DIY Inexpensive Computer

My laptop is a few years old now (Hanukkah/Christmas gift in 2005) and I haven't upgraded the RAM or anything yet. Although it works just fine for my needs it begins to be a little slow during mixing and mastering of large projects. Putting together a near top of the line machine that is memory and processing heavy from commercial web sites (Dell, etc.) usually comes with tons of expensive junk that I don't want nor need (high-end video, expensive CD/DVD drives, Windows Vista, other software bundles, warrenty, etc.).

I decided to save a little money on a case (usually between $40 and $100) and went for a unique design. Mounting a computer on a piece of plywood is sort of artsy (technology vs. simple wood), looks neat, and with all of the pieces exposed the computer will stay very cool; thus will run faster.

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Overview of building a computer from scratch:
One can easily put together a powerful computer on any number of commercial websites (Dell, etc.), but when it comes down to it building a computer from scratch is not that difficult. Seven basic pieces make up a computer these days. You'll need a motherboard to route all the signals from the various components, a processor to run calculations and to "think," CPU cooling fan that sits on top of the processor to keep it cool (do not run a computer without this or you will fry the processor), memory/RAM to provide a quick place to store calculations for the CPU to process, a hard drive to store information, and a power supply to distribute power to all of these components. Usually you'll want a CD/DVD drive as well, but even these are becoming outdated media - especially since it's possible to boot to a USB jump drive to install an operating system and other software.

Most small desktop computers have audio, video, eithernet, and USB components built into the motherboard so these are either A) not necessary to add, or B) can be added/upgraded via PCI slots. I added a firewire hub via PCI card. Audio and video upgrades won't be necessary since I will be using my mixer as the auido card (via firewire), and my needs are not graphics-heavy so I don't need to use an upgraded graphics card (usually between $40-$200 for gamers/video producers). Don't forget a mouse, keyboard, and monitor. NOW it's done.


Construction / Pricing:

Computer - $256.99 (add $20 shipping)

• Intel D945GCPE 3.0 GHz MicroATX Motherboard - $56.41
  - Onboard audio, video, eithernet, USB 2.0
  
• Intel Pentium D 925 3.0 GHz Dual-Core Processor - $73.58
  
• CPU Cooling Fan - 24.99
  
• 2 GB DDR2 RAM - $59.99
  - 2 x 1024 MB sticks
• 350-Watt ATX Power supply - $24.99
• 4-port Firewire PCI Card - $16.99
• I had a spare 80GB hard drive laying around but these are cheap (as of summer 2009, a 500GB internal SATA hard drive goes for 60 bucks. Can't beat that! [P.S. yes, you can beat that.])
  
• I also had a spare CD/DVD burner (~$40)
• Go to a local computer repair/electronics shop and pick up a soft booting power switch/restart switch, LED lights, and a small PC speaker. These plug into pins on the motherboard (illustrated very well on the motherboard's instructions sheet) and let you turn the computer on. The LED's will let you know when the machine is running, and the speaker beeps when the computer boots or has an error. These are very cheap: under $5.

Mounting - $20-30

• Plywood board (around 14" x 18" x 1/2")
  
  
• Machine screws 1 1/2"
  
• Rubber washers
• Plastic spacers
• Hex nuts
  - Mark and drill holes on the plywood where mounting screws secure the motherboard (look for the mounting holes on the motherboard)
  
  
  
  
• Drywall screws
• 4 rubber feet
  - Drill four pilot holes through the plywood
  - Drive a drywall screw (sharp point) through the hole; it should be a hand tight fit
  - Screw on the rubber stoppers
  
  
• Romex / strong gauge wire
  - The two coated wires in romex wire bundles are great for mounting the power supply, hard drive, and CD/DVD/Floppy drives to the plywood. Do not use the uncoated ground wire
  - Drill small holes through the plywood, just large enough to fit the wire through
  - Use pliers to bend the wire around squared corners to fit the component well, and to pull the wire tight on the bottom of the board
  

I added a couple more bolts/plastic spacers to help secure the drives/power box in place. Otherwise that's it. Now just add a monitor (I found a nice flat panel LCD on Craigslist for $100), keyboard, mouse, and install an operating system and you're ready to go.

My Studio Hardware

AKA Rack additions, $100 at a time

I've been building my little studio for long enough now that I figure that I'd post my thoughts on what I've come across.

Alesis MultiMix 12 FireWire 12-Channel Analog Mixer:




[Click to Enlarge]
My setup is based around this mixer when it's time to record. Lots of control over the inputs and outputs makes it great for controlling various keyboards, turn tables, effects, etc. in a live setting as well.

Pros:

• Firewire over USB allows track by track recording in a digital audio workstation (DAW), rather than USB which only sends a stereo mix of all inputs
• 100 28-bit onboard effects are pretty decent - easy control over how wet/dry the effect will be for each individual channel
• A little EQ and panning is standard. Not bad.
• Onboard XLR / gain / phantom power - neat
  
• Lots of output options / multi-out combinations
• Easy effects loop (out/return) option available
  

Cons:

• Onboard effects are only applied to analog outputs - The digital mix going to the DAW via Firewire is dry. I've been meaning to try looping a wet stereo output through two channels, and recording just those two tracks via DAW, but that has its own problems. IT could work, but it's too much effort
  
• Alesis has mostly shitty software support (along with M-Audio). A lot of reviews were complaining about their computers not recognizing it. It can be tricky, but just make sure to install all software before plugging it into a computer
• Only four channels of XLR/gain: The expensive solution is to upgrade to the MultiMix 16 (for twice the price), or add a preamp to your rack. I chose the latter (below)

All in all, this is a great starter to mid-range mixer. It was cheap, and built pretty well. The effects knob feels a little loose, but it's hanging in well enough. It provides great quality digital audio and minimal if any latency during recording. Very powerful for the price. Unfortunately it has been discontinued. I'd recommend picking one up if you find it floating around on Craigslist or something.

Behringer Eurorack UB 1202 (outboard auxiliary mixer):

The Alesis Multimix is a great way to record multiple tracks, but I don't always need to record all the tracks I need to hear in a recording session.  When I'm laying down drums tracks with my band, I find it helpful to hear as many of the other parts as possible (guitars, bass, vocals, etc.) so I don't have to struggle to listen for different cues that I'm not used to.  The guitar amps and vocals are brought up to level and mixed on this board, then a stereo signal is sent to an open channel on the main board and blended into my headphone mix.  This is a really powerful tool for around $80, new.

Additionally it's a cheap, small, and effective mixer for a live show with four channels of gain, phantom power, plenty of outputs, and even some effects routing options.

Nady PRA-8 Preamp:




This is a pretty decent unit for around $100. I cannot complain about much noise at all - haven't noticed any additional noise from low quality microphones. It has 8 channels of gain to add to the Alesis mixer, and converts XLR inputs to 1/4" outputs - which work very well as additional inputs into the mixer. Two birds: RIP.


Behringer DSP2024P Virtualizer Pro - Rack Effects Module:




Next is the effects module. Two channels can be used in stereo on certain effects (ping-pong delay, etc.) or as two separate effects. I haven't used it to its full potential yet but it's a great addition to my rack for around $100. Very affordable, customizable, and extensible.


Behringer AMP800 4-channel Headphone Amp:




This is a nice little tool that splits left and right outputs from the mixer into four separate headphone channels; all of which have their own level and balance controls. This is very neccessary for collaborative work, or if another pair of ears wants to listen in on the mix. Again, cheap and effective.


Furman RR-15x - Power Conditioner:




Basically this is a nice rack-mounted surge protector; not much conditioning is happening. There are 8 outlets on the back and one for easy access on the front, all controlled by the single switch on the front. I was worried about lots of EM interference and buzz by having so many wires going on in the mixing cart (later post) however it's really not a problem. This may or may not be to thank. Probably not, though it absolutely keeps things tidy and simple. I run a spooled heavy duty extension cord to an outlet from the cart. One can find a cheaper surge protector for power management, but I'd say it's worth the extra few bucks to have it in the rack. It looks rad and keeps clutter and the rat king of wires to a minimum.


Behringer V-Amp 2 Guitar Multi Effects Processor:




One more $100 effects module, but I got this one cheap from a friend. Bad Aizzz. There are a bunch of shitty combinations of amps and effects, but there are also lots of really decent quality sounds. It lets you choose the amp style from (smooth blues to metal-face-murder-core), tone (Gain, Low/Mid/High EQ), and effects. THEN you can save your combinations and quickly change between them by hand, or by the inlcuded foot switch. Rad. There's a easy tap tempo button to control some of the delay effects, and a pretty decent onboard tuner mode.

Con: There is a 1/2 second-ish gap of dead space between changing effects.

That's about it for the cons. Cheap and versitile! Run this through some outboard reverb and layer it with some other instruments and it's a damn fine tool.

Also, it seems pretty solid. I'd recommend looking for this on Craigslist / eBay for cheap.


Korg mini-KP KAOSS Pad:




Finally stepping up to the mighty $150 range. Totally worth the extra cash. Again, I have not used this to its full potential. I've barely made it through one entire round of futzing with each preset with Missy Elliot on my iPod and it has me drooling.

This tiny little pad allows a user to control two effects at the same time with just the touch of a finger (or two). Tap tempo shows the actual tempo, and the dial will let you zero in on a target if need be. Rotate the dial to quickly change between 100 effects.

Stereo RCA ins/outs, and a 1/8" "headphone" jack (which has a small volume control). Again, rugged as hell, so look for it used. Invest in the 4.5V power adapter.


M-Audio Axiom 25 USB MIDI Controller:




From my recent post describing how to correctly configure this thing, this keyboard turned out to be a rad little Midi controller. Right click on any control knob/slider in Fruity Loops and select "Link to controller," then move one of the controls on the keyboard. Bam. Done. It'll now control any parameter you want. Very cool.

I could maybe use some more sliders, or maybe making half of the dials smooth (rather than all stepping/clicking dials), however there are additional midi controllers that can be connected via the Midi input.

I suggest ASIO4ALL if you are having latency problems (i.e obnoxious lag time between hitting a note on the keyboard and hearing the note). Look for upcoming post on Midi brika-brak

Facebook/iPhone App Idea #01 - Searchable GeoStatus

Where are you & what are you doing?

Back in my day, Pluto was a planet, and Facebook didn't have pictures! However, it did have one neat feature that I just remembered: one day in April/May it asked the simple question, "what are you doing this summer?" A plurality of my friends answered, and I could compare what everyone was doing. Let's take this a step further.

My idea takes this to the next level. Now that I'm concentrating on research this summer I will not have to attend class; which leaves me a lot more time to travel and do fun things in various cities. My problem is that I am not sure which of my friends are also traveling, and which are stuck in town for the duration.

The app will allow a user to publish where he or she is located, what they are doing, and perhaps even how available they are. This is sort of like an extended status update (however, the "status" has recently been replaced with Twitter-like "What's on your mind" updates).

Examples include:

• Tallahasse / "Exam week" / Not even close to being free / 1 Week
  
• Tallahassee / "FINALLY FINISHED" / Hit me up; I'm passed out on the floor @ Poor Pauls / 3 days
  
• Melbourne / "Surfing" / Mostly Free / 1 Weekend
  
• New York City / "Vacáish" / Open / 1 Week
• Tallahassee / "Recovering/Work" / Mostly Busy / 2 weeks

This information will allow your friends in any given location to search and see if you are available to hang out, while enabling you to see who happens to be in the same town as you on sporadic trips home/abroad.

Now to program it... Give me a holler if you're into app development.

See also: Where am I?, Frends GPS, Google Latitude, Twittelator, Loopt, Where

Addressing concerns: App will make use of a sophisticated "Off" / "Unpublish" button. 3 Lols to numerous comments left on Facebook app walls