Peter_S Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Hi Folks, I'm helping a friend set up a PC audio system - mid fi style. We need to find a small laptop (preferably 12" screen or better yet smaller) to use as a music server, likely running Jriver Media Center. Small and CHEAP. Anyone have any recommendations? I know we need 4gb memory as a minimum. Plan on using an external HD for music (already have), although could go internal. Wondering about Chromebooks, but I don't know anything about them. I assume they have their own OS, which probably wouldn't work here. Thanks for your input. Peter Link to comment
Miska Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 I have Acer Aspire V5 with AMD A6-1450 processor and it manages quite well even with some DSP operations thanks to quad core with AVX support. Amazon.com: Acer Aspire V5-122P-0600 11.6-Inch Touchscreen Laptop (Chill Silver): Computers & Accessories Signalyst - Developer of HQPlayer Pulse & Fidelity - Software Defined Amplifiers Link to comment
thestewman Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 You might want to read and try this. It will cost between $350 to $400 U.S. Building An Absolute Fidelity® Music Server You will be surprised how good this sounds feeding any external DAC I would suggest maybe use Jriver or Foobar Link to comment
Finleyville Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 That laptop featured in the above blog post isn't really available anymore. Plus it is much bigger than the OP wants. That Acer Aspire looks neat. Is the HDD in that Acer replaceable? I, too, am looking for a 10"-11" laptop for a music server. I already have a SSD ready to go in the machine. Currently I have a Dell Mini 10 running Jriver and am not liking the performance too well. All I use it for is playback and it freezes and pauses both my programs and music. And yes, I have stripped the Win7 pro OS to the minimum for smoothest operation. BE ALERT! The world needs more lerts. Link to comment
Paul R Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Might look for a good used Macbook- 2010 or newer. You can find them for around $200 - $300. That would meet all your needs just nicely I think. -Paul Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat DAC. Robert A. Heinlein Link to comment
Miska Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 That Acer Aspire looks neat. Is the HDD in that Acer replaceable? Not officially. But the base is attached using normal screws. I didn't try opening it up to see how hard it would be to replace the HDD. But as usual, there are instruction videos on YouTube: Signalyst - Developer of HQPlayer Pulse & Fidelity - Software Defined Amplifiers Link to comment
gmgraves Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Hi Folks, I'm helping a friend set up a PC audio system - mid fi style. We need to find a small laptop (preferably 12" screen or better yet smaller) to use as a music server, likely running Jriver Media Center. Small and CHEAP. Anyone have any recommendations? I know we need 4gb memory as a minimum. Plan on using an external HD for music (already have), although could go internal. Wondering about Chromebooks, but I don't know anything about them. I assume they have their own OS, which probably wouldn't work here. Thanks for your input. Peter My only advice is to stay away from those small Intel Atom powered "net-books". They are uselessly slow, and you cannot add memory to most of them (they come with only 1 Gig, no expansion). They are cheap and small, but other than as an internet appliance, they are practically useless. I have a recent Toshiba Celeron-based laptop. It has a 320 Gig HDD, 4 Gigs of DRAM, includes Win7 and cost me $225 factory refurbished from Micro-center. It works fine as a music server, but it is not small (It has a 16" screen and a full-sized keyboard), so I don't know if one like this would suit your needs. It was cheap, though. George Link to comment
Finleyville Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 My only advice is to stay away from those small Intel Atom powered "net-books". They are uselessly slow, and you cannot add memory to most of them (they come with only 1 Gig, no expansion). They are cheap and small, but other than as an internet appliance, they are practically useless. I have a recent Toshiba Celeron-based laptop. It has a 320 Gig HDD, 4 Gigs of DRAM, includes Win7 and cost me $225 factory refurbished from Micro-center. It works fine as a music server, but it is not small (It has a 16" screen and a full-sized keyboard), so I don't know if one like this would suit your needs. It was cheap, though. I really wished I received this advice before I purchased my used Dell Mini 10. It is everything you just described. That is why I am looking for a same sized alternative. My audio shelf is built in and I have hardly any room for a laptop. A 10"-11" fits perfectly. BE ALERT! The world needs more lerts. Link to comment
gmgraves Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I really wished I received this advice before I purchased my used Dell Mini 10. It is everything you just described. That is why I am looking for a same sized alternative. My audio shelf is built in and I have hardly any room for a laptop. A 10"-11" fits perfectly. The only thing that I can recommend that's on the smallish size and has decent performance (to use as a music server) is one of these: Apple MacBook 13 3" A1181 Intel Pentium Dual Core 1 8GHz 1g RAM 120GB HDD | eBay George Link to comment
Miska Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 The only thing that I can recommend that's on the smallish size and has decent performance (to use as a music server) is one of these: Apple MacBook 13 3" A1181 Intel Pentium Dual Core 1 8GHz 1g RAM 120GB HDD | eBay Of course depends on what you want to do with it. For DSP things I would recommend looking for something that has support for AVX instructions. And for me, touch screen is important. It makes many things more convenient on music playback use. Signalyst - Developer of HQPlayer Pulse & Fidelity - Software Defined Amplifiers Link to comment
Finleyville Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 The only thing that I can recommend that's on the smallish size and has decent performance (to use as a music server) is one of these: Apple MacBook 13 3" A1181 Intel Pentium Dual Core 1 8GHz 1g RAM 120GB HDD | eBay I would be interested in that if I wasn't so anti-apple. Don't ask. However, I too, am interested in a touch screen mini laptop for music playback using Jriver. BE ALERT! The world needs more lerts. Link to comment
gmgraves Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 And for me, touch screen is important. It makes many things more convenient on music playback use. Now that I agree with. George Link to comment
gmgraves Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 I would be interested in that if I wasn't so anti-apple. Don't ask. However, I too, am interested in a touch screen mini laptop for music playback using Jriver. Of course, mindless prejudice often cannot be overcome, so I can't help you with that. George Link to comment
Finleyville Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Of course, mindless prejudice often cannot be overcome, so I can't help you with that. You can too help. Just recommend me a great psychiatrist. I will go there immediately! BE ALERT! The world needs more lerts. Link to comment
gmgraves Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 You can too help. Just recommend me a great psychiatrist. I will go there immediately! Well, I COULD recommend a good psychiatrist, but then he wouldn't have any time for me and I need all the help I can get! George Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now