Half-priced MusicXPC inside...

[xeetstreet]

I was checking out the specs for the MusicXPC (of which Digi recommends as a PC for PTLE) to see why it was so special. Not only did I find that it was, indeed, nothing special but over priced as well. I gathered the parts info, reasons for substitutions, and prices and came up with an arguably better system for roughly half the cost.

MusicXPC - $1599 + Shipping & Tax
My "MusicXPC" - $878 + Tax

Comments welcome!

Here is the parts list: (All prices from NewEgg.com)

Part: Shuttle Black XPC Barebone System - Cost: $229.00
Find it here: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...=BROWSE&depa=1
Reason for part: Same as MusicXPC Spec.


Part: Intel Pentium 4/ 2.8C GHz 800MHz FSB - Cost: $210.00
Find it here: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...log=343&depa=1
Reason for part: Same as MusicXPC Spec.


Part: Buffalo Technology 512MB ECC DDR PC-2700 - Cost: $99.00
Find it here: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...codevalue=4163,%202993,%203950,%203268&keywords=&minprice=&maxpr ice=
Reason for part: Same as Music XPC Spec.


Part: Seagate 120GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive - Cost: $90.00
Find it here: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...=BROWSE&depa=1
Reason for part: http://www.tomshardware.com/storage/20031219/index.html


Part: Seagate 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive - Cost: $71.00
Find it here: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...=BROWSE&depa=1
Reason for part: http://www.tomshardware.com/storage/20031219/index.html


Part: Lite-On Black 48X24X48X16 Combo Drive - Cost: $53.00
Find it here: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...106-196&depa=1
Reason for part: Similar to (better than) MusicXPC Spec.


Part: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition - Cost: $91.00
Find it here: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...1&searchdepa=6
Reason for part: Same as Music XPC Spec.

Part: Logitech SBF69 Optical Wheel Mouse PS2 - Cost: $15.00
Find it here: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...=BROWSE&depa=1
Reason for part: Similar to (better than) MusicXPC Spec.


Part: Aopen KB-966B Keyboard PS2 - Cost: $14.00
Find it here: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...alog=63&depa=1
Reason for part: Similar to (better than) MusicXPC Spec.


Part: Thermaltake DDR & SDR Heat Sink. - Cost: $6.99
Find it here: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...=BROWSE&depa=1
Reason for part: Similar to (better than) MusicXPC Spec.


Part: Zalman CNPS5700D-CU Pure Copper CPU Cooler - Cost: $22.99
Find it here: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...rtycodevalue=0,%203187,%200,%200,%200,%200,%204702&keywords=&min price=&maxprice=
Reason for part: Similar to (better than) MusicXPC Spec.

[xeetstreet]

Hahahha. Read this pile. If I save $700-800 thinking about the computer for two hours, so be it...

Q. Can't I buy a Shuttle chassis and put this together cheaper?

A. Some people may be able to do this, if they factor in their time at $0.00 per hour. The MusicXPC is not a bolted together set of components. We built this machine from the BIOS right up to the faceplate. The perception that anyone can bolt a product like this together is erroneous. It may look like a MusicXPC but 99 times out of 100 it will never work like one. It's a question of how much time you want to spend thinking about the computer as opposed to thinking about music.