Home › Forums › Breakaway Professional Products – [discontinued] › Breakaway Broadcast computer (server) specs
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December 22, 2009 at 4:26 am #606AnonymousGuest
Hi people,
I am a new user who needs a few questions answered if possible.
I am constructing a 100 watt LPFM station and need to know if this computer will serve my needs for Breakaway Broadcast.
It is a AMD Athlon 2.8 GHZ dual core processor, with 3 Gigs of memory with a 80 gig hard drive (SCSI)
Sound Blaster Audigy sound card. I am to purchase this in the next couple of day, so if someone could give me their input, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
GuyDecember 22, 2009 at 12:28 pm #9269BokiMemberYou don’t need 3GB memory actualy (don’t know what motherboard) but with 2GB maybe will work better.
You will use mpx output so Audigy is very bad choice.
Much better choice is ESI MAYA 44 PCI or ESI Juli@ .. i think they are in price range.December 22, 2009 at 1:41 pm #9270timmywaParticipantLeif also mentioned he coded this product to take advantage of certain features that Intel CPUs offer. He said it would probably work fine with AMD, but preferred and optimum would be Intel.
December 22, 2009 at 2:54 pm #9271AnonymousGuestThanks for the replies, the server should work then, but I may keep on looking. Are most users/broadcasters using BBP or BBP ASIO. Can you "upgrade" to ASIO if the regular BBP is not suiting your needs?
Thanks again,
GuyDecember 22, 2009 at 4:00 pm #9272LeifKeymasterUpgrading is not possible, but they’re free to try. Try both, buy the one that suits your needs.
I absolutely recommend Intel over AMD for the reasons stated above, but again, try the free demo versions. If they work, so will the licensed versions.
///Leif
December 22, 2009 at 4:46 pm #9273AnonymousGuestLeif,
Thanks for your input. I am looking for a Intel computer, (rack mounted) since that is what is suggested.
Guy[quote author=”Leif”]Upgrading is not possible, but they’re free to try. Try both, buy the one that suits your needs.
I absolutely recommend Intel over AMD for the reasons stated above, but again, try the free demo versions. If they work, so will the licensed versions.
///Leif[/quote]
December 22, 2009 at 9:09 pm #9274yorkie98ParticipantTBH.. Rackmounting is for physical robustness only and has no effect upon performance, but if you can get a system without rackmount, get that, then if you feel you MUST have it rackmounted (only any use if you have other rackmounted gear) then buy a rackmount PC case and transfer the innards into this case, don’t restrict yourself by looking for a bespoke rackmount machine as you may have to make compromises on performance/price to get it.
Finally, as mentioned above, an Audigy soundcard is not the best choice, although I have had success with audigy 4s in the past, these were before I knew better and cheapness was the key. Audigy2s should be avoided as they have a dirty output.
If you are spending money on a big rackmount machine, the final result will only be as good as the soundcard you pick. The ESI cards seem to be the favorite at the moment from the performance/price point, if you have a few more £$€ to spend, then go for the Trace Marian Alpha which is the ultimate as it requires absolutely no calibration, just plug and play.December 22, 2009 at 11:13 pm #9275AnonymousGuestYorkie,
Thanks fr the input. The main reason for seeking a rackmounted system is space, A local resident is donating space for a tower and a small area in one of his outbuildings for my exciter/transmitter, EAS, processing, etc. So to get everything nice and clean, I will use a rack mounted computer.
Thanks for the lead on the soundcards, as I will research it as well, is anyone using Antex card with success?
Guy
[quote author=”yorkie98″]TBH.. Rackmounting is for physical robustness only and has no effect upon performance, but if you can get a system without rackmount, get that, then if you feel you MUST have it rackmounted (only any use if you have other rackmounted gear) then buy a rackmount PC case and transfer the innards into this case, don’t restrict yourself by looking for a bespoke rackmount machine as you may have to make compromises on performance/price to get it.Finally, as mentioned above, an Audigy soundcard is not the best choice, although I have had success with audigy 4s in the past, these were before I knew better and cheapness was the key. Audigy2s should be avoided as they have a dirty output.
If you are spending money on a big rackmount machine, the final result will only be as good as the soundcard you pick. The ESI cards seem to be the favorite at the moment from the performance/price point, if you have a few more £$€ to spend, then go for the Trace Marian Alpha which is the ultimate as it requires absolutely no calibration, just plug and play.[/quote]December 23, 2009 at 5:03 pm #9276yorkie98ParticipantGuy, you’d need to be specific as to which card you are going to use but I can’t remember off hand anyone mentioning the Antex cards being used.
February 5, 2010 at 4:33 am #9277AnonymousGuestHi people,
I have been busy with trying to find a differant tower site and some minor mods to my construction permit. I shouls have all the loose ends completed within 2-3 weeks. I just purchased my first of 2 computers. Both are as follows.Hp ProLiant DL380 G3 Dual Xeon 3.06 GHz 2U, with 1 gig of ram (upgrading to 2 gigs). These are in great shape and run smoothly.
I am running Server 2003 and from reading here, it seems as people prefer XP with Breakaway Broadcast, so I may be doing a fresh install of XP, as I am already seeing some issues with installing software. I already have a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS installed.
Anyway, I hope everyone is well here on the forum,
GuyFebruary 9, 2010 at 8:04 pm #9278AnonymousGuestI have my HP computer (#1)running smoothly with a fresh install of Windows 2000, and have a couple of questions.
After extensive reading here on this forum regarding soundcards, I am purchasing either the ESI Juli@ or Maya 44, which of these 2 do you guys suggest?
Also, I will having a 2nd computer (#2)that will be for my automation (ZARA 2.0) What sound card should be used in this computer, as in should it be a another upper end card? I am assuming the audio will go out of #2 into #1, which will be for my BBP.
Please be patient with me as I learn from you guys, lol.
Thanks in advance,
GuyFebruary 9, 2010 at 8:42 pm #9279AnonymousGuestPC #1:
ESI Maya 44 will not work (CMIIW), it has only 96kHz input; you need 192kHz sample-rate as MPX requirement.
ESI Juli@ will do fine; but you need to calibrate final output with an oscilloscope.
… with little extra cost; you can get Marian Trace Alpha also… DC straight; no callibration needed.PC #2:
I use an old Audigy as audio-player, BBP make it sound like Digigram… 😀February 9, 2010 at 8:51 pm #9280AnonymousGuestWhat about the computer with my automation? Does it require a upper end card as well, or will the audio be procesed with BBP? I am looking at the Jul@ nw.
Thanks,
Guy
[quote author=”PitalokaFM”]ESI Maya 44 will not work (CMIIW), it has only 96kHz input; you need 192kHz sample-rate as MPX requirement.
ESI Juli@ will do fine; but you need to calibrate final output with an oscilloscope.
… with little extra cost; you can get Marian Trace Alpha also… DC straight; no callibration needed.[/quote]February 9, 2010 at 9:07 pm #9281yorkie98Participant[quote author=”PitalokaFM”]PC #1:
ESI Maya 44 will not work (CMIIW)[/quote]ESI Maya is fine, it does only have 96Khz input but this does not matter to us, we only need 192Khz Output and the Maya has this feature. If you can afford it tho, get the Marion Trace Alpha, if you are serious about the project and can afford an extra $50-100 its really worth it and removes the need, hassle and uncertainty of having to set the tilt.
For your automation computer, the Audigy 2ZS you have will be fine for this purpose but not good enough for using in the machine which will connect to your transmitter (the BBP machine). The audio is processed by BBP but the sound coming out of your automation PC does need to be of an acceptable quality otherwise BBP will exaggerate all of the imperfections of your automation PC (noise etc..). The Audigy 2ZS is a nice clean output when used for normal 44/48khz operation. It’s just not very good at the higher samplerates, which is OK, as we are not using these.February 9, 2010 at 9:37 pm #9282AnonymousGuestok, thanks for the input. I am getting very serious about this LPF as I already challenged with 100 watts, lol. What is the approx US price for the Marion Trace Alpha?
Guy
[quote author=”yorkie98″][quote author=”PitalokaFM”]PC #1:
ESI Maya 44 will not work (CMIIW)[/quote]ESI Maya is fine, it does only have 96Khz input but this does not matter to us, we only need 192Khz Output and the Maya has this feature. If you can afford it tho, get the Marion Trace Alpha, if you are serious about the project and can afford an extra $50-100 its really worth it and removes the need, hassle and uncertainty of having to set the tilt.
For your automation computer, the Audigy 2ZS you have will be fine for this purpose but not good enough for using in the machine which will connect to your transmitter (the BBP machine). The audio is processed by BBP but the sound coming out of your automation PC does need to be of an acceptable quality otherwise BBP will exaggerate all of the imperfections of your automation PC (noise etc..). The Audigy 2ZS is a nice clean output when used for normal 44/48khz operation. It’s just not very good at the higher samplerates, which is OK, as we are not using these.[/quote] -
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