What computer to buy?

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Apr 18th, 2002, 11:56 AM
hipopony66

What computer to buy?

Damnit! Ok, well I'm not exactly looking for a new computer, but the 486 P.O.S. is not going to cut it! I wrote my own playlist software and everything. I was building a mp3 computer to put in my garage so we could have music around the pool this summer. I resolved all the "ISSUES" and did a clean install of Win 95. All that's on it is Mediaplayer 6.4, my program and 20 mp3s (was going to add a HD full of MP3s later). Got everything set up and it won't play mp3s! I guess the 486 66 DX processor is just to slow. I'm not getting any sound and the program freezes after 5 secs. So I need something cheap that has like a 2-6 gig hd, A soundcard, and is fast enough to make use of the Fraunhaufer Layer III codec. Any suggestions. Man I'm mad about this.
Apr 18th, 2002, 01:32 PM
Sastraxi

Get a Celeron 300 - if it's too slow they're good overclockers so you can pump out a couple of mhz. By the way, I can use WinAmp on a Celeron 533 with a DSP and visualiser on (SB PCI 512). I think you could at least be able to pump out the Mp3s with a 300!

If all you're in the market for is a card, a SB Live! Value is what you'll want. If you have digital inputs make sure you get one with an SPDIF interface.

Try a cheap Maxtor/Samsung hard drive. If you have it, use Win98, it's a bit "speedier".
Apr 18th, 2002, 04:10 PM
Ambivalentiowa

A good place to check for this sort of thing is Ebay. Also you should probably use win 98+ instead of 95. The newer versions are better at handling media.
Apr 18th, 2002, 05:08 PM
JungleMan

Check eBay, just look for a Pentium II with a 100Mhz FSB, it will be pretty cheap.

100Mhz FSB meaning 350, 400, 450Mhz. I have a 350 that works grfeat.
Apr 18th, 2002, 05:59 PM
Sastraxi

If you want to play next-gen (ex. AAC, VQF) audio formats, you'll need to get a bit faster of a computer, or maybe just a hardware MP3 card is all you need!
Apr 18th, 2002, 07:11 PM
Foxy

Just go to the shop, and ask for the biggest, best, and fastest computer, and chuck it on VISA :D
Apr 18th, 2002, 07:15 PM
JungleMan

Quote:

Originally posted by Foxy
Just go to the shop, and ask for the biggest, best, and fastest computer, and chuck it on VISA :D

Riiight...
Apr 18th, 2002, 07:19 PM
Gimlin

Quote:

Originally posted by Foxy
Just go to the shop, and ask for the biggest, best, and fastest computer, and chuck it on VISA :D

Great Idea I'll be over in a sec to pick up the VISA card! :D
Apr 18th, 2002, 07:42 PM
Foxy

Quote:

Originally posted by Gimlin

Great Idea I'll be over in a sec to pick up the VISA card! :D

Sure, my address is....hang on the phones ringing....
Apr 18th, 2002, 08:45 PM
hipopony66

I just want mp3

All I need to support is mp3. I'm even thinking of building up a system just for this myself. Can anyone recommend parts? I probably by most used. Basically I want to build an MP3 machine. How cheap could I build this for. I don't want to drop alot into this thing as it will only by used in the summer. I'm gonna pick up an old 2 channel stereo receiver I guess too. Anyone know anything else I could use to amplify the sound coming out of the soundcard before it goes to the outdoor speakers?
Apr 18th, 2002, 08:47 PM
filburt1

I had a P-200 with 32 MB of RAM with a half-decent sound card running NT4. It worked perfectly fine for Winamp.
Apr 18th, 2002, 08:48 PM
JungleMan

Re: I just want mp3

Quote:

Originally posted by hipopony66
All I need to support is mp3. I'm even thinking of building up a system just for this myself. Can anyone recommend parts? I probably by most used. Basically I want to build an MP3 machine. How cheap could I build this for. I don't want to drop alot into this thing as it will only by used in the summer. I'm gonna pick up an old 2 channel stereo receiver I guess too. Anyone know anything else I could use to amplify the sound coming out of the soundcard before it goes to the outdoor speakers?

It's more expensive to build an OLD PC from scratch since the parts usually don't go for much cheaper, and it's harder to find stuff.

Just get a used Pentium from eBay...