My original plan was to have a low-end server built ... until I stumbled on a cheap ($265), low-end server that had everything I needed, in my case:
AMD Sempron 3100+ CPU MS WinXP Home 256MB memory (which I upgraded to 768GB for $20) 80GB Ultra ATA hard drive 52x32x52x CD-RW Drive What I like about this particular PC (Powerspec 5500; http://www.powerspec.com/systems/system_specs.phtml?selection=5500) is that the motherboard has 4 SATA ports on it, and the cabinet appeared to have four empty bays for future expansion (I have since discovered the hard way that three of the four bays will take a bit of 'creative re-engineering' if I want to fit a 3.5" drive in them). I added a 400GB SATA drive (which is where I intend to store all my music) for $189, and am now in the process of ripping 800 CDs. I was especially interested in having SATA ports, I personally like the idea of separating my music collection from the disk containing the OS. Also, I originally thought I was going to need two disks for my collection, and was planning on using two SATA drives in a RAID0 configuration ... until some testing showed that my entire collection won't take up more than about 250GB. I should point out that the Powerspec 5500 is normally $350, but they were running a $50 rebate and I found an open-box system which reduced the cost further. The one thing this server does not offer is a small form factor, it uses a mid-size cabinet. I guess the moral of this story is, you might be able to buy a pre-built system as cheaply as having one built for you, if you shop around for rebate deals and open-box specials. One important question is, how many CDs do you have to rip? Ripping is somewhat CPU-intensive ... I find that when I rip to FLAC with Compression Level 5, or to Windows Media Lossless, my CPU is pegged at 100% busy. My CD R/W seems to be reading as fast as it is capable, so the CPU doesn't seem to be slowing down the ripping ... but with a faster CPU, I could add an external CDROM and rip two CDs at a time. This won't be an issue once I get through the stack of 800 CDs, though. With the Sempron CPU and 52x CD R/W, most of my CDs rip in 1.5 to 3 minutes, depending on length. -- Jon ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jon's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2848 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20543 _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
