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In Reply to: RE: cMP - the open source high-end Memory Player posted by cics on December 30, 2007 at 05:42:01
Hi Everyone,
I'm about to build a cMP2-machine. I'm a beginner. So I dont't want to fiddle around too much. My plan:
Case: "ATX Silverstone SST-LC13B-E La Scala"
CPU: "AMD Athlon II X2 240e"
MoBo: mini-ITX "Jetway JNC84E" with PCIe OR microATX "Asrock A780LM-S with PCI"
Soundcard: "Asus Xonar Essence STX" (PCIe, provides a 12V-Molex plug) OR "Onkyo ST-90PCI" (PCI, no extra 12V plug)
Energy: an ATX device providing four 12V lines at 18Ampere+
Question:
is it better to to use a smaller, industry-style mini-ITX board together with an above average conosumer soundcard like the Asus Xonar Essence STX
OR
is it preferable to use a simple standard microATX board together with a top notch Onkyo soundcard like the ST-90PCI
OR
is all that nonsense since focussing on a second ATX power supply is much more important (by the way: do seperate 12V-lines make a difference?)??? The mini-ITX board would probably offer a chance to place a second ATX power supply inside the spacious case.
There are several questions hidden in my post. Sorry for that. But a complete set of answers arriving over time might be very useful for other novices as well...
Thanks. Cheers.
Jens
Follow Ups:
You folks are lightning fast!
Ok, I must admit that the gear choice is a little exotic.
Besides the gear mentiones my intention was to find out about mini-ITX, thinking that smaller and more industrial-like might be an improvement. But in the passed few hours I've found out that PCIe is a nogo for audio anyway, and since virtually all mini-ITXes nowadays provide PCIe only that plan is skipped.
I don't have an aversion against Juli@, but reading about it seems to reveal repeatedly that it must be very good, but not best. But if it should be the best affordable way to go I'll take it.
Since it'll be PCI anyway the Onkyo Soundcard is back in the race. The ST-90PCI is said to be extraordinay good soundwise. It is only moderately more expensive than the July@. And I would like to avoid tweaking the equipment since I'm lacking knowlege for that so far. But I'm not completely sure how much the soundcard really contributes to final sound quality, assumed I will NOT use an external DAC.
Mentally I went for AMD since their latest 45nm Desktop CPUs (the "e"-Versions) provide 45W TDP which is noticably less than the 65W TDP of the Core2Duos. That should make sense - no!?
I doubt many here will know much about the gear you are considering.
Do you have an aversion to the GIGABYTE boards or the JULI@ soundcard?
I guess Rick is right that many here do not know much about the gears being considered. I am one of the many.
However, I would strongly advise against the use of the Asus soundcard, having own the Xonar ST. This soundcard may have used excellent components in the build but it has got a horrible ASIO driver.
My initial built was using the ST and I thought the sound was wonderful. But having switched to Juli@(modded with recommendations from GStew, promethk, et al) a few months back, and recently having a listen to the ST, my feelings are that Juli@ @48 latencies gives the feel of a refined high-end system, whereas the ST gives you the run-of-the mill sound with the universal ASIO4ALL @64 latencies. Asus ASIO(beta) driver doesn't work well cMP + cPlay.
Morever, STX cost much more than the Juli@ over here.
Regards
PUT THE TEST AT THE WRONG PLACE FURTHER UP - SORRY!
SO I'M REPEATING IT HERE!
You folks are lightning fast!
Ok, I must admit that the gear choice is a little exotic.
Besides the gear mentiones my intention was to find out about mini-ITX, thinking that smaller and more industrial-like might be an improvement. But in the passed few hours I've found out that PCIe is a nogo for audio anyway, and since virtually all mini-ITXes nowadays provide PCIe only that plan is skipped.
I don't have an aversion against Juli@, but reading about it seems to reveal repeatedly that it must be very good, but not best. But if it should be the best affordable way to go I'll take it.
Since it'll be PCI anyway the Onkyo Soundcard is back in the race. The ST-90PCI is said to be extraordinay good soundwise. It is only moderately more expensive than the July@. And I would like to avoid tweaking the equipment since I'm lacking knowlege for that so far. But I'm not completely sure how much the soundcard really contributes to final sound quality, assumed I will NOT use an external DAC.
Mentally I went for AMD since their latest 45nm Desktop CPUs (the "e"-Versions) provide 45W TDP which is noticably less than the 65W TDP of the Core2Duos. That should make sense - no!?
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