Karaoke Forums

My old desk top bit the dust last week and I was wondering whether to build a rack mountable pc (with the help of a friend) or shop for a laptop.
I really like the idea of a rack computer myself, but would like to hear any and all views from the vast experience here.
One negative that I see is that some of the rack cases I've looked at weigh close to 40lbs..wow! My entire rack might be close to 300 when I'm finished putting everything in it, and then 40 lbs on top of that...
I do like the ease of getting to the componets in case of a problem. Last month I did my first ever karaoke show and the cooling fan stopped working right before the show started. I took the side cover off and was able to spray crc in the motor enough to get it going again to make it thru the night.
I found a very fast pc today on sale at Costco for 649.00. Thinking about getting one and putting everything in a rack case.. It has a 2 quad processor, Q9300(2.5GHz)
1.0TB Hard Drive (sata)
4 GB DDR2 SDRAM
Intel G31/ICH7 chipset
6 channel capable audio
Microsoft Windows XP Pro
If you prefer lappys, how would you spec it?
Many Thanks to all in advance.
HS

If you are only running MP3 files that computer is 3 times bigger than needed. You have to move it around. I prefer that laptop route. I really thought the rack mount was the way i wanted to go. I had a hundred different arguments for it. But in the end i picked laptop. I haven't been sorry. There haven't been any hardware failures. They weigh 7 pounds. And my computer box still weighs about 60-70 pounds.

I am a long time computer user and database administrator by trade. I have built many computers and I also pondered on whether to go with a rackmount or laptop. I certainly agree with the previous poster that the computer you specced is about 3 times more than you would ever need for hosting.

I ended up going with a laptop for several reasons:

1) Inexpensive - I picked up a dual core 17" laptop new for just under $500 (see dealnews.com). Of course a laptop includes the hosting monitor screen and keyboard/trackpad, so that is an expense I saved over a rackmount.

2) Although a rackmount has standard components that are easy to replace, at $500, a laptop is also easy to replace completely after a few years of use.

3) It is a little tricky to get a rack and all the other pieces in a rackmount. First you need to pick a form factor - you will need 2u - 3u for standard size components. If you try to get a 1u rack PC, you are going to have to get all low profile components.

Then you need to get an LCD for the host, mounting that is a pain on your rack. Of course you could go with a 1u or 2u LCD/Keyboard pop up shelf, but those are kind of pricey and once opened and poped up, might block access to your mixer.

So you are left with needing space for the PC, LCD, and Keyboard/Mouse in your rack. All that on top of your equipment.

4) A typical rackmount PC (unless you go with Mini-ITX mobo), is going to use about 300+ watts at all times, and generate a lot of heat. Pro Audio racks are not typically in a well ventilated, cool area. You might find that without additional fans and a clear front-back air flow, you run into overheating problems. You must have some open space above and below the PC in the rack as well.

A laptop, on the other hand, typically uses about 45-90 watts, and is designed to run much cooler. Although they can overheat, is is less likely, and if you have a concern, you can add a USB powered cooling laptop base.
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I have a "Mighty Gig Rig" rack, with a "Gig Wing" for my laptop. I simply set the laptop on the wing (velcro secured) , plug it in, and I am set. I also like the fact that I can use the laptop with my little tiny system (Fender Passport) if I need to.

If I had my main PC in a rack and want to do a little home show, I would be stuck having to lug in the entire rack!


By the way, I ran my show up until about 6 months agoin on a 5 year old dell laptop with a Pentium 3 processor (1.2ghz) and 1gb ram on XP. I use Siglos Karaoke Pro. That laptop is still fine and is my backup now. So you really don't need alot of power in your PC.

I am not claiming to be an expert on the topic, just my $.02 worth.

With the COST of laptops way down and the memory and capability WAY UP ..why would you want to lug around a heavy desk top??? The arguments I've heard is that if something goes wrong it is easily fixed or replaced on a desktop for less money than if you had to have something fixed on your laptop.

I personally use a laptop and would never go back to a heavy heavy rack to carry unless the venues I gigged out required it. But today I'm doing medium to small venues and get away with a LAPTOP a powered MIXER and my latest purchase 2 liteweight PR15 's from Peavey.

So go LAPTOP !!

Lugged a rack mount around for years Would not go back to one. Hard drives and ram are easier to update in a laptop. LAPTOP!!!

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I would go laptop too. I have a few PAs for various applications, and I like being able to plug the same laptop in to each of them for DJ or Karaoke shows.

I run my karaoke without any problems on a IBM Thinkpad T42 (circa 2004) that I bought off EBay for $235.00. They were $2300 computers 5 years ago.

It has an Intel Centrino M processor @ 1.7 Ghz (M processors are faster than Pentium processors in the laptop application)

1 GB memory

40GB hard drive (though I run my karaoke off an external Western Digital 250 GB drive)

64MB ATI Radeon video card built in (which I think is key to run ActiveX properly and keep the karaoke lyrics in sync)

I bought from this guy who claims to refurbish corporate lease trade-ins:

http://shop.ebay.com/thangnguyen_20060/ ... rom=&_ipg=

These older thinkpads are also built like tanks, which fits the karaoke application very well!!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Also it his highly advised that the PC you use for your karaoke shows should be used specifically and *only* for that purpose, a dedicated karaoke pc.

Using a machine as a home/business computer as well as a karaoke machine is just asking for trouble. The fewer applications on the karaoke machine the better. Trying to find a "jack of all trades" pc to use everywhere is a bad idea.

Thanks everyone for the great advice on this, it now seems like a no brainer. And it's going to save me money and the head ache of putting together a computer
HS

The other side of it is you would still need a monitor & k/b.
A laptop takes up no more room.

I have both and I would have to disagree with what some others have said about rackmount. Here are some of the pros and cons of each.

Pros of laptop

- Smaller sized and less weight
- Less Power consumption
- Less expensive

Cons of laptop

- Limited screen size
- Limited expansion
- Smaller keyboard
- Longer time to set up

Pros of rackmount

- Quicker setup
- Better expansion and upgrade
- Runs faster
- Full size keyboard
- Larger screen size

Cons of rackmount

- Noisier
- More power needed
- Larger and heavier

Here is the bottom line. As someone mentioned above, if you are dedicating a system just for Karaoke, go with the rackmount. It's a better solutiion. If you want to use the laptop for both personal and Karaoke, go with the laptop. I use my rackmount as the primary and laptop as backup.

Few things why I like rackmount. If you are bringing a rack, why not just dedicate a 3U space for the PC? It weighs a bit more but the space will not be an issue. I love the fact that all my wiring is inside the rack and I just have to connect my mics, speakers and power, I am good to go. I have more flexibility when it comes to equipment. I priced the PCI-X sound cards versus external USB or even Expresscard ones. No comparison, I can get a lot more sound for less money with PCI-X card. Also, if I need a bit more boost on video graphics, I can swap it out, not so on laptops. Speaking of which, I carry a 19" monitor for my computer and 17" for the singers. Laptop main screen is 17" max at 1280x1024. Most of them are 15" at 1024x780. If you ever ran a Hoster with the search windows open, you really appreciate the 19" screen. 15" screen in not easy to use. If I am running VirtualDJ with it, forget about it. Lastly, I hate the laptop keyboards, too small for my fat fingers. I have a 1U keyboard that slides out to use from my rack.

I have 802.11n on the rackmount so I don't have to connect it physically to my hub to upgrade of update. I just turn it on in the garage and everything I can do it there.

I think you will have to think about your usage before choosing which one to go with.

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Seize the day and SING!!!

[quote="eben @ Fri Aug 28, 2009 11:07 pm"

It weighs a bit more but the space will not be an issue. [/quote]

Huh ?

I am 56 and drive the smallest car there is.
I have been repairing 1, 2, 3 & 4u servers all week.
Ok they are full of heavier redundancy.

The 4U's I smile while I am carrying.
It hides the pain.

Laptop.

Well, there are ways to get around. I bought an aluminum rackmount case, which will conduct the heat much better and about half the weight of the steel cases. The aluminum cases will cost a bit more, about 20-30% but worth the money. I got the 3U because I wanted more than two PCI/PCI-X slots but if you get the riser, you can fit it in to 2U, which is even less weight.

I have a 20U case with plenty of room to add more equipment I use for big gigs. As I mentioned, for a small gigs, I bring my laptop for portability. As I said, it depends on what your needs are. If you have a rack that you bring, adding a few more lbs I will take for quicker setup and breakdown time for big gigs.

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Seize the day and SING!!!

20U...
I am going to cry myself to sleep tonight.

LAPTOP LAPTOP LAPTOP....Got this laptop for like $400 from DELL, add the Maxtor, Video Converter and USB hub for another $$150 or so, and $40 for briefcase, tilt rack and cooling fan. Takes about 1 minute to setup once it is mounted in the briefcase.

My laptop is permanetly wired so all i do is slide out the drawer and push the start button. I would never use a laptop setup where i had to plug and unplug all the wires into the computer. Those mother board plugs are too delicate to keep using them day after day. Plug them in and leave them alone unless you are swapping the laptop for the back up.

Mine sits on op of two cooling fans. 15" screen is plenty big enough. If you rack mount the laptop as i did you can't fit in a bigger screen. The bigger the screen the wider the laptop. Racks are only 19" wide. If you have to use the USB plugs, mine are on the sides of the laptop so I need the side space left over from the 15" laptop for the wires sticking out. The laptop has to fit in between the racks set at 19". I would also recommend using the plastic keyboard dust covers to protect from dust, dirt and drink spillage. Never trust drunks.

I like having a back up laptop because you have immeadiate access to a spare monitor, keyboard or OS within minutes of a failure. You can swap it out in ten minutes. I don't know anyone that carries around a spare rack mounted computer or monitor or keyboard.

I use a rack mount in one rig and a laptop on the other. This is my first rack mount pc and the only reason I do it is because I keep this particular set of equipment at this club. If it's a set up / tear down every night show I would much rather prefer a laptop.

I haven't had any ports go bad on my laptop, and I have been using it for over 4 years years now for karaoke. I have another laptop (circa win98) that has been plugged and unplugged several times a week for 8 years, and no problems either.

I like my custom built 1U rack mounts! I run AMD dual core 5300 Athlon with 2GB of RAM, added an additional 1U shelf to take a SATA CD ROM and hard drive dock. The mobo has more than adequate dual monitor support (1 DVI for the host and 1 VGA for the singer). It was 'fun' getting the 1U CPU fan but the onboard audio has been very good.

I did think of using a laptop but I felt that if that was secured in the rack in much the same way it would have more chance of overheating than a custom 1U unit (which has had no trouble in poorly air conditioned places during this Texas heatwave (67 x 100 degree + days this year in Austin!)

The keyboard and mouse sit inside the back of the DJ rack and get pulled out along with the power cord, just plug in mics and speakers and job done.

my $0.02, YMMV.


Jonn

I have built racks and even though the idea is great sounding, most rack computer cases are too deep for the average DJ/KJ gig case..

True, you can search around for a "Non Standard Depth" case, but the laptop just works, and the price point is too attractive..

I'm just sayin'..

I tried every way possible to go rack mount and every logical answer came back to 2 laptops. I found the "short case." I had the very expensive keyboard monitor drawer combo picked out. There is no back up keyboard monitor drawer unless you buy 2. No extra power supply. If both laptops crashed and burned tonight i would get 2 more laptops. The packages are just too neat and compact.