iamimdoc --
You don't need to go to anything like a i7; that's overkill, like going from an old VW beetle to a Ferrari.
Presuming you built the CAPS1 yourself (and it is this -- Computer Audiophile - Computer Audiophile Pocket Server - C.A.P.S. ), the simplest, cheapest solution is to swap out the old Atom mITX board for a new one. That Intel D945GSEJT board was never quick and it's excruciatingly slow by current standards when CPU crunch power is required. Bay Trail J1900 embedded Atom boards are a completely different breed, the processor is a quad-core running at 2.4Ghz & it has some real grunt. Many brands offer them -- ASUS, Gigabyte, etc -- and I'm in the middle of doing a review on a fanless Logic Supply system based on ASRock board that is quite nice. (Review is for my site, silentpcreview) Most of these are fanless & don't run much over $100.
If you want a drop-in replacement and use the same external AC/DC adapter, look for a Thin mini-ITX board; these all have external 19V DC input connectors on the back panel. Couple examples:
ASRock IMB-151
Habey MITX-6771
Mind you, there are discrete socket 1150/55 Thin mITX boards available for ~$100. But you'd have to add in the cost of a discrete CPU (limited to 65W TDP iirc -- and you would have to double-check the power capability of your AC/DC adapter) + get a good passive heatsink (which would have to be fairly hefty to run fanlessly) or at least one with a fan that can be run very slowly to keep noise down.
