Changes For A Computer With MP3 Music As A Priority
Build a computer like My Super PC and you will find that enjoying MP3 music is a task it handles with ease!
Many of the major computer hardware components used to build My Super PC are actually well in excess of what you need to enjoy MP3 formatted music. A less expensive, less powerful processor will do the job just fine and save you money. If MP3 music is the primary consideration then you may also want to save a little more money by going with a value video card such as the one like I recommend.
You'll definitely want to include a CD-RW drive so you can burn your own CD's. But it doesn't cost much more to go with a DVD RW like the one I have in My Super PC. A DVD RW will also be able to burn CD's.
The speakers are another component you will want to consider carefully. Personally, I'm quite happy with the headphones and speakers I use with My Super PC. The speakers sound terrifc and take up very little space, but you may be more of an afficianado than I am.
A computer dedicated to MP3 music does not as much disk storage as a computer dedicated to video clips. Depending on the bit rate of the MP3 song and the length of the song, many MP3 songs can be stored in under 8 megabytes, so a 120GB hard drive could hold over 12,000 MP3 songs.
The bitrate of the MP3 file is an important consideration. A bitrate of 160 is "CD quality" and should be sufficient in most cases. However many other bitrates, both higher and lower, are commonly used. The other most common bit rates are 128, 192, and 320, although practically any bitrate is possible. Unfortunately, you can't just use a super big bitrate like 320 without careful consideration since the higher the bitrate, the bigger the file. A song stored in an MP3 file using a 320 bitrate is twice as big as a song stored in an MP3 file using a 160 bitrate. A 4 minute song at the 160 bit rate requires a 5 megabyte file, so the same song at the 320 bitrate requires a 10 megabyte file. A typical album at the 160 bit rate requires an 80 megabyte file, so the same album at the 320 bitrate requires a 160 megabyte file. The best idea is to retrieve copies of a sample MP3 file at the different bitrates and play them on your computer or audio system, then decide which bitrate is best for you. Then let that and the number of songs you think you might accumulate help you decide how much hard drive space you will need.
You'll need a MP3 player to play music stored in MP3 files on your computer. Such programs are more often referred to as media players since they typically handle more than just MP3 files. Perhaps the most well-know MP3 player is Microsoft's Windows Media Player, which is available as a free download from the
Microsoft Windows Media Player download site.
© 2001-2015, Rob Williams, all rights reserved.
