Xserve Question
Can you put an audio card in the Xserve? I am currently using my old PowerMac G4 450 as an MP3 station and the 160GB external drive is nearly full...
I would like to use an Xserve to use as the station but just put a sound card in one of the PCI slots so I can hook up speakers...
Anyone have any idea if that is do able?
I would like to use an Xserve to use as the station but just put a sound card in one of the PCI slots so I can hook up speakers...
Anyone have any idea if that is do able?
Comments
Loud? Sure but I would get one of those rack enclosers that help mute the sound of the Xserve.
I know the Xserve has PCI but I was just not sure if just any PCI card would fit...you know, they had to make hacked video cards for the Cube and all...
[ 02-13-2003: Message edited by: Jared ]</p>
<strong>I'm a bit confused here...can't you just add more internal drives to your Power Mac?</strong><hr></blockquote>
I suppose but they would be slow and would not support ATA 100...and besides, once those are full...then what? I am thinking of this solution as a life long thing, not just for a few years (in which the drives would be nearly full by then).
10 Years down the road or so it would be nice to hook an Xserve RAID...
Besides I want to have something a little bit faster than 450 MHz and 2 GBs of memory would be very helpful.
<strong>
I suppose but they would be slow and would not support ATA 100...and besides, once those are full...then what? I am thinking of this solution as a life long thing, not just for a few years (in which the drives would be nearly full by then).
10 Years down the road or so it would be nice to hook an Xserve RAID...
Besides I want to have something a little bit faster than 450 MHz and 2 GBs of memory would be very helpful.</strong><hr></blockquote>
What do you want to do besides store mp3s? There are IDE/ATA Hardware RAID PCI cards you can install and stripe a pair of 160 GB drives...just seems overkill to get an Xserve
considering that 2 years from now memory storage with greater/faster/cheaper and other compressed formats besides mp3 will be adopted...save you $$ for the actual (overpriced) music CD's...
back to topic though, the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 is half sized and should fit in the back of an Xserve nicely...
<strong>
What do you want to do besides store mp3s? There are IDE/ATA Hardware RAID PCI cards you can install and stripe a pair of 160 GB drives...just seems overkill to get an Xserve
considering that 2 years from now memory storage with greater/faster/cheaper and other compressed formats besides mp3 will be adopted...save you $$ for the actual (overpriced) music CD's...
back to topic though, the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 is half sized and should fit in the back of an Xserve nicely...</strong><hr></blockquote>
I have not even had the current 160 GB FireWire drive for a year now and it is almost full. Having one more would be a short term thing...again I am looking at the long term here. Besides it gives me an excuse to buy an Xserve...someday, not anytime soon
<strong>This is ridiculous, a <a href="http://www.sancube.com"; target="_blank">SANcube</a> connected to any other mac makes more sense. An iMac DV would be much cheaper, is fanless, and has firewire. Up to 720GB on the sancube should keep you satisifed for years to come if it has taken you an entire year to fill 160GB. Dude, you're not going to fill 2TB with mp3's. No matter how much money you have to throw around.</strong><hr></blockquote>
In my lifetime I will fill up 2.5TBs and that is my aim here, a long term solution. Besides I would start with the Xserve. I keep repeating myself here...I want to be able to add 2GBs of memory and have the drives internally.
I would start with two 180GB drives and work my way up...the total cost is 3,549.00 (I would get my memory else where). The cost of a SanCube and an iMac and the memory would be more then that.
Why is everyone so against me getting a fast, scalable long term solution?
<strong>In my lifetime I will fill up 2.5TBs and that is my aim here, a long term solution. Besides I would start with the Xserve. I keep repeating myself here...I want to be able to add 2GBs of memory and have the drives internally. </strong><hr></blockquote>
An Xserve will only give you 720 GB.
How about: <a href="http://www.googiedrives.com/orbit/"; target="_blank">http://www.googiedrives.com/orbit/</a>;
Or: <a href="http://lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10029&CFID=350005&CFTOKEN=93802068"; target="_blank">http://lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10029&CFID=350005&CFTOKEN=93802068</a>;
[ 02-13-2003: Message edited by: Ebby ]</p>
IP: Logged <hr></blockquote>
I don't think we're against it, we just think it's dumb.
<strong>A 720Gb limit? Why? The Xserve supports larger hard drives (200+GB) right?
</strong><hr></blockquote>
No, not officially, and I don't know how easy it is to replace a hard drive in the Drive Modules.
<strong>
An Xserve will only give you 720 GB.
How about: <a href="http://www.googiedrives.com/orbit/"; target="_blank">http://www.googiedrives.com/orbit/</a>;
Or: <a href="http://lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10029&CFID=350005&CFTOKEN=93802068"; target="_blank">http://lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10029&CFID=350005&CFTOKEN=93802068</a></strong><hr></blockquote>;
I am talking about adding an Xserve RAID one day...
The Orbit solution does look nice...
Lacie drives are expensive and as I have stated I do not want to saturate the bus, also Lacie drives are very loud...
Dumb maybe but it will be better then having an iMac and extra hard drives...plus speed would be an issue. It is rather slow on the G4 450 with 512MBs memory so more speed and more memory is always good...
[ 02-13-2003: Message edited by: Jared ]</p>
Assumptions:
1 TB = 10^12 bytes (as opposed to 2^40)
Bitrate = 160,000 bps
Mean cost of CD = $15
Mean length of CD = 60 minutes
1 year = 365 days (no leap years)
Total duration: 3.96 years
If you spent 50% of a remaining lifetime of say 70 years listening to the music, you would hear each CD 8.84 times.
CD's purchased/week: 9.5
More than dooable, I guess.
Total cost: $520,833.33
Compared to this, an XServe isn't that expensive. However, neither is a small house.
Time to buy/unwrap/rip: 241 days
Assuming it takes an average of 10 minutes to pick out, buy, unwrap, and rip each CD. (This might be too big or too small, depending on one's style.)
Footnote: not responsible for matematical errors.
<strong>Just for the fun of it, let's do some math on this 2.5TB of music idea...
Assumptions:
1 TB = 10^12 bytes (as opposed to 2^40)
Bitrate = 160,000 bps
Mean cost of CD = $15
Mean length of CD = 60 minutes
1 year = 365 days (no leap years)
Total duration: 3.96 years
If you spent 50% of a remaining lifetime of say 70 years listening to the music, you would hear each CD 8.84 times.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
Do you see why we think this might be a dubious idea?
You're going to need a <a href="http://www.xtrememac.com/forxserve/xrack1.shtml"; target="_blank">sound proof enclosure</a> $1700, a 2.5TB Xserve RAID $11000, and of course the Xserve $3500.
We're against it, I believe, because it's overkill.
I don't believe you're getting a lifetime solution here, a few years down the road there will be new compression technologies, and storage will be much cheaper. Perhaps delivered audio content? Pay per play solutions that could offer you any recording of any song in any language that will end up being much more cost effective. I don't bill myself as a futurist though.
To keep this on target, adding a pci audio card will be no problem. Doing this should really be a snap, and once complete should prove to be a very powerful solution. Perhaps you should consider some video out capability and put the space to use storing video. Just a suggestion.
[ 02-13-2003: Message edited by: serrano ]</p>
Though make sure and post some pictures, yeah?