Computer crap again

cstmar01

So now that my computer blew up a bit ago I decided I need to get a new one but not sure even where to start.

I'm not using it for gaming or any hardcore programs like autocad or anything like that.

I just need something that I can use for music, streaming video, and surfing the net and just for typing up a report here and there.

What I was thinking is that I would like to do a laptop and then just stream everything from a NAS server into the laptop so that way I don't have to deal with trying to find CD's ect.

I could then just get a sound card with optical audio out and stream into a DAC or AVR for movies and then keep the hard drive on the laptop nice and free while just having everything on the NAS for back up.

I have a budget right now of about 1200-1400 so not sure if this would be possible.

I'm also very lost when looking at stuff as I don't know what I should get i5 i3, what I can fit into my budget, what is better, blah blah blah. so some advice would be great.

I do have friends that build their own and I know they could build me something if I need them to if a desktop would be a better way to go??

PS I do use my iphone and ipod a bit so the whole system would be great if I could integrate everything easily.

heiney9

i5 is a nice processor vs the i3. I wouldn't use a laptop to stream music, but that's just me. If you are going the NAS route why not take a couple hundred off your PC purchase and use it to get a Squeezebox Touch for streaming?

H9

wayne3burk

I'm partial -I bought one of these last year for my wife for valentines day (and one for myself about a month ago)

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-17r/pd

Mine has WiDi built in (dont know what to do with it).

but it's screaming fast i5 - i like it.

wayne

rdb2001

Maybe I can help. I will give you my home configuration I have 5 computers in my home(3 desktops and 2 laptops). I also have an IPAD and 2 iphones. I have one computer that I have everyithing stored on, sort of a file server. I also have a 1TB NAS, that backs up computer on my network. I stream everything from that desktop or the NAS if I chose to. The NAS really is just a backup copy if the desktop hard drive ever fails. Since you are using IPAD and IPOD. I am sure you use ITunes. The computer that stores everything is in my hometheater. It came with HDMI and optical out. I use it with a dac that goes into my Marantz. My Ipad and Ipod can control music on every computer in the house as long as Itunes is running on them. There is also an app that you can view all shared folders on your network through your IPAD and IPhone and stream like that. I use that also.

I bought a monster of a computer from a site that sell refurbs directly from HP. I paid less than 275 bucks for a computer with an AMD Athlon x4 quad core processor 6 gb ram, 1 tb hard drive, gigbabit network card. All I had to do was upgrade my video card to one that can pass audio through HDMI for bluray purposes and add a bluray drive. Computer runs ultra quiet and fast. Ended up 450 total after those upgrades. If your interested, let me know, and I will link you the site.

rdb2001

You can build a nice NAS configure it for Raid 1 for about 300. Raid 1 is where one hard drive mirrors the other. You would just need a NAS case with mulitple drive bays and add the hard drives.

Sherardp

With that budget I would either go with an AMD Phenom II X4/6 or an Intel i7 desktop rig. I would go with a SSD for a boot drive, 1TB Samsung F3/F4 for programs and a 2TB Samsung F4 for media storage. You can get by with 8gb of RAM and be just fine. Throw everything in it Lite on BD drive, a burner and watch it scream at everything you throw at it. For a video card AMD 6850 will work wonders. A rig that screams fast in every department. Use the change for your NAS storage.

cstmar01

heiney9 wrote: »

i5 is a nice processor vs the i3. I wouldn't use a laptop to stream music, but that's just me. If you are going the NAS route why not take a couple hundred off your PC purchase and use it to get a Squeezebox Touch for streaming?

H9

was thinking about doing that too. However I guess I didn't know what would be better. My idea was that if I have a laptop I could carry it to any room that I have a system while with the Squeezebox I would have to have one for each system, unless I'm wrong about that I very well could be. also the squeezebox wouldn't do video so with the laptop I could do video or music and keep it simple (hopefully).

Is there really that much of a difference between the AMD vs intels? Its always a different story depending on who I talk to and seems its more personal bias than true figures (from what I'm told by people). I frankly don't care and just want a good machine that's not going to die in 2 years.

heiney9

So you want cords all over the place? You will have to plug in your laptop unless you can go wireless to the rig and the TV. How many rooms are you wanting to use it in, realistically? I thought the same thing when I moved, and so far I'm barely using my office rig, let alone a possible upstairs rig and basement rig and garage rig all of which I was going to do but it's not really necessary. Unless you live in gigantic house and feel the need to have a rig and a TV in every room.

I use the main rig the most at this point.

H9

AsSiMiLaTeD

Have you looked at or ruled out Mac?

heiney9

How would you control the laptop if it's not sitting in front of you? So I'm thinking this senario:

You want to listen to the bedroom rig so you run an audio cord from the laptop to dac or amp, etc. You go across the room to sit and listen A) do you leave the laptop close to the rig w/a short cord? How do you change songs, etc? do you bring the laptop across the room with a long cord so you can change songs, etc.?

H9

rdb2001

heiney9 wrote: »

How would you control the laptop if it's not sitting in front of you? So I'm thinking this senario:

You want to listen to the bedroom rig so you run an audio cord from the laptop to dac or amp, etc. You go across the room to sit and listen A) do you leave the laptop close to the rig w/a short cord? How do you change songs, etc? do you bring the laptop across the room with a long cord so you can change songs, etc.?

H9

If he is wanting to incorporate his IPAD and Iphone in the mix, he just have to have ITunes running on the laptop and he can control the music from anywhere in his house through airplay from his IPAD or Iphone.

heiney9

Knowing Chris a little bit, I think he's going to use more than just iTunes or it would be even better if he just ditched iTunes all together since it's a horribly bloated platform and the music isn't the best quality.

H9

rdb2001

heiney9 wrote: »

Knowing Chris a little bit, I think he's going to use more than just iTunes or it would be even better if he just ditched iTunes all together since it's a horribly bloated platform and the music isn't the best quality.

H9

Itunes does not have good quality songs but who buys songs from Itunes. All of my music is ripped in apple lossless. Itunes is not the best software in the world but it has a lot of great features. I do like the desktop and adding a squeezebox touch to the mix. I have thought about that myself as in the squeezebox touch.

heiney9

Certainly are a lot of options and configurations these day's with all the technology. I guess we can just give suggestions based on the very limited information we have in this thread.

I love my Squeezebox set-up for the main rig and having a secondary music computer in an out of the way place to feed it works great for my situation. If I want to set-up another room I would just buy another SQ Box, I don't mind. I have a Squeeze Radio up in the bedroom and I can take that out on the deck or garage to have tunes while I sit outside and have full access to my FLAC music library or literally 100,000 internet radio stations.

Works very well for me and my situation.

H9

MacLeod

The i3 is a great processor and even though its a dual core, it beats AMD's 6 core processors in most benchmarks. If you're just using your rig for general and basic computing and are looking to save money, I highly recommend the i3.

cokewithvanilla

MacLeod wrote: »

The i3 is a great processor and even though its a dual core, it beats AMD's 6 core processors in most benchmarks. If you're just using your rig for general and basic computing and are looking to save money, I highly recommend the i3.

Keep in mind another way to save money and get what you want (i5/i7) is to buy from an outlet (like dells outlet, or hps) or to buy 'used'. In the last year, I've picked up 4 laptops for an average price of $383. 2 were NIB. All were business class laptops, which I prefer over consumer laptops due to the ability to dock and their sturdy construction. The latest was an E6420 w/ an i-5 sandy bridge and everything else except the upgraded screen (which is 100 on ebay) for 375. This computer was NIB... this same computer at the outlet is around 800, and new about 1,100.

If you've got a good craigslist, deals come up often.

edit: oh, and I would think a laptop would be great for something like this. Low power, built in battery backup... and especially if it has a docking station, all the ports you need along with the ability to take it and run. I just set up 3 laptops in my parents house to finish out the media center. I have one HTPC w/ 4tb of movies/tv shows feeding all the laptops and other computers in the house. Every TV can stream all the content of the server/HTPC. You can start watching a show on one tv and easily finish it on any other tv (or computer) in the house.

cstmar01

heiney9 wrote: »

So you want cords all over the place? You will have to plug in your laptop unless you can go wireless to the rig and the TV. How many rooms are you wanting to use it in, realistically? I thought the same thing when I moved, and so far I'm barely using my office rig, let alone a possible upstairs rig and basement rig and garage rig all of which I was going to do but it's not really necessary. Unless you live in gigantic house and feel the need to have a rig and a TV in every room.

I use the main rig the most at this point.

H9

Well I have 3 rooms that I would want stuff run. I have a bedroom with HT and then also the main HT with a projector and my main 2 channel room for music. I do have a PS3 in the bedroom so I could use that as a streaming device and go down to only 2 rooms. One would be video mostly and the other audio mostly so I could probably do the squeezebox and wasn't thinking logically before.

Thank you :biggrin:

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

Have you looked at or ruled out Mac?

I have. I don't mind Mac but the issue I would get into is just the cost. based upon my budget I can see that I would be able to do just the basic laptop and that would be it. If I run PC I could probably get more for my money. Not that I don't like mac I love them just cost is the only downside.

rdb2001 wrote: »

If he is wanting to incorporate his IPAD and Iphone in the mix, he just have to have ITunes running on the laptop and he can control the music from anywhere in his house through airplay from his IPAD or Iphone.

heiney9 wrote: »

Knowing Chris a little bit, I think he's going to use more than just iTunes or it would be even better if he just ditched iTunes all together since it's a horribly bloated platform and the music isn't the best quality.
H9

yes and yes. I used Itunes for awhile and frankly don't care for it. I had been searching for awhile for different choices besides them. I don't know (and forgot if there was) any other programs out there that I could use to upload songs onto the ipod and sync with that but also still do hi res.

My biggest thing for music is thatt I want to be able to do hi rez but still keep my iphone and ipod in the mix, and have the ablity to stream to areas that I would want to.

My friend suggest doing the NAS server as then I could incorporate that with my apple products with no problem but still run PC's and stream to them as well. I don't know how a squeezebox would function with a NAS but image it would work just fine.

heiney9

Media Monkey sync's with an iPod and iPad, no need for iTunes if that's the sole reason you are using it.

H9

rdb2001

cstmar01 wrote: »

Well I have 3 rooms that I would want stuff run. I have a bedroom with HT and then also the main HT with a projector and my main 2 channel room for music. I do have a PS3 in the bedroom so I could use that as a streaming device and go down to only 2 rooms. One would be video mostly and the other audio mostly so I could probably do the squeezebox and wasn't thinking logically before.

Thank you :biggrin:



I have. I don't mind Mac but the issue I would get into is just the cost. based upon my budget I can see that I would be able to do just the basic laptop and that would be it. If I run PC I could probably get more for my money. Not that I don't like mac I love them just cost is the only downside.





yes and yes. I used Itunes for awhile and frankly don't care for it. I had been searching for awhile for different choices besides them. I don't know (and forgot if there was) any other programs out there that I could use to upload songs onto the ipod and sync with that but also still do hi res.

My biggest thing for music is thatt I want to be able to do hi rez but still keep my iphone and ipod in the mix, and have the ablity to stream to areas that I would want to.

My friend suggest doing the NAS server as then I could incorporate that with my apple products with no problem but still run PC's and stream to them as well. I don't know how a squeezebox would function with a NAS but image it would work just fine.

The NAS idea is a great idea. I think the squeezebox has an apple app that lets you control it with the iphone/ipad. I just would definitely do the nas setup like I explained earlier with a raid 1 config so that the second drive mirrors the first one so that you will be covered in case one hard drive fails. You can put a heck of a nas together for 300-400.

heiney9

cstmar01 wrote: »

I don't know how a squeezebox would function with a NAS but image it would work just fine.

Qnap NAS servers can run Squeezebox natively meaning you don't need to load and run the SQ Box software like you would for any other method you use. The downside is Qnap is a premuim brand and it's rather pricey. I will go that route once the second Dell I have, which is a dedicated music server, dies. I brought it back to life once with a $30 power supply so it keeps chugging along.

H9

heiney9

rdb2001 wrote: »

I think the squeezebox has an apple app that lets you control it with the iphone/ipad.

If you run a typical NAS you still need a computer unless you get the Qnap. You need to run and load Squeezebox software in order to use it. Qnap runs it natively so no need for a computer to control the NAS, but it's about twice the price.

Yes, Apple has iPeng and Android has Squeeze Commander to run Squeezebox products.

H9

rdb2001

Man I learn something everyday. I used Itunes purely to control my librarys from my iphone and ipad in my house. Just found out that media monkey has an app that does the same thing. Glad you mentioned it H9. looks like I will be making the switch soon.

rdb2001

heiney9 wrote: »

If you run a typical NAS you still need a computer unless you get the Qnap. You need to run and load Squeezebox software in order to use it. Qnap runs it natively so no need for a computer to control the NAS, but it's about twice the price.

Yes, Apple has iPeng and Android has Squeeze Commander to run Squeezebox products.

H9

OK that case he could just build the nas and have load the squeezebox on one of his computers he already has. Thats what I would do. I think I might venture into the squeezebox world soon. My bday is this month and I have been looking for a new toy to play with. This seems like it fits the bill.

Erik Tracy

My head hurts....

Me too dumb for NAS and s/w configuration - give me player...put disc in and play....grunt..... :biggrin:

heiney9

rdb2001 wrote: »

OK that case he could just build the nas and have load the squeezebox on one of his computers he already has. Thats what I would do. I think I might venture into the squeezebox world soon. My bday is this month and I have been looking for a new toy to play with. This seems like it fits the bill.

Right, except it was my understanding his computer died and he was looking for a singular computer to do everything. That would work with the NAS and a computer, but it does drain resources as it works in the background and the computer has to be powered up in order to listen to any music.

I choose to go with a dedicated computer as a music server for the above two reasons and because I after I bought a new desktop I was able to revive my old one. I find I use my laptop more around the house than actually sitting at the desk in my home office.

H9

heiney9

Erik Tracy wrote: »

My head hurts....

Me too dumb for NAS and s/w configuration - give me player...put disc in and play....grunt..... :biggrin:

It sounds more difficult than it actually is..........it's a piece of cake unless you want to start running everything under the sun in every room. The NAS is a good idea so you have redundancy if a drive goes. For someone like me and 1,000+ discs of ripped music it's a necessity since I don't want to re-rip all my music again if I loose a drive.

H9

heiney9

rdb2001 wrote: »

Man I learn something everyday. I used Itunes purely to control my librarys from my iphone and ipad in my house. Just found out that media monkey has an app that does the same thing. Glad you mentioned it H9. looks like I will be making the switch soon.

Media Monkey is frickin' awesome. It's the brain of my music database as far as I do everything in MM except rip FLAC files. I do play lists, database lists, syn with iPod and sync with Android, tagging if necessary, it's my office rig player, I use it to add music to my database, etc.

It is one awesome program and the full version is well worth the nominal fee.

H9

rdb2001

heiney9 wrote: »

It sounds more difficult than it actually is..........it's a piece of cake unless you want to start running everything under the sun in every room. The NAS is a good idea so you have redundancy if a drive goes. For someone like me and 1,000+ discs of ripped music it's a necessity since I don't want to re-rip all my music again if I loose a drive.

H9

He is right, everything is plug and play these days just about. When I connected my NAS, my computers in my house recognized it immediately. Nothing else to do.

cstmar01

heiney9 wrote: »

Right, except it was my understanding his computer died and he was looking for a singular computer to do everything. That would work with the NAS and a computer, but it does drain resources as it works in the background and the computer has to be powered up in order to listen to any music.

I choose to go with a dedicated computer as a music server for the above two reasons and because I after I bought a new desktop I was able to revive my old one. I find I use my laptop more around the house than actually sitting at the desk in my home office.

H9

yep the computer is completely dead so I'm needing something. I just thought seeing I was getting a new computer trying to do something right in order to get my system and computer to work well together.

I like the Olive systems that I've seen but don't feel like spending that much at this point. I think the Squeezebox will be the way I go and download media monkey once I get the computer set up.

Thanks for the info!

Sherardp

Dell XPS and enjoy it if your looking for a desktop replacement. As for MM monkey it's awesome. PM me if you need it.