250,000 yen.
My problem is I dont speak Japanese so its hard to go into a shop and explain what I want.

I have about a 500cm x 500cm space for the system to slot into.
We have a 100mbps fibre optic connection so I was also thinking of using wireless technology to move files from the office pC to the music pc.
So the question is what should I buy:
Motherboard
CPU (how fast)
Ram (how much)
Hard Drive (external or internal or both, whats the best one) big as possible and very reliable.
Sound card , will need to check out amp to see what inputs are there.
Wireless keyboard , mouse
Case (should it be larger to allow for cooling) Would love to mod it for showing off to the customers.
Software - XP home or XP pro?
Music software - NO idea yet what I want.
Video card - I would like to show clips of stuff while the music is running in the background,

As you can see Im totally in the dark.
I can build PCs but only as a lego man type builder.

Hope I havent missed anything out

And many thanks to all who helps,
I'll post pictures as it gets built and hopfully a nice picture of the finished item in the club.:thumbsup:

 

[ShellGuy]

Well where 2 start. Since all you need to do is play music i don't see y you would need a real fast processor. Look around the AMD XP 3000 range will allow you do anything u want n more. As for ram My Std is 512 but 1gb is always nice 2 have. The motherboard needs to have enough room to expand and grow with you needs. I would run with something that has IEEE 1334, SATA, Gb Lan, just to mention a few things. I would sugest maybe dual 120 gb SATA Seagate Drives. As for the keyboard and mouse Logitech makes a nice bluetooth model check it out. I would say XP Pro for the security it will afford you... Video card look for something with Svideo out maybe dual monitor or Digital output depending on what you have in the club. But atleast 128 mb ddr onboard.




Just a few things 4 ya.

Will

 

[GenkiElbow]

Thanks a lot Will,
The video card sounds a good idea, we do have a few large plasma screens so being able to perhaps output to those as well as the monitor would be nice for visuals.
Bluetooth sounds good too.

I would sugest maybe dual 120 gb SATA Seagate Drives

What sizes do they go up to? I would like to have more as I have some video files I may want to show while the music is playing.
Thanks a lot

 

[AtTheGates]

Originally posted by: ShellGuy
Well where 2 start. Since all you need to do is play music i don't see y you would need a real fast processor. Look around the AMD XP 3000 range will allow you do anything u want n more. As for ram My Std is 512 but 1gb is always nice 2 have. The motherboard needs to have enough room to expand and grow with you needs. I would run with something that has IEEE 1334, SATA, Gb Lan, just to mention a few things. I would sugest maybe dual 120 gb SATA Seagate Drives. As for the keyboard and mouse Logitech makes a nice bluetooth model check it out. I would say XP Pro for the security it will afford you... Video card look for something with Svideo out maybe dual monitor or Digital output depending on what you have in the club. But atleast 128 mb ddr onboard.

That seems like way to much computer to just play music. I would concentrate on making something that is cool, quiet, looks good, and sounds good. A mobile Athlon will be plenty fast and easy to cool. 256 ram would be enough but why not go for 512 since you have a pretty large budget. Your video card does not need to be fancy. ATi 9200 is about $50 and has support for dual monitors and S-video. Your choice of sound card will be very important. Maybe something like a nice M-Audio with SPDIF. Go with XP Home. Blow most of your budget on a large attractive flat panel like a Samsung 193P. Also consider getting a cheap monitor and a projector. Your club could have lots of fun with that.

 

[ShellGuy]

I just checked Seagates site and the go up to 200gb so u could run dual ones of that. That is alot of hdd space. as you can fig that a DVD fits on like 5gb for a nice round number just 2 give you an idea of what kind of space you are talkin about if it was my system here would be my sound card... I love this one. You could prob get like a really killer sony all n one remote and run all ur screens and stuff off of that.


Will

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Blow most of your budget on a large attractive flat panel like a Samsung 193P.

already has

a few large plasma screens

..a fairly simple thin client(s ?) and a backend server(out of sight but easily accessible) comes to mind or even a laptop with server(s)..

We have a 100mbps fibre optic connection so I was also thinking of using wireless technology to move files from the office pC to the music pc.

..this op can be expanded when needs arise.. gl

 

[GenkiElbow]

Im unfamiliar 'server' technology.
The plasma screens are separate and show the satelite,dvd,video stuff. I will need a monitor of some kind.

 

[ShellGuy]

Just a simple 15" or so LCD should work 4 ya.



Will

 

[kaizersose]

dont waste money on a fast processor. if you are just playing music you can get by with the slowest stuff around. i am thinking somewhere in the P4 2GHz/Athlon 2000 range.

spend your money on quiet components and a nice looking case

 

[GenkiElbow]

When you say quiet components what do you mean exactely?
Im wondering about cooling, the system will be sitting on a boxed in shelf behind the bar.
Extra fans needed or not?
I'd like the case to be nice to view and not hidden away, perhaps some subtle leds throbbing away.

 

[GenkiElbow]

Just to let people know

Im off to Fuji Rock Festival tomorrow, back on Monday so that'll be the reason for no response.
I'll look in on Monday and will start to get the bits to build next week. I think I'll be concentrating on finding a nice case for now. Something hi-tech sleekness Ali G stylee.
Cheers

 

[Bloodstein]

Originally posted by: GenkiElbow
Just to let people know

Im off to Fuji Rock Festival tomorrow, back on Monday so that'll be the reason for no response.
I'll look in on Monday and will start to get the bits to build next week. I think I'll be concentrating on finding a nice case for now. Something hi-tech sleekness Ali G stylee.
Cheers

goodness...do post a pic as you get the system built!

 

[Oceanus]

If this is supposed to be the club's only/primary music source I'd say reliability and quality are my top priorities. So...

RELIABILITY: one HD for OS (WinXP) and a 4 large drives in a RAID 3 setup (IDE or SCSI) for the MP3s. Probably need to buy a separate RAID card for level 3. Note that 5 HDs are gonna generate lots of heat, so cooling is important.

QUALITY: Best audiophile card you can find, for something closer to professional level audio, there are cards from Echo, Terratec, M-Audio, and others. Available at places like audiomidi.com and JDSound.com. Final choice depends on club's sound system. Stay digital (optical) as long as possible.

Also, consider how you will add new MP3s... over the net, CD/DVD, or an external HD you can take home.

Video card depends on the display.

Depending on the normal volume a "quiet PC" may not be an issue. When someone says club, I think any PC fan noise will be drown out.

I would budget some money to have have a "pro" build, setup, & test. It's always nice to have someone else to blame. They may even have some good ideas!

 

[GenkiElbow]

Wow! thanks for thew advice, just got back from Fuji rock and Im well knackered!
I'll be looking into all these ideas as soon as my head has recovered from my 4 day rock binge festival.

The amp we are using is a Pioneer VSX D811S
I think it has optical in and out.

 

[ShellGuy]

The card i was talkin about has both as well take a look....


Will

 

[cerebusPu]

i think you are looking too detailed into the wrong priorities. i dont know why people are talking about 1gig of ram and 3ghz computers. you need to talk to the audiophile type people.

sound quality, reliability, and ease of use should be your top priorities.

get yourself a fashionable case. and a good soundcard with digital out. (figure out how to connect to the sound system)

you can use a office PC to store all the mp3s if you want. but whats the point?? a 160 gig drive can hold months worth of mp3s. What if the wireless internet connection slows down or gets disrupted? then the music is gonna stutter and your patrons will be pissed.

you have to give alot of thought into the software. you cant just run a club off winamp. Talk to the DJs to see what they want, surf online for good DJing software.

edit: look into M-audio professional level hardware.
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.main&ID=77b8b59a677defc67c40d33428b4014a

this hardware device lets you monitor a pre-cued song on headphones.

FireWire Audiophile is a compact, FireWire-compatible audio/MIDI interface that takes the legacy of M-Audio?s award-winning Audiophile line to the next level.

Stereo headphone output with A/B switching between assignable sources allows precuing for DJs and mobile musicians?and the assignable aux bus is perfect for creating dedicated headphone mixes and effect sends. You also get zero-latency hardware direct monitoring, ultra-low latency ASIO software direct monitoring, and 1 x 1 MIDI I/O. FireWire Audiophile even has AC-3 and DTS passthrough for surround sound playback.

 

[flashbacck]

I agree. All you guys are talking about 2-3 Ghz CPUs. He's playing MP3s and CDs, he could use a P3 500, and it'd still be more than enough power. I'd focus on HD space and a couple of CD drives, or one of those motorized CD racks where you can select your CD and it'll bring it forth.

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: flashbacck
I agree. All you guys are talking about 2-3 Ghz CPUs. He's playing MP3s and CDs, he could use a P3 500, and it'd still be more than enough power. I'd focus on HD space and a couple of CD drives, or one of those motorized CD racks where you can select your CD and it'll bring it forth.

Dude. You are the only one giving logical answers.

This PC will play MP3's people. WE are not talking quality or intensive audio here.

I say you get a shuttle XPC:

Nvidia Nforce2 mobo with integrated dualhead Gf4mx440, LAN and optical out

1Ghz processor
256Mb ram
2x80GB HD
DVD Burner ($99)
WINXP

external firewire enclosure for the second 80GBGB drive to backup the system everynight.

Cheap as hell, slick looking, and not a waste of Money.


RAID, a faster CPU, gobs of RAM and fast Vid cards on a system like this is just plain silly.

EDIT: sample system from newegg : $571







Shuttle XPC Black Barebone System for Socket A at 333MHz FSB AMD CPU, Black Model SN41G2V2B
Specifications:
CPU Support: AMD Athlon/XP/Duron (Socket A, Max.FSB 333)
Chipsets: nVidia nForce2 / MCP-T
Memory: 2x 184pin (DDR400 up to 2GB)
IDE: 2x ATA133
Graphics: Build in Geforce4 MX
Expansion Slot: 1x PCI, 1x AGP8X
Audio: Realtek ALC 650 supports 5.1 channel audio
LAN: On board Realtek 8201BL
Extension Bay: 2x 3.5", 1x 5.25"
Front Panel Ports: 2x USB, 1x 1394, 1x SPDIF_Out, Audio ports
Back Panel Ports: 1x COM, 2x PS/2, 2x VGA, 1x S-Video, 1x RJ45, 2x 1394, 2x USB, Audio ports
Power Supply: 250W (PFC)
Dimensions: 11.8" x 7.9" x 7.3" more info>
N82E16856101428
$270.00

$270.00
External Enclosure
Speeze 3.5" USB 2.0/ IEEE 1394 External Hard Drive Enclosure, Model "780U2FL" -RETAIL
Specifications:
Application: 3.5" IDE hard drive
Material: Aluminum
IDE Interface: Support ATA PIO modes0-4, Ultra DMA 2 & 4
Interface: USB 2.0/ IEEE1394
Power: AC Adapter
Features: Portable size, light and durable shell, Provide excellent heat dissipation more info>
N82E16817145745
$49.99


Hard Drives
Seagate 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model ST380011A, OEM
Specifications:
Capacity: 80GB
Average Seek Time: 8.5 ms
Buffer: 2MB
Rotational Speed: 7200 RPM
Interface: IDE Ultra ATA100
Features: 350 Gs non-op shock, 3D Defense System
Manufacturer Warranty: 5 year
Packaging: OEM more info>
N82E16822148015
$64.50

$129.00
Memory (System Memory)
Crucial 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-2100 - OEM
Specifications:
Manufacturer: Crucial
Speed: DDR266(PC2100)
Type: 184 Pin DDR SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Cas Latency: 2.5
Support Voltage: 2.5V
Bandwidth: 2.1GB/s
Organization: 32M x 64 -Bit
Warranty: Lifetime more info>
N82E16820145001
$43.00

$43.00
Processors
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor - OEM
Specifications:
Model: AMD Athlon XP 2500+
Core: Barton
Operating Frequency: 1.83GHz
FSB: 333MHz
Cache: L1/64K+64K; L2/512K
Voltage: 1.65V
Process: 0.13Micron
Socket: Socket A
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, 3DNOW!, 3DNOW!+
Packaging: OEM(Processor Only) more info>
N82E16819103378
$80.00



Grand Total »

$ 571.99

 

[Notcain]

I think there are some other Issues that need to be addressed.

If you will be using the Pioneer AV reciever as your amp, you will have to use MCP-T found on the NForce-2 boards with SoundStorm. Other than that, with a 5/6/7.1 system only the 2 front channels will produce audio, im my experiance. MCP-T I *believe* has a system to make any 2 channel audio source full surround sound.
I would honestly recommend you re-examine how the audio setup will be so that it is more "driven for real audio", rather than "driven as a home stereo". Please look into seprate multi channel amps and a small mixer, I promise you you will not regret at least looking into it.

As for interface, Get a nice flat panel monitor, small and black so it will blend in better with the dim light enviroment. I assume it will be dark. A SFF will be your best option for the small foot print, and as for showing it off it is neat to say "this tiny box makes all that sound."

One thing I think many people missed when they said that he can low-ball it, was that he may want to output video too. A shuttle SFF will be able to handle this, but remember playing audio is much different than the video that will go with it.

As an aside, May I recomend not using MP3s. Here is why I say this. Right now you should be paying royalties on your audio if you already have music (if not fix that). You are paying money to play files in the highest format possible. Use another codec. LAME is great, OGG is good but if you resort to mp3s use the highest quality. After a while you will be able to tell the differance. And low quality files will drive you crazy.

As for software, I have looked around for software that does what your talking about. I honestly could not find anything I was satisfied with. IMHO find some CS major in college to make it for you. You can have something so unique that no one will have it and you can get what you want however you want.

Woot, my first post at Anandtech. I have only been reading the forums for one year.

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: Notcain
I think there are some other Issues that need to be addressed.

If you will be using the Pioneer AV reciever as your amp, you will have to use MCP-T found on the NForce-2 boards with SoundStorm. Other than that, with a 5/6/7.1 system only the 2 front channels will produce audio, im my experiance. MCP-T I *believe* has a system to make any 2 channel audio source full surround sound.
I would honestly recommend you re-examine how the audio setup will be so that it is more "driven for real audio", rather than "driven as a home stereo". Please look into seprate multi channel amps and a small mixer, I promise you you will not regret at least looking into it.

As for interface, Get a nice flat panel monitor, small and black so it will blend in better with the dim light enviroment. I assume it will be dark. A SFF will be your best option for the small foot print, and as for showing it off it is neat to say "this tiny box makes all that sound."

One thing I think many people missed when they said that he can low-ball it, was that he may want to output video too. A shuttle SFF will be able to handle this, but remember playing audio is much different than the video that will go with it.

As an aside, May I recomend not using MP3s. Here is why I say this. Right now you should be paying royalties on your audio if you already have music (if not fix that). You are paying money to play files in the highest format possible. Use another codec. LAME is great, OGG is good but if you resort to mp3s use the highest quality. After a while you will be able to tell the differance. And low quality files will drive you crazy.

As for software, I have looked around for software that does what your talking about. I honestly could not find anything I was satisfied with. IMHO find some CS major in college to make it for you. You can have something so unique that no one will have it and you can get what you want however you want.

Woot, my first post at Anandtech. I have only been reading the forums for one year.

WE have yet to hear if this music is "lefal" or just downloaded mp3s so I wouldn't use amps etc for plain mp3s.

welcome btw.

EDIT: BTW, the soundstorm integrated audio on nforce boards can encoded any audio stream into Dolby Digital.