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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2010 8:26:11 GMT
Following on from a couple of other threads, one of which got "put in a safe place" , so if you didn´t read it this will seem a little detached. My old Dell PIII 730Mhz 512RAM(max) now has a USB2 board fitted (was lucky to have one knocking about), I´ve ordered an ASUS XONAR DS sound card ( actually managed to source one in Spain! nearly faints and falls off horse ) so that I can feed off the internal header-out for coaxial SPDIF, thanks for the tip Will! If it seems promising I´ll try stripping down Windows to speed things up and remove its internet capability along with anti-virus etc. All going well, I can progress it from there!........................
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Spirit
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Post by Spirit on Oct 26, 2010 9:20:17 GMT
If it seems promising I´ll try stripping down Windows to speed things up and remove its internet capability along with anti-virus etc. All going well, I can progress it from there!........................ Sounds good Chris No doubt you're aware of nlite. Fantastic piece of software
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mrarroyo
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Post by mrarroyo on Oct 26, 2010 10:45:08 GMT
Can you fit more RAM into the unit?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2010 14:06:40 GMT
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Will
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Post by Will on Oct 26, 2010 15:58:16 GMT
Looking forward to what you find, Chris.
Once you've figured out nlite, you'll have to teach me!
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FauDrei
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Post by FauDrei on Oct 26, 2010 22:44:19 GMT
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Will
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Post by Will on Oct 27, 2010 5:58:11 GMT
But who wants to learn Klingon to use their computer?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2010 6:18:12 GMT
But who wants to learn Klingon to use their computer? ;D
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2010 10:15:29 GMT
nuqjatlh? jIyajbe' yIDoghQo' ..... bIjatlh 'e' yImev It's real (fonetic) Klingon by the way. My Ubuntu desktop doesn't have Klingon symbols.
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Post by oohms on Oct 27, 2010 11:41:53 GMT
512mb should be enough if you are using windows XP
Just make sure you have a media player that supports Kernel Streaming or ASIO, so you bypass the horrible windows 'kmixer'
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2010 22:00:11 GMT
But who wants to learn Klingon to use their computer? I have to admit I thought the same There are a lot of closet Trekies here UPDATE= Asus board arrived today, that's piggin' quick for a Spanish supplier, I'm so impressed I'll give them a mention for any other Espanolas... www.tpoinformatica.com/Competitive prices and if they deliver that fast it's worth the €8 carraige. oohms, cheers mate, I'm still taking notes on the learning curve. (Foobar does that automatically?)
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Post by oohms on Oct 27, 2010 23:31:25 GMT
oohms, cheers mate, I'm still taking notes on the learning curve. (Foobar does that automatically?) You have to download the kernel streaming plugin (from the foobar website) and then go to options -> output device and choose your sound card, with KS at the start (as opposed to DS)
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2010 19:56:11 GMT
Thanks again oohms! I've put off using nlite for the moment (more research required before diving in), I'm going to give xplite (free version) a whirl and see how I go with that. Especially as it is a retro fix rather than a total reinstall method (I have no doubt that armed with the correct knowledge that nlite would acheive better results). I hope to have something actually done by the end of this holiday long weekend.
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Post by oohms on Oct 31, 2010 0:39:49 GMT
If you don't want to fiddle around with nlite/xplite, the normal version of XP will also work ok.. I can give you tips once its installed on how to make it a little faster
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2010 0:57:44 GMT
My reason for wanting to lighten my WinXP was to generally speed up the PC (poor OLD thing can struggle at times).
If you know better I´m all ears and info will be very greatfully received. The auto start menu has already had all the crud like MSN etc. removed.
Currently; the ASUS DS board is now in. I have already made up a SPDIF connection to the front of the PC, taken off the internal header from the new board. (I can´t play with this at the mo as the necessary equipment is not to hand)
I plugged in my normal Sub+satts active PC ´speaker system and shoved a normal cd in the tray to play, Blimey! even just that is a massive improvement to what was before. I wasn´t expecting that.
I´m yet to pop in the bypass for foobar. I also forgot to bring my usb pen home which has the xplite .exe file stored on it....
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Oct 31, 2010 23:03:24 GMT
Chris,
I'd give away a few PCs to you, all of them would have more performance/memory than the one you are tweaking now.
Unfortunately, postage to Spain would be in astronomical regions.
Too bad you are that far away.
BTW: What about nice (and faster) second hand PC?
Christian
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2010 23:57:43 GMT
Christian, Thanks for the thought and you are absolutely right. I'm keeping an eye out for a better spec. cheapie, in the meantime I'll continue to experiment/learn on this one. Anything I buy for it can be transfered to a replacement so no worries there. Hopefully, when the time comes, I would have learnt enough to be able to fire up the next one exactly the way I want.
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mrarroyo
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Post by mrarroyo on Nov 1, 2010 10:44:54 GMT
You may wish to find a Chaintech AV710 audio card to stream the 0s and 1s optically to your external DAC. If you do so you may wish to bypass kernel streaming.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2010 18:26:07 GMT
You have to download the kernel streaming plugin (from the foobar website) and then go to options -> output device and choose your sound card, with KS at the start (as opposed to DS) OK, I'm obviously being thick here. Could you spell that one out i.e. idiots guide? Downloaded plugin and er...? "Options" where? I tried looking around the site for answers but I think they assume more savvy (tried the reinstall method to include the plugin but no changes were prompted or made) Cheers.
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Will
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Post by Will on Nov 1, 2010 19:45:34 GMT
Hi Chris, Select File - then preferences. Then select Playback - then output. In the box on the right hand side (Output device) select the option that starts KS: (I have Primary Sound Driver selected in the example above)
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Nov 1, 2010 19:47:20 GMT
Christian, Thanks for the thought and you are absolutely right. I'm keeping an eye out for a better spec. cheapie, in the meantime I'll continue to experiment/learn on this one. Anything I buy for it can be transfered to a replacement so no worries there. Hopefully, when the time comes, I would have learnt enough to be able to fire up the next one exactly the way I want. I had another idea: I have an intel motherboard with Atom 230 and 2GB memory around. I don't use it anymore. It has Mini-ITX form factor, GMA950 on-board graphics, 100Mbit on-board Ethernet and just one 32-bit PCI slot. It's not a fast system but it will easily outperform your current system. At the moment, it's still mounted in a Micro-ATX case, but I can remove it there without much effort. The mainboard with accessories would fit easily in a smal package. You would need an ATX PSU and optical/harddrive storage to complete it (and of course a case). Maybe we could trade something but I don't need much for it anyway (if you take the postage costs this would be already fine for me). I have three other Atom systems around, I can easily give one of them away. I bought this one as testing plattform for a couple of projects that I did plan with a former friend. He's no friend anymore and the system lost it's job after those projects have died. Maybe I can help you, if you need something else (computer parts). BTW: Anyone in need of a couple of PC2-5300 SO-DIMMs? I have four 1GB modules that I don't need. I could send them in an envelope (the addressee has to pay the postage though). The Atom offer above is exclusive for Chris. The SO-DIMMs are for everyone that wants them. I'd appreciate to send them only within Europe (probably anything else doesn't make much sense anyway).
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2010 0:28:17 GMT
Miguel,I remember those, they were quite the rage when released. I had a look around and it seems they are no longer available. Will,Thanks for the pointer, I was having a divvy moment and neglected to pop the plug-in into Foobars "Component" folder, like the site tells you to Everything fell into place after that, your screen shot also reminded me to change the bit rate to 24! I'll see if I can find that bolt to keep my head on Christian,That is a very generous offer! It has been a VERY long time since I put a PC together from scratch so would probably need a bit of help. Do you have more details on the board? I'm sure we can arrange some sort of trade for it Many thanks guys,very Chris p.s. the old pc is now bypassing the windows mixer, has most the OS bits chopped off that freebie xplite can do and that I don't need. I have the internet unplugged and the anti virus is off the auto start. Even with the humble active desk speaker system straight out of the ASUS card it's sounding miles better than at the start. I've seen on the net some peeps have popped a LM4562 into the ASUS with good claimed results. I seem to remember this chip needs a good power supply. Do you think the LM4562 is appropriate in this case? (although the end aim is go S/PDIF out).
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Spirit
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Post by Spirit on Nov 2, 2010 1:20:32 GMT
Chris,
I replaced the stock JRC opamps on my X-Meridian with LM4562s. For the price, it did bring quite significant improvements. Bass was much tighter, and treble was less splashy.
The front L/R is the only output that's socketed, so if you want to replace the others you'll need to grab smd parts, judging by the photos.
Depends how soon you want to go S/PDIF out.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2010 2:12:59 GMT
IF a LM4562 sounds a little too bright there, there are other chips like the OPA2134. I fitted that to my earlier X-FI card with good results. Alex
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Nov 2, 2010 21:48:44 GMT
Christian,That is a very generous offer! It has been a VERY long time since I put a PC together from scratch so would probably need a bit of help. Do you have more details on the board? I'm sure we can arrange some sort of trade for it I can help you if you have problems building a PC. No problem. The board is an intel D945GCLF. I have included a few links below, but you should find plenty of information if you are searching for D945GCLF. www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/d945gclf/sb/CS-029163.htmwww.intel.com/p/en_US/support/highlights/dsktpboards/d945gclfark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=42490www.minitechnet.de/intel_d945gclf-littlefalls_1.htmlI have also a second D945GCLF board with is installed in a Morex Mini-ITX case. If you wish we could also do a trade with that almost complete PC (no hard drive in there at the moment). Probably the total weight of the board with case would result in prohibitive postage prices (it's around 50CHF for up to 5kg and around 25CHF for up to 2kg IIRC). I'll try to post PICS of the board an the Morex case soon. If you only need the board+memory, I'd take the other board out of that Micro-ATX case we've used for testing.
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