Built-in Amps for PC's

[FEEL]

especially now that windows has built-in surround support, and 600w+ power supplies are cheap, how about installing small car amplifiers inside pc cases, and having speaker terminals on the back?

i thought it would be a great thing to add into HTPC's, because you dont need a receiver to get surround sound. all you would need is a couple small car amps, depending on how many speakers you want. you could use a small 4-channel to get the front 3, and use powered rears and subs for the full surround. or add another 2channel amp for the rears, but it may get too cramped inside.

Anyone hear of people doing this? the only concern i see is the size limitations. definately would have to use at least full-size atx cases to squeeze it all in there, and some really strong fans to keep it cool when its turned up. a 700w psu would power a nice dual-core rig with a mild video card and that car amp with a fair amount of ease i would think. this wouldnt be for huge loud speakers of course, but i think with a couple sets of 6.5" components for the fronts and coaxials for the center you could make a great sounding system, with it all included in one box. it would make things very simple for the end user- no stereo to be turned on, no settings to worry about just plug and play.

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[guns1inger]

I have seen a motherboard with a built-in valve amplifier. Then again, I have also seen valve amplifiers built for iPods - which has to be the biggest waste of valve technology ever.

[edDV]

I don't like the idea of that added heat inside the PC case or drawing from the PC 12vdc supply. Each voltage has a separate load limit.

I'd mount it all in it's own case/box. You still need to rig volume controls.

12VDC 5 Amp ~ $30


12VDC 10 Amp ~ $50

[celtic_druid]

Someone already did it. At least I recall seeing an I think mini-ITX case with a hinge and the amp in one half. You could have it flat, amp/pc on top of each other or side by side. Had a quick look, but couldn't find the article.

[valvehead]

It's an interesting idea. There's no doubt it can be done, but it's a horribly inefficient way to do it. A typical 700W PSU can supply 18A on any one 12V line. That's 216W peak or 108W rms. That power has to be shared by all channels in the amp. This is assuming that the PSU can actually supply that much current with everything else in the computer drawing power. The car amp won't be 100% efficient either. Some of that power will be wasted as heat in the output transistors. You might end up with about 20W per channel (3 channels driven). Personally I'd go with a decent 5.1 receiver: more power, better sound quality, more control and more cost effective.

[Richard_G]

If I was going to try it, I'd use Class D amps. Far more efficient than car amps.

[yoda313]

wouldn't the vibration ruin the cpu if it was literally next to the motherboard case? If you're talking about building a subwoofer into the actually cpu case I wouldn't think that would be a good idea. I have a 5.1 logitech analog speaker system that works great. No problems whatsoever and has a powered subwoofer.