New PC for Modded SB3

rklein · « **Reply #20 on:** 27 Sep 2006, 07:14 pm »

Thanks everyone

F-100, Icrim:
I do have a very nice HP laptop that I use for powerpoint presentations. I bought it about one and a half years ago. It has wireless capabilities. I like your idea. However, I can't use the main computer as my storage device as it sits up in our loft which is open to the family room(music room) below...(you can definately hear the fans from the family room. I do have an older computer that I could stash somewhere else and connect an external harddrive to that. I also have an older Toshiba Tecra laptop that I might be able to connect an external harddrive to. I should be able to rig something up at a very minimal cost.

Thanks,
rklein

F-100 · « **Reply #21 on:** 27 Sep 2006, 07:56 pm »

Quote from: rklein on 27 Sep 2006, 07:14 pm

Thanks everyone

F-100, Icrim:
I do have a very nice HP laptop that I use for powerpoint presentations. I bought it about one and a half years ago. It has wireless capabilities. I like your idea. However, I can't use the main computer as my storage device as it sits up in our loft which is open to the family room(music room) below...(you can definately hear the fans from the family room. I do have an older computer that I could stash somewhere else and connect an external harddrive to that. I also have an older Toshiba Tecra laptop that I might be able to connect an external harddrive to. I should be able to rig something up at a very minimal cost.

Thanks,
rklein

Let me get this right!!! So whenever you listen to music, the main computer must remain off to avoid the loud fan noise?? What if your wife is using that computer and you want to listen to music at the same time???

The immediate and quick solution for you is to use your HP laptop with an external USB hard drive (connect directly to your laptop). Play with this setup and see how you like it. You will love the benefit of surfing the net, ripping your music, controlling the SB3, chatting with your mistress, etc ... All at the same time. In the computer world, it called multiprocessing.

rklein · « **Reply #22 on:** 27 Sep 2006, 08:05 pm »

F-100

Quote

Let me get this right!!! So whenever you listen to music, the main computer must remain off to avoid the loud fan noise?? What if your wife is using that computer and you want to listen to music at the same time???

Unfortunately for me, you already know the answer to that question

Does an external harddrive have the same noise issues we are discussing?

Thanks,
rklein

bluewax · « **Reply #23 on:** 27 Sep 2006, 08:07 pm »

I recently set up a Synology Cubestation NAS with 4 Seagate Barracuda drives in Raid-5, and then loaded on a tweaked version of Slim Server developed by one of the tech mavens over on Slim Devices' forums.

So far, I have been pleasantly surprised. Remote-based navigation is just a little sticky, but the browser speeds are pretty comparable wirelessly when compared to more traditional use of the interface (e.g. external hardrive attached via USB to desktop). Additionally, you can simply point EAC to the NAS, once the NAS is linked in a directory, and rip away.

The Cubestation isn't particularly big or noisy, and could easily be placed in a closet. I can access its contents via my SB2 (remote), laptop, or desktop. If you periodically rescan your music collection and assemble playlists, you can generally leave your computers off or in the hands of others -- the simple functions needed for a listening session necessitate only a few button presses on the SB2 remote.

Good stuff.

Cheers.

F-100 · « **Reply #24 on:** 27 Sep 2006, 08:19 pm »

Quote from: rklein on 27 Sep 2006, 08:05 pm

Does an external harddrive have the same noise issues we are discussing?
Thanks,
rklein

The fan noise on my USB external drive is audible but not as loud as you would think.

F-100 · « **Reply #25 on:** 27 Sep 2006, 08:25 pm »

Quote from: bluewax on 27 Sep 2006, 08:07 pm

I recently set up a Synology Cubestation NAS with 4 Seagate Barracuda drives in Raid-5, and then loaded on a tweaked version of Slim Server developed by one of the tech mavens over on Slim Devices' forums.

BlueWax,
How much cost for the setup above not including the hard drives?
Thanks

rklein · « **Reply #26 on:** 27 Sep 2006, 08:28 pm »

This is awesome information!!

I feel a whole lot better about the PC front end plunge now that you guys have responded to my questions. I too, would like to get a handle on the costs of a NAS setup although costwise I still like F-100's solution.

Thanks,
rklein

bluewax · « **Reply #27 on:** 27 Sep 2006, 08:42 pm »

The Cubestation CS-406 runs a little north of $600; the consumer version (denoted by CS-406e) is a little less but doesn't offer the same RAM.
I picked the hard-drives up as an OEM special on Newegg.

Not cheap, but in line with other NAS offerings. I was sold on the ease of use, speed, and availability of the tweaked Slim Server (SSODS). The other options bandied about on the 3rd Party Hardware forums at Slim Devices all seemed to have a significant drawback or quirk that turned me off.

See: http://oinkzwurgl.org/software/ssods/

Cheers!

Quote from: F-100 on 27 Sep 2006, 08:25 pm

BlueWax,
How much cost for the setup above not including the hard drives?
Thanks

bluewax · « **Reply #28 on:** 27 Sep 2006, 08:56 pm »

Couple of thoughts to add; I remain a bit of tech neophyte in most circles, so apologies in advance if any of these are well-worn or redundant!:

All cabling is included with the Cubestation, so you can go with OEM drives on discount from online resellers.
Installing the drives took no more than 30 minutes, and I was working very slowly and cautiously.
Network connection over a Linksys Router on my Comcast cable line has been smooth and fast.
Loading music on the Cubestation is obviously better done via USB than wirelessly, particularly if you have a large catalog.
Setting up SSODS is relatively painless, although the instructions are a bit unwieldly... of course, would have helped if I had read them from top to bottom first!
Not having to keep my desktop running all the time has been a welcome change.
UPS is critical, imho, for the RAID configuration -- the Belkin 1000VA looks like a nice option for just north of $100.
The Synology interfaces and utilities are generally easy to navigate and employ.
Never hurts to have additional storage space and folders to back up other critical documents

Cheers!

Quote from: bluewax on 27 Sep 2006, 08:42 pm

The Cubestation CS-406 runs a little north of $600; the consumer version (denoted by CS-406e) is a little less but doesn't offer the same RAM.
I picked the hard-drives up as an OEM special on Newegg.

Not cheap, but in line with other NAS offerings. I was sold on the ease of use, speed, and availability of the tweaked Slim Server (SSODS). The other options bandied about on the 3rd Party Hardware forums at Slim Devices all seemed to have a significant drawback or quirk that turned me off.

See: http://oinkzwurgl.org/software/ssods/

rklein · « **Reply #29 on:** 27 Sep 2006, 08:58 pm »

Quote

The Cubestation CS-406 runs a little north of $600; the consumer version (denoted by CS-406e) is a little less but doesn't offer the same RAM. I picked the hard-drives up as an OEM special on Newegg.

Not a bad price for what you are getting. However, if all I have to do is pick up an extra harddrive for ~ $100 - $150 I probably will go down that path and see if it meets my needs.

thanks,
rklein

woodsyi · « **Reply #30 on:** 27 Sep 2006, 09:01 pm »

My question is why did you select Synology over Infrant when the cost is similar? Anything about Infrant I should know about?

bluewax · « **Reply #31 on:** 28 Sep 2006, 04:21 am »

Gut call. Slim Server is imbedded by Infrant, requiring any updates or tweaking to come from Infrant itself. With that said, I've heard they've been responsive to update requests and feature inquiries. I was also under the impression, right or wrong, that the Synology boxes were just a tad faster. I don't think you can go wrong either way.

Quote from: woodsyi on 27 Sep 2006, 09:01 pm

My question is why did you select Synology over Infrant when the cost is similar? Anything about Infrant I should know about?

rklein · « **Reply #32 on:** 29 Sep 2006, 12:41 pm »

Hi Bluewax & Woodsye:

Quote

The Cubestation CS-406 runs a little north of $600; the consumer version (denoted by CS-406e) is a little less but doesn't offer the same RAM. I picked the hard-drives up as an OEM special on Newegg.

Not cheap, but in line with other NAS offerings. I was sold on the ease of use, speed, and availability of the tweaked Slim Server (SSODS). The other options bandied about on the 3rd Party Hardware forums at Slim Devices all seemed to have a significant drawback or quirk that turned me off.

What about something like this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Thecus-N4100-2TB-NAS-Cheaper-than-Infrant-ReadyNAS-NV_W0QQitemZ200031124478QQihZ010QQcategoryZ64072QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

F-100:

The laptop I would use in my music room is an HP pavilion zt3000. The processor is an Intel Pentium M 1.70 GHz. When I started to look at external harddrives, there were many to choose from. What do you or anyone else who knows about this stuff think about the following:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2244169&CatId=136
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1827154&CatId=136
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2417563&CatId=139

Thanks,
rklein

woodsyi · « **Reply #33 on:** 29 Sep 2006, 02:24 pm »

Quote from: rklein on 29 Sep 2006, 12:41 pm

Hi Bluewax & Woodsye:

What about something like this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Thecus-N4100-2TB-NAS-Cheaper-than-Infrant-ReadyNAS-NV_W0QQitemZ200031124478QQihZ010QQcategoryZ64072QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks,
rklein

The Thecus unit should work but I would check with Slim Device to be sure. Diskless box can be had for around $600 so bid accordingly if you are in on this. I do wonder why they are pushing this model (advertising as cheaper than Infrant) when they also sell Infrant units as well.

bluewax · « **Reply #34 on:** 29 Sep 2006, 02:45 pm »

I would definitely, per Woodsyi's recommendations, check out Slim Devices' forums regarding the Thecus. When I last searched there, the Thecus was an unknown quantity, although many were excited by the specs. If you have a series of NAS diskless boxes that all generally offer the same performance on paper, and better yet both in professional and in consumer testing, then the loading and stability of Slim Server becomes the gating factor, imho. Let us know what you find!

Cheers, bw.

dlite · « **Reply #35 on:** 1 Oct 2006, 01:47 pm »

Time after time i have looked at something for NAS but every time I look at the cost versus an old PC I shake my head.

My current music server is an ancient Celeron 400 PC that i had lying around, and was going to leave on the curb, add 2 320GB drives (1 for backup), and total cost is A$300 (US$220) can't beat that. It is hidden away in an adjoining room. You definitely do not need much grunt to run a Slimserver

. I would prefer to spend my money buying new music and upgrading other components than adding an expensive NAS that seems to add very little.