Audio PC

I built a dedicated fanless Intel NUC powered by an Sbooster Mkll PSU for Roon Rock.From NUC to Router i use a Mad Scientist Black Magic LAN cable.Result is amazing!

Avoid any laptop or desktop computer that is inherently noisey. If you have a gaming laptop or laptop, I wouldn't use it for audio.

My Gigabyte Aero 17 is quite noisey. For that, I have an iFi silencer 3.0 that does wonders for it. Although it has a built in GPU, I undervolted the laptop and achieved 30% better performance and silent fans during music playback. 

Fanless laptops or desktop computers are ideal fo audio only applications. 

For music listening I use a QuietPC with SSDs. The constant 'noise' coming from the background processes in the computer which are not necessary for music reproduction can be brought down to the absolute minimum by installing Audiophile optimizer.Finally I configured my USB interface (DAC) so that it doesn't use the power over the USB cable from the PC but its own linear psu. Like this the PC and the DAC are galvanically isolated.For playing music I use HQPlayer 4 or a standalone studio production tool (like  Ozone 8 for instance) with which I can add virtual tape etc in real time. Very cool.

The biggest problems with using a PC is the noise,  When I was using my PC (I upgraded to an Aurrender and COULD NOT BE HAPPIER) the biggest issue was the noise form the power supplies and the crappy USB interface (USB sucks.  Its for peripherals - not music).  I got an ESI Juliet Sound Card and replaced the power supplies and it sounded good - but the ease of working it was annoying. You need to be a network admin to handle it.  The Aurrender was a game changer for me.  PCs suck for music. Leave them for work and get a real streamer.  

When using a computer you need to know what to do with it otherwise it really can suck. But it has enormous processing power which no stand alone digital audio gear can ever reach. USB is a high end audio connection if used properly. Noise is not a  problem. https://www.highend-audiopc.com/audiophile-optimizer
USB over I2S is in many ways  better than any other digital connection for reproducing music at home and it has potential for tweaking to what you really need. Using a computer for sound reproduction is the ticket to real music because it offers so many options. Let's not forget that sound studios work with computers to produce the music we listen to.