Slightly "tube-ular", Steve

[thxdave]

Here's one for you Steve. I wonder if the fans in the computer case can blow "The Breath of Life"?
http://www.aopen.com/products/mb/ax4b-533Tube.htm

Dave

[Steve Hoffman]

The tube will probably outlast the cheap board it's mounted on.

Also, the heat from the tube will ensure that the rest of the components will become extra brittle.

Other than that...:)

[mcow1]

Actually, as someone who does PCs for a living. AOpen makes fairly good mobos. I'm not sure a tube that small would heat up too much as the CPUs run pretty doggone hot themselves these days. However, the tube is right next to the PCI slots so a fan mounted in one of those slots would take care of any heat. Now any sounds you may want to hear from your pc as a startup sound probably wouldn't work well because the tube isn't warmed up yet.

[Sckott]

I work on computers too.

Great idea, but if you see as many computers as I with motherboards coated with dustbunnies and large tumbleweeds of dust, the idea of putting a tube in there isn't "warm", it's "HOT!" (not like the Athelon hasn't survived a clumsy public)....

It would work for those who pay close attention to their system and the cleanliness of their surroudings. I was thinking of that, only to know the tube will survive quite well as long as things are kosher inside the case.

I think improving the audio goes beyond this. It's not the tube so much as the DAC and codecs that process the information. the tube seems to just be an amplification stage only. :/

[thxdave]

I guess all that you would need to complete the look is one of the plexiglass windows on the side so you could see it glowing, but with the metal shield around it, I guess that idea won't work either. I get a big kick out of the hotrodders who run active water-bath cooling systems, peltiers, etc. ;)

dave

[SonicZone]

Originally posted by Sckott
. . . Great idea, but if you see as many computers as I with motherboards coated with dustbunnies and large tumbleweeds of dust, the idea of putting a tube in there isn't "warm", it's "HOT!" (not like the Athelon hasn't survived a clumsy public)....

It would work for those who pay close attention to their system and the cleanliness of their surroudings. I was thinking of that, only to know the tube will survive quite well as long as things are kosher inside the case.
I don't think any AMD Athlon system needs any more heat to contend with than it already has. I built my Athlon system from scratch with extra fans and just the right amount of Arctic Silver II -- cooling is something you just don't compromise on with these chips, much as I love the power of them! (I'm not a fan of overclocking, either.) I'll instead opt for a higher-quality sound card, even if it costs me an extra PCI slot.

[vex]

I just can't figure this motherboard out... I mean, aside from the total ridiculousness of it, what is up with one tube? I assume the only usefulness of tubes on a soundcard (integrated or otherwise) would be for the output stage, right? Well, at the very least I would assume you would need two tubes for stereo (one per channel). Am I missing something here?

[Sckott]

Yes. I think we all are. Take the tube-sound OFF the motherboard. Use an outboard DAC/Tube amp unit for outside of the computer (like an outside controller).

I was never a fan of onboard sound. Putting a tube inbetween it all just ain't right the more I think about it.

Oh, I haven't seen an Athelon fry yet except for one, and that was because it was grossly overclocked by someone who admitted it. Knock on wood, I'm an Athelon user, and my stinky little Orb fan has done very well. It hasn't flaked out. :)

I see about 4-12 computers daily. I *DO* see a lot of 200mhz Compaqs that people dump on me for parts. :rolleyes:

[mcow1]

Originally posted by Sckott
I was never a fan of onboard sound. Putting a tube inbetween it all just ain't right the more I think about it.

Oh, I haven't seen an Athelon fry yet except for one, and that was because it was grossly overclocked by someone who admitted it.

Yeah, I always disable onboard sound when I build a PC myself, a good card is better. Athlons do run hot, when I built my kids last pc I contacted AMD cuz the chip was running 120F, a lot more than my P4 machine, but it runs better.