Reccomended Computer for station

[beantownradio25]

What computers do you guys reccomend to host my station? I'm using an old 2003 Dell right now that has nothing on it but the automation system and the music, but it's starting to slow down from being on 24-7 for about a year. I need a computer that will last me, and won't bog down from being on 24-7. My station has been on the air since 2008 and I've been thru two computers. What do the big guys use?

 

[TomT]

"last" and "computer" are mutually exclusive terms. If the computer doesn't die first, Microsoft and/or the software makers will obsolete you out of the box.

We've been using Dells, had reasonably good luck with them. One thing to double-check before ordering a new computer is whether your automation software (and particularly the version you have) as well as the sound cards, will run on Windows 7. Dell is still offering systems with XP "downgrades" if your software is not Windows 7 compatible.

 

[chriscollins]

Just clean out the log files, etc... Defrag it and reboot it. Automation computers last for years. Automation software doesn't go through drastic rewrites very frequently.

 

[Lazy J]

Just clean out the log files, etc... Defrag it and reboot it. Automation computers last for years. Automation software doesn't go through drastic rewrites very frequently.

Yeah, the hardware part of the computer doesn't usually slow down over time. It's usually the programs that slow the computer down. If it was fast originally, you probably need to do what chriscollins recommended.

As for your original question, I usually buy Dell Optiplex. I order them with the Windows XP "downgrade" to ensure it will be compatible with most automation systems.

 

[knoxbob]

Get an Apple and use a Microsoft emulation software to run your automation system.

 

[RadioMan203]

What computers do you guys reccomend to host my station? I'm using an old 2003 Dell right now that has nothing on it but the automation system and the music, but it's starting to slow down from being on 24-7 for about a year. I need a computer that will last me, and won't bog down from being on 24-7. My station has been on the air since 2008 and I've been thru two computers. What do the big guys use?

Depending on the model you may have bad electrolytic capacitors that Dell and others had gotten bit with. Dell replaced almost 400 main board for us in various Optiplex models but they were time bombs at best. With about 65 suspect capacitors per board they only reworked capacitors that had physical telltale signs of problems like oozing electrolyte or physically blown up. After Dell gave us a song and dance we're moving to HP and not looking back. Thank your stars the thing still runs!

Whenever I do a clean install I update the machine as far as I can and then make a backup image in case of failure or for a refresh. Assuming your system saves data to a network store and you have backup hardware to run your facility while you work on the slow computer you might try a clean install or restore from a backup image if you have one.

I now personally avoid Dell like the plague!

 

[Kmagrill]

The bad capacitors were not Dell's fault. They bought the same bad capacitors as everyone else. Virtually every large capacitor made in Taiwan between 1998 and the mid to late 2000s is bad. Google "capacitor plague" and you'll get a lot of information. Basically, someone working for a USA based capacitor company stole a secret recipe for electrolytic capacitors and sold it to a Taiwanese manufacturer. The formula got spread around the Chinese sphere of Asia and was used to make tons of capacitors. The only problem was that the recipe was missing a key componant that keeps the capacitors from getting gassy and blowing up over time. This was a huge electronics industry problem affecting everything made in China for about 10 years and we're still feeling the after-effects today. I've had Dells, HPs and eMachines (prior to being HP) computers all blow up due to bad 'lytic capacitors. The caps can be found in both power supplies and on the motherboards of most computers. Generally, the failures happen in the big caps associated with the power supplies. There are typically only about a dozen of them in any one computer, so they're really not bad to replace at all. If you buy a new power supply, then that only leaves 5 or 6 on the motherboard that have to be changed. Failing caps are usually characterized by bulging tops or oil leaking from the bottoms. In severe cases, the caps may explode leaving the rubber base soldered to the board and shards of paper all over the area around the failure. This is pretty rare, though. I've had no failures since replacing the big power caps on our computers.

 

[richard.vanderveen]

I have very good experiences with the HP Workstations.
Let me repeat that last word: WORKSTATIONS.

I've got several older and newer models running 24/7 without a glitch
Also use some Dell Workstations, but I definately prefer the HP's

 

[Tom Wells]

Delayed responding, but I only can "see" from laptop aspect, as I have traditionally been "issued"
laptops at work. I can no longer remember how many, beginning with a "lunch bucket" in 1988.

You'll have to extrapolate my "laptop" experience upon other archictecture.

As I have then run Zara and Breakaway 24/7 on an IBM thinkpad (RIP 1.5yr) died of
screen backlight off/on transitions every time a new file opened. Sorta OK as it was controllled on remote
terminal anyway....but then hard drive access slowed down..

At that point I'd been carrying (traveling with ) an hp8230 for 6 years and it still lived with near continuous use.
I replaced that IBM with a used XPpro 8430 and it loafs with Zara, Breakway Broadcast, and we'll see how long this
hard drive will spin.

The 2005 issue hp8230 I carried began t'have the same sort of living hardware death the IBM suffered, but the
8230 got some kind of solderjoint flaw, not a cnnx, checked alluvum, somewhere near the hard drive etc...
It could access all neccessary data, clock, busses only with some flexing of the computer itself, increasingly worsening.
Still it permitted a graceful migration of everything to THIS, another used hp8430 for a mere $250.

As I used a good deal of hp RF test equipment in lab at Valpo Tech, I am inclined to be happy the best computers I have ever
used have come from a manufacturer of equipment (MUCH x 10 nth) inclined toward severe quality standards.
They ARE reference equioment builders, and I the first laptop that really cared for ME, and did what i wanted to do was
the hp.

If General Radio made computers, I bet I'd like that better, but hp, tektronix, simpson, fluke, I'll stand by as the best.

And at $250 a pop, I should really be buying 2-3 others to clone off.
Limiting factor is now the spinning hard drive, and how much you're willing to spend on
something hardened to a level of "never worry, never dies".
And THAT is getting cheaper by the minute...
Spend $5k bucks now on something new with NO moving parts, and you shouldn't have to worry for 4 years on replacment.
I'd still reboot quarterly even on totally stable non-buggy systems.

( HONK HONK )

Back to the system "at hand". If the hard drive access is begining to become "iffy", some such background program such a
virus scan starting up, some "vital update" occuring, etc, may bring your audio to a screeching halt
Make sure ANY media players as well as MS updates and all internet browsers are set to #@#$! offline,
so they'll not hijack your audio priority. Really, they just can't understand why it wouldn't be OK to barge into
every aspect of life...You have to turn all attention-sucking apps OFF. Your computer hardware may be fine.
There are MANY applications that are QUITE sure their update status is FAR more important than any silly audio
you might be interested in. Make sure they are set to be offline.

 

[speakerman]

The bad capacitors were not Dell's fault. They bought the same bad capacitors as everyone else. Virtually every large capacitor made in Taiwan between 1998 and the mid to late 2000s is bad. Google "capacitor plague" and you'll get a lot of information. Basically, someone working for a USA based capacitor company stole a secret recipe for electrolytic capacitors and sold it to a Taiwanese manufacturer. The formula got spread around the Chinese sphere of Asia and was used to make tons of capacitors. The only problem was that the recipe was missing a key componant that keeps the capacitors from getting gassy and blowing up over time. This was a huge electronics industry problem affecting everything made in China for about 10 years and we're still feeling the after-effects today. I've had Dells, HPs and eMachines (prior to being HP) computers all blow up due to bad 'lytic capacitors. The caps can be found in both power supplies and on the motherboards of most computers. Generally, the failures happen in the big caps associated with the power supplies. There are typically only about a dozen of them in any one computer, so they're really not bad to replace at all. If you buy a new power supply, then that only leaves 5 or 6 on the motherboard that have to be changed. Failing caps are usually characterized by bulging tops or oil leaking from the bottoms. In severe cases, the caps may explode leaving the rubber base soldered to the board and shards of paper all over the area around the failure. This is pretty rare, though. I've had no failures since replacing the big power caps on our computers.

Its good for you to point this out as there are a lot of items that can be brought back to life by just changing out the caps. I've fixed 3 LCD monitors by replacing the bad caps. There are many low cost ESR meters that can be used to verify the caps. They often do a better job at testing large bypass caps than the regular ones that test capacitance and leakage. I've found a lot of caps that are obvious to the eye with a bulging top or the rubber bung seal ready to pop off the bottom. You can find out everything you ever wanted to know at Badcaps.Net. I have used the polymer caps as replacements for electrolytics with good success. The ESR is lower so you can use smaller values than the original electrolytic value. Gigabyte uses these on their motherboards and I build all of my Win PCs with Gigabyte boards.

Another problem that shows up is with large chips that are soldered directly to the board using a ball grid array (BGA). Graphics chips are the main problem area here. They sometimes loose contact from thermal cycle stress. Many times they can be reflowed using a hot air soldering station. I fixed an iMac G5 someone gave me by that process. I placed the motherboard on a pie cooling rack over a electric stove burner and let it slowly warm up until it was hot to the touch. I then dripped liquid flux in 4 directions under the graphics chip until it flowed out the other side. 30 seconds of hot air from my hot air soldering station bubbled the flux until smoke was visible. After a 30 minute cool down time the computer was reassembled and it worked like a charm. I'm typing on it now.

There is a lot of stuff out there that can be repaired very easily for not much money.

I also like Visoncomputers. Reliable computers at a fair price and quick customer service from folks that are easy to understand.

 

[RadioMan203]

The bad capacitors were not Dell's fault. They bought the same bad capacitors as everyone else. Virtually every large capacitor made in Taiwan between 1998 and the mid to late 2000s is bad. Google "capacitor plague" and you'll get a lot of information.

I am intimately familiar with the backstory of the bad caps. While you are correct that numerous manufacturers got burned by these bad components it was the way Dell handled it which they deserve to go out of business.

Unfortunately this was not localized to "large" capacitors, as the main boards of the Dell Optiplex systems have many small capacitors (as in not power supply filter sized) that were defective. The affected smaller caps were found not only on their main boards, but in their flat panel displays as well as in their switching power supplies. Dell knew exactly what was going on and it was well documented that they denied this issue for an extended time. The fact that the repair parts had only a tiny fraction of the parts replaced showed they had no consideration for their customers as the replacement part would fail - with their bets on failure after the customer's warranty expired. They burned too many bridges with business customers. Could you imagine going off the air because your automation system blew up? In one situation with no budget to replace the hardware our tech group ended up reworking numerous motherboards and screens to keep them going as Dell was unresponsive with assistance.

What's my point? The point is that a vendor that has such little regard for a customer, especially when purchasing "business class" hardware, does not deserve your money. I've got one station running HP's and another running "private label" systems built with Intel motherboards and I have yet to have a problem with either!

I have no use for Michael Dell and his box o' crap! One could only hope the stations you engineer don't use any Dell hardware. I'm working with one facility to jettison the Dell gear they have as it's from the same vintage with problems cropping up.

 

[Kmagrill]

I'm no huge fan of Dell. I think they make a cheapie computer that they sell for a midline price. I especially dislike their laptops which are lightly made and break easily. It's probably also true that they could or should have been more responsive, but most of the capacitor failures waited 2 or 3 years before making their presence felt, well outside of the warranty period. I can only imagine what it would have cost to replace millions of out of warranty computers. And since almost every manufacturer was equally impacted, did any of the major computer suppliers recall all of their past 10 years' inventory? Maybe someone did, but I'm not aware of them, so I don't think Dell's alone in this. I've had failed caps in several mainline brands and nobody every offered to fix any of them for free, though it should certainly be unacceptable for masses of parts to fail so shortly after the warrany expired. The point of the discussion though is that older computers (and other electronics) are easily rehabilitated in many cases by replacing a handful of bad caps. I have done this to about 25 computers and have yet to need to do it on any smaller caps on any of the boards.