Suggestions on suitable 3XS Machine Spec for Audio/General Family PC

[Neil Porter]

Dear 3XS Team,

Our X-PC Shuttle machine which previously was used for listening to music (ripped from CD) and as a general family PC has died, suspect due to PSU or motherboard failure.

For some time I have had concerns about the component temperatures in the small Shuttle case, as well as wanting more space for additional storage drives, so am looking to replace it with a Scan machine built around a mid Tower case.

Initial thoughts were of a low-end gaming machine, but concerned about noise levels (and several hours sat next to my 3XS overclocked i7 gaming rig whilst researching this has confirmed my worries - graphics card fan noise being particular issue). Thus now thinking about something based around the 3XS H55E DAW.

I have no talent whatsoever in audio creation, but want a quiet, reliable, expandable PC with decent sound quality. Main uses would be listening to music, as well as general family use (email, web browsing, simple games), storage of digital photo libraries and possible future use for digital photo editing (when Photoshop and Premier catch up with Windows 7 and work reliably!). Thus a high powered machine with flashy GPU is not necessary.

I was thinking along the lines of this spec:

Case: Coolermaster Sileo 500 Black Mid Tower Case - Silent - w/o PSU

CPU: Intel Core i3 540, S1156, Dual Core, 3.06GHz, 4MB Cache

CPU Cooler: Prolimatech Megahalems Rev B, Tower Cooler

RAM: 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX XMS3, DDR3 10666 (1333) CAS 9-9-9-24

GPU: 512MB Palit 9500 GT, 800MHz GDDR2, GPU 550 MHz

PSU: 480W Be Quiet Straight Power CM E7

System Drive: 640 GB Western Digital Caviar Black, 7200 rpm, 32MB Cache

Storage HDD: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache

Both drives to be in Scythe Quiet Drive enclosures??

Card Reader: Akasa AK-ICR-07S 3.5" M2, Micro SD & USB port

DVD Drive: LG GH22NS50 22x DVD±R, 16xDVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RWx6,12xRAM SATA, Black

Soundcard: Want high quality audio-out with Optical output (to connect to existing outboard Meridian DAC and venerable Quad 44/405 amps) - considering Asus Xonar Essence STX PCI-E Audiophile Sound Card (£149.80)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

Now some questions:
1) Cooling - from other forum posts I get the impression you already slow the Sharkoon "golf ball" fans down to minimise noise? So no point in going for fan speed/temperature controls? How many fans do you use in the case? Is the Prolimatech Megahalems Tower Cooler used with an attached fan, or passively?

2) Graphics card options - Choose Palit card as Gainward 512Mb card was no longer listed. What are the Pros & Cons of the two makes of card you specify, or is there nothing between them?

3) I selected the 480W Be Quiet PSU on the basis of the higher efficiency (this is a PC that is switched on a lot of the time) - but is it as quiet as the 430W Nexus PSU?

4) System Drive - are there any differences in reliability between the 500Gb Spinpoint F3 and the WD Caviar? Are noise levels any different?

5) Storage Drive(s) - What is the difference in performance like between the WD Cavier 1TB & the Samsung Spinpoint (i.e. is the former worth an extra £20!)?

6) Would you recommend putting the drives into Scythe Quiet Drive enclosures? If so, I assume this will limit (to what?) the number of drives I could put into the case, due to available drive 5 1/2" bays? I also note these items are on "Clearance" - what is the replacement/alternative?

7) There are two (similarly priced) options for the DVD Writer drive - any pros/cons of LG vs Pioneer?

8) Any thoughts/comments on my choice of soundcard? Decent quality audio is a must for this PC (I was not impressed by the RealTek onboard audio on the Shuttle PC, but it died before I had done anything about it!).

9) How long would is taking to build/ship 3XS machines at the moment?

Sorry to lay it on so heavy on a hot Friday afternoon, but look forward to your suggestions!

Neil Porter

[Neil Porter]

Hi,

Is anyone from Scan accessing the forum? I am hoping to place an order for the suggested system in the next day or two, so some feedback to my questions would be appreciated.

Alternatively, is there a better way to get things moving (phone or email)?

Thanks,

Neil

[jjgreenwood]

they prob busy on a monday - midweek they'll prob answer or phone em and ask to speak to the 3xs team

[PeteG@Scan]

Hi Neil,

It's one of my specs, so I'll try and answer everything you've posed.

1) Cooling - from other forum posts I get the impression you already slow the Sharkoon "golf ball" fans down to minimise noise? So no point in going for fan speed/temperature controls? How many fans do you use in the case? Is the Prolimatech Megahalems Tower Cooler used with an attached fan, or passively?

The are Sharkoon S.E.'s in there and when it's built they should be voltage modded at the front down to 600rpm and the rear should remain at 1000rpm with the cpu fan being board controlled depending on how hard it's pushed. The tower cooler fitted has a single fan on it as keeping them passive means you will get a heat build up around the base of the cooler and the pwm's which can cause stablility issues if the's a long build up of heat.

2) Graphics card options - Choose Palit card as Gainward 512Mb card was no longer listed. What are the Pros & Cons of the two makes of card you specify, or is there nothing between them?

No difference between them really if they are both Nvidia 210's. Heatsink may look different but the chips are features will be the same.

3) I selected the 480W Be Quiet PSU on the basis of the higher efficiency (this is a PC that is switched on a lot of the time) - but is it as quiet as the 430W Nexus PSU?

Nothing is. The Nexus is pretty much the quiest PSU going at the moment.

4) System Drive - are there any differences in reliability between the 500Gb Spinpoint F3 and the WD Caviar? Are noise levels any different?

Caviars are more reliable, run cooler and quieter. They have a longer warranty (5yr) on them as they are Enterprise class drives and are tested to distruction.
The F3's are faster but noiser and hotter.

5) Storage Drive(s) - What is the difference in performance like between the WD Cavier 1TB & the Samsung Spinpoint (i.e. is the former worth an extra £20!)?

Same as above. The F3 is a consumer class drive and the Caviar is a Enterprise class drive. If your thinking of running a media server 24/7 i'd consider the Cav's but if your just editing and browsing the F3's are fine.

6) Would you recommend putting the drives into Scythe Quiet Drive enclosures? If so, I assume this will limit (to what?) the number of drives I could put into the case, due to available drive 5 1/2" bays? I also note these items are on "Clearance" - what is the replacement/alternative?

You are limited to the number of 5.25 bays. You'd have to check the spec of the case in question to find out how many bays the is and then deduct your optical drive(s) to find out the number of silencer you can get in there. The bit where it says clearence is a mistake as it's only just come back into stock, but they were delisted for a while. I'll get that looked at and I've added both of the scythe coolers onto the config page for the daw system.

7) There are two (similarly priced) options for the DVD Writer drive - any pros/cons of LG vs Pioneer?

Not really. The isn't much in it between any of the drives these days to be honest.

8) Any thoughts/comments on my choice of soundcard? Decent quality audio is a must for this PC (I was not impressed by the RealTek onboard audio on the Shuttle PC, but it died before I had done anything about it!).

Have a look at the features of the Asus Xonar range and see if any of them suit you. The ADAC quality is a step up from the generic creative range and they do sound great if your wired into a decent sound rig. I've got a Xonar in my gaming box which was as step up from the realtek onboard and it was like night and day when installed it. Otherwise I could point you towards a proaudio one but I think that would be rather excessive for your requirements.

9) How long would is taking to build/ship 3XS machines at the moment?

It changes depending whats booked in at any given point. 10 - 14 days I think is pretty average through.

Pete.

*Edit* I see you went for the STX asus (I missed it the first time round). That's what I have installed and I imagine you'll be very happy with it.

[Lee H]

Woah - looks like our resident audio guru has also answered this

[Neil Porter]

Pete,

Thanks for the comprehensive reply - I will go online and place an order later based on yr recommendations (not sure if the Asus Sonar is on the options - if not I'm sure we can sort out by email once order is placed!).

Neil.

[Neil Porter]

Pete,

Thanks for the comprehensive reply - I will go online and place an order later based on yr recommendations (not sure if the Asus Sonar is on the options - if not I'm sure we can sort out by email once order is placed!).

Neil.

Pete,

Order now placed & payment has been authorised - assume I will hear from you shortly about build date and confirmation of spec?

As above, the soundcard option I want was not available on the configurator, so I selected "Soundcard not required", but want the Asus Sonar card as discussed in prev emails - can you add this to the build please.

Neil Porter

[PeteG@Scan]

Hi Neil,

If you can PM me the order details I'll have someone from sales contact you to add the card and make any other adjustments you require.

Pete.