For those looking for a new media server

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Face
Face Posts: 14,340
edited August 2008 in Electronics
This may be worth looking into.
295
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/desktop-studio-hybrid?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&ref=homepg

Available with a 320 gig HD and even comes with a optical out in base configuration. Depending on the specs of the sound card and if AISO drivers would worth with it, it may make a nice media server on the cheap. Plus, it would be easy to hide away so you wouldn't hear any fan noise.
"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • WilliamM2
    WilliamM2 Posts: 4,811
    edited July 2008
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    Interesting unit, though at that price it would have been nice if they had spent the extra $5 for a 500GB or larger drive.
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  • Shizelbs
    Shizelbs Posts: 7,433
    edited July 2008
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    That does seem to be a compelling option. Is that integrated graphics hardware sufficient for BluRay?
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  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited July 2008
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    Interesting little box. But you can also get a ps3 and drop in a generic 250GB hard drive for under 100 bucks and it'll cost less.
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  • Marty913
    Marty913 Posts: 760
    edited July 2008
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    WilliamM2 wrote: »
    Interesting unit, though at that price it would have been nice if they had spent the extra $5 for a 500GB or larger drive.

    I think there are other issues too although I like the look and admire the effort. I configured one as Base + 4GB + 320HD + Blueray + Vista Premium and no monitor and price came to $1,050. A little pricey IMO.
    Sony 60'' SXRD 1080p
    Amp = Carver AV-705THX 5-Channel
    Processor = NAD T747
    Panasonic BD35 Blu-Ray
    Main = SDA-1C Studio with RD0s, spikes, XO rebuild, rings, I/C upgrade
    Center=Polk CS10, Surround = Athena Dipoles, Sub= Boston 12HO
    Music/Video Streaming = Netgear NEO550
    TT = Audio Technica
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  • bigaudiofanatic
    bigaudiofanatic Posts: 4,415
    edited July 2008
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    I'll stick with what works my apple TV. Of course I may try it out.
    HT setup
    Panasonic 50" TH-50PZ80U
    Denon DBP-1610
    Monster HTS 1650
    Carver A400X :cool:
    MIT Exp 3 Speaker Wire
    Kef 104/2
    URC MX-780 Remote
    Sonos Play 1

    Living Room
    63 inch Samsung PN63C800YF
    Polk Surroundbar 3000
    Samsung BD-C7900
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited July 2008
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    I'll stick with my HP z560. The dell basically does the same thing, but the HP has 7.1 analog out, optical, coax, and 2 video outs.
    polkaudio RT35 Bookshelves
    polkaudio 255c-RT Inwalls
    polkaudio DSWPro550WI
    polkaudio XRT12 XM Tuner
    polkaudio RM6750 5.1

    Front projection, 2 channel, car audio... life is good!
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  • Lowell_M
    Lowell_M Posts: 1,660
    edited July 2008
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    cheddar wrote: »
    Interesting little box. But you can also get a ps3 and drop in a generic 250GB hard drive for under 100 bucks and it'll cost less.

    I'm new to the PS3 thing, but.. you can swap out the HD? How do you do that? Can you back up the drive once it is in?
    HT
    RTi70 mains
    CSi30 center
    RTi28 Rears
    Velodyne CHT-12
    H/K AVR-247
    ADCOM GFA-7000
    Samsung PN58B860
    Playstation 3
    2-Channel
    Polk Audio LSi15's
    Rotel RCD-1072
    Nakamichi CA-5 Pre
    ADCOM GFA-555
    Signal Cable Analog II IC's
    Signal Ultra Bi-Wire Speaker Cables
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  • LessisNevermore
    LessisNevermore Posts: 1,519
    edited August 2008
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    a_mattison wrote: »
    I'm new to the PS3 thing, but.. you can swap out the HD? How do you do that? Can you back up the drive once it is in?

    Yes.

    I just swapped out my 60G with a 250G. It has to be a 2.5" SATA drive 5400rpm (my understanding is, at higher rpm's, heat becomes an issue)

    You'll need a large enough flash drive, or a FAT32 formatted external drive. PS3 has a back-up and restore feature that works very well. It retained all my settings, DLC, and game saves. (even the copy protected ones)

    Back up the existing drive, restore to the new. And it doesn't void the warranty.
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  • Lowell_M
    Lowell_M Posts: 1,660
    edited August 2008
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    LessisNevermore wrote: »
    Yes.

    I just swapped out my 60G with a 250G. It has to be a 2.5" SATA drive 5400rpm (my understanding is, at higher rpm's, heat becomes an issue)

    You'll need a large enough flash drive, or a FAT32 formatted external drive. PS3 has a back-up and restore feature that works very well. It retained all my settings, DLC, and game saves. (even the copy protected ones)

    Back up the existing drive, restore to the new. And it doesn't void the warranty.

    Sweet. I'll have to try this out. Also, I keep forgetting that you are in the area. We'll make sure to drop you a note next time the Rockford guys are getting together.
    HT
    RTi70 mains
    CSi30 center
    RTi28 Rears
    Velodyne CHT-12
    H/K AVR-247
    ADCOM GFA-7000
    Samsung PN58B860
    Playstation 3
    2-Channel
    Polk Audio LSi15's
    Rotel RCD-1072
    Nakamichi CA-5 Pre
    ADCOM GFA-555
    Signal Cable Analog II IC's
    Signal Ultra Bi-Wire Speaker Cables
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  • LessisNevermore
    LessisNevermore Posts: 1,519
    edited August 2008
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    a_mattison wrote: »
    Sweet. I'll have to try this out. Also, I keep forgetting that you are in the area. We'll make sure to drop you a note next time the Rockford guys are getting together.

    Please do!

    About all I have to add to the party, is my XPA-5, but it brings a big grin to my chevy chase.

    If you have any problems with the HDD swap, let me know.
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  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited August 2008
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    You shouldn't have any problems, though. It's one of the easiest computer upgrades I've ever done. The only thing easier might be swapping out a power cord...;)

    Pop off the plastic cover plate. Unscrew the one retaining screw. Slide the cage back to unlock it, slide it out. Take the cage off the old drive, put it on the new. And reverse. Basic instructions are even in the ps3 manual.

    When you boot it up, it'll ask you to format the drive and you're good to go.

    Might as well go 320GB as you can never have enough space. Then again, you could pop on an external 500GB drive via usb too. I've watched movies on my external drive. Works great, as long as it's formatted fat32. Use something like swissknife to format it though as xp only does limited partition sizes.
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