[bundee1]

I want an inexpensive, energy efficient, pc to have on all the time to feed my squeezebox and websurf.  I would like it to be quiet. I have a budget of $500. I already have an external HD with 500gb of ALAC files. Any suggestions?

[woodsyi]

Wireless?

[bpape]

Shuttles can get pretty hot unless you do the fan cage mod to them - even then, I don't think I'd leave it up all the time.  You can go to mwave.com and get a pretty basic system in your price range.

Bryan

[bundee1]

wireless. would one of thosw dell 1525 laptops do the trick? can you guys suggest some parts lists to make a decent quiet energy efficient music pc?

[bpape]

Antec Sonnata III Case - $105 @ mwave + shipping

MB -  ASUS M2N-VM  http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA24564 - $59 @ mwave

CPU -  AMD 4600 dual core - Brisbane - $56 @ mwave

RAM - Kingston 800 DDR2 2x1gb sticks - $39.50 @ mwave

Hard Disk - assuming you'll just use this for boot/programs and use the external drive for music storage.  Though, this MB and case will support multiple hard drives in RAID 0, 1, or 5  - Western Digital SATA2 - 250gb drive - http://www.mwave.com/mwave/Skusearch.hmx?scriteria=AA36090 - $52 $ mwave

Wireless - Linksys PCI network card with antenna - http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=AA69060 - $16 @ mwave

You'll have to add in shipping but that shouldnt be too much depending on where you are.

I'm assuming you have an OS already.  Also, if you pay an extra $10, they'll mount the CPU and heat sink, mount the RAM, and test it all out prior to shipping.  You'll still have to put it all in the case, wire the drive, etc. but it's a nice little system for not a lot of money.  The Sonata case is nice and quiet - much quieter than a Dell laptop or a Shuttle.

Obviously, you can do a different MB or CPU if you wish.  I was just laying out known good pieces that are value priced.  The wireless - you can use a USB to external wifi if you prefer.  The card just saves desktop space, cable clutter, etc.

Bryan

[bundee1]

Any other suggestions? I might be putting this in my living room. How energy efficient are these guys?

[isaacc7]

Any other suggestions? I might be putting this in my living room. How energy efficient are these guys?

What about a Mac Mini? You can get a new one or a refurb. Nice and quiet. Not so sure about power consumption though...

Isaac

[Doublej]

Perhaps a fanless Norhtec or one of the hundred Netbooks out there would meet your energy efficiency requirements.

http://www.norhtec.com/products/index.html

[JEaton]

I want an inexpensive, energy efficient, pc to have on all the time to feed my squeezebox and websurf.  I would like it to be quiet. I have a budget of $500. I already have an external HD with 500gb of ALAC files. Any suggestions?

I think I'd avoid a laptop for an always-on server.  It will work, but my money says it will be a bit less reliable over the long run.  Many laptops also need fans to cool all the components crammed inside, so can be noisier than a small system designed to be quiet.  It does have one advantage, though - it needn't run "headless", which is generally how you'd set up a PC-based server that you want to stash in a corner.

There are lot's of good suggestions for low power systems over in the Slim Devices forums.  Here's just one discussion:

http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=53267

Personally, I'd recommend something a little more than the bare minimum in CPU power to run SqueezeCenter.  The way the Squeezebox works is that 90% of the processing for the user interface happens on the server.  So a faster machine means better interface responsiveness and smoother display output.  It's even more true of the web interface (which you don't necessarily need to use), as it requires more processing power.

[jkelly]

You might want to consider the Asus EEE Desktop with Atom processor:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220002