PC kaput

I suspect it's the power supply. Before it died completely, the PC shut itself down due to the CPU overheating (we heard the alarm). I suspect the power supply fan failed causing the case/CPU to overheat before affecting the power supply itself. I think the CPU is probably OK but it is quite an old PC based on ATX motherboard with AGP and PCI slots only, a 1.3GHz AMD processor, 768MB RAM running ubuntu Linux and I'm wondering whether I should bother repairing it at all or build or buy something more modern. I know the power supply shouldn't cost much, but there are a couple of other issues as well.

And here's the predicament. For around £500 I can get a MAC mini, build a fairly good ubuntu PC or buy Dell, Acer etc. I liked the idea of MAC mini best but the recent threads here on FLAC got me thinking whether it'll be better to go for alternatives because at some point I want to buy a Squeezebox.

So at last the question, where does FLAC fit into Apple products? I use (and like) an iPod so MAC would be very good for syncing with it for MP3s and photos but this is possibly not the best option for SB. Any constructive suggestions? Apart from music and pictures I only want to use the computer for browsing. I'm not into games etc. Office suite would be good but I undertstand there is an Open Office version for Macs, so that should suffice.

 

Or for a bit more you could get the PC equivalent of the mac mini:

 

Tell me more.

I like it Isaac, but it's a lot more than the Mac mini. The cheapest one is £699 or as I see it £700. This is the one with Intel Duo core T2300, 512MB RAM, HDD size is not specified but should be adequate for my needs. How do these specs compare to the Mac mini with 80GB HDD and DVD re-writer?

On the plus side, SB/FLAC should not be an issue. Does anyone use a SB with Mac?

 

From what I can tell the Mac mini is a better spec for the money. If you're happy with it from a software point of view then it's probably a better buy than the evesham.

 

Yes, it appears to be, apart from the question about FLAC. Somebody must know. I suppose I could surf for an answer but thought that someone's personal experience here would mean more.

My own understanding is that Apple do not support FLAC. Instead they are pushing their own lossless standard with iTunes.

 

I don't really get the question regarding FLAC? Are you saying you have a harddrive full of it and do not want to convert?

The fact is Apple Lossless is just the original file Zipped up. So basically its the original file, at most thats what Flac is.

I cannot fathom why you would base a major purchase on a method for compressing files. Apple Lossless, FLAC, AIFF, WAV all offer the best possible solution.

Incidentally a squeezebox will read an iTunes library no problem, although you might well get interested in an appleTV if the home solution is what you are after:

www.apple.com/appletv

 

Hi Gary, I'll try and explain. I believe that for my needs (i.e. storing music and pictures and browsing) a PC or a Mac mini will do equally well. However I want to get a Squeezebox some time and believe that FLAC is possibly the best lossless compression solution for storing music files. Apple lossless is proprietary. I'd rather go for something a bit more universal. WAV will take up much more disk space.

So if PC or Mac will be equally good for my needs but Mac doesn't support FLAC.....

 

http://www.macupdate.com/search.php?keywords=flac&os=macosx&button.x=0&button.y=0

All these do flac on mac. Sadly iTunes does not seem to support it so that would be the hook up for me, but perhaps not for you.

 

Decided to keep my options open for the time being. I.e. still not decided whether to go for Mac mini or not, but have repaired the PC with a new power supply and motherboard. At last confirmed my suspicion that my soundcard wasn't working because of my All in Wonder graphics/TV card, which ubuntu wasn't detecting/supporting properly. At some I'd like to get a Mac mini or a SB. Could be both if iTunes starts to support FLAC.

 

Dev,

If you haven't really kept on top of your computers internal 'husbandry' i would get one of them aerosol can of 'Airduster' and give the CPU heatsink a real good blast, do it outside in the fresh air as it can generate a huge cloud of dust if it hasn't been done for a while. I took mine into work the other night to do it ( i used a compressed air line and a blow gun ). You may find that your PSU isn't actually broken but that the machine just needs a good internal clean. You BIOS will probably be set to turn the machine off if it gets too hot , before any damage can be caused. A dusty heatsink will cause this very quickly.

Without wishing to sound disrespectful or snobby, and apologies if i'm telling you how to suck eggs, but you did state that your PC is a few years old and it doesn't look like the highest spec machine in the world ( none of mine are either...) . I was amazed at just how much the price of PC's has fallen in the last 2 or 3 years and how the spec has risen also.
I bought my two youngest kids new computers at christmas. I bought 2 x identical machines and also the second lowest priced ones from e-buyer (link) i was shocked at how good the quality was, and also the spec was pretty neat too, all for £240 ! The Maxdata machines are put together in Germany, have great warranties and also you get proper full Software installation disks, not just embedded recovery parttitions on the HDD. I only went for the Maxdata ones because the even cheaper Acer machines have security seals on them which can invalidate the warranty if broken, i knew i had to install a WiFi card in one of the machines. I'm glad i did though, They are shockingly good VFM and they just zip along i use. They also have card readers etc for camera cards etc, small form factor and they look neat too.
So before you go payng top dollar, you might like to consider that there are other options further down the food chain that work brilliantly , especially if you just want a machine for home use, web surfing , e-mail etc...

 

Hi Sid, yes the PC was quite old, but it was running ubuntu very well except that it couldn't detect the Terratec sound card well. I thought (and was subsequently proved right) that my ATI All in Wonder graphics/TV card was confusing it. I only use my home PC for listening to music, viewing pictures and browsing, so it addressed my needs very well.

The only thing I wanted to improve on was the it's ability to play music. So I want to get a Squeezebox. The Mac mini was and still is a consideration only due to the need to keep the iPod loaded with music and pictures.

Anyway, yesterday I decided to bring my PC (slightly) upto date and bought a new motherboard/CPU bundle along with the power supply I needed. It's now an AMD64 Athlon 3700 with onboard GeForce 6100 graphics adapter running ubuntu 6.10. The Terratec sound card works as well, albeit only in analogue mode at the moment.

Impressed eh .

Oh yes, you are not kidding about the dust!!!

 

P.S. Just to add that from today I've starting doing the Julian. I.e. extract the CDs (FLAC of course) while I browse/work. .

 

Impressed , of course, i bet that thing zips along. I recall that when i bought/built the machine that i'm using right now AMD64 chips where just being released and were in all the mags, etc, although i don't think there was much software ( or something like that - I'm no expert). no matter what ever one buys, the following week something comes along that is faster, runs cooler and does more.

Dust is being polite, dead skin cells and general household DNA is closer to the mark, but lets not go there ( or breathe it in ) .

At least you got it sorted, like i said in my first post though I'm amazed at just how much 'computer' you can get for your money these days if your needs are not massive.. The machines i bought my kids came with Genuine OEM windows XP software in sealed wrappers, these are about £70 (retail) on their own which if i was trying to build the machine myself would leave me about £160 to build the actual machine , i just couldn't do it.