Killer Specs for High End PC in 2006

My guess is you were nearly flamed on another forum for suggesting alienware...one of the biggest ripoffs in the computing world (it's so bad, it almost reminds me of high end audio). The other reason is probably because you may not realize that the playing of audio is about the least intensive task you could find for a computer. As long as you heed Rhing's advice to bypass XP's kernel mixer, nearly any computer will do.

Point in case: I'm currently running a 2tb RAID-5 server off of a very old dual 450mhz Dell. I'm using ASIO drivers and an external soundcard and dac. Excluding the hard drives, the current value of that computer is less than $20. If spending $6k on a POS Alienware computer makes you feel good, by all means, go for it. But it won't sound a bit better.

I have several other computers of varying vintages. My ripping is all done on a 3.2ghz machine with a Plextor drive and then moved to the server. Any games played are likewise done so on a fast machine. All machines are wireless, the server is both. I VNC in from a laptop on my couch to the server in my basement to stream the music to my stereo.

I don't see the point in a cost no object PC unless you are just into wasting money. I have 6 computers in this house right now, the combined total is less than 1 Alienware computer and they each do their respective task at least as good as what an Alienware could do if not better. There's certainly no need for this number of computers, but I would suggest you get 2. Anyone that thinks they're going to put a server in a listening room and actually be able to hear the music is either planning on some very serious and expenive custom work, or is completely deaf. You're going to want a server in a basement or attic and you're probably not going to want to trek down there to play games or rip discs. That's where the second "fast" machine comes in.

As far as actually listening to nearfield music while sitting at the computer (not laptop). I've tried several pc soundsystems, went up to about the $600, and had it all sound like crap. I'm sure there are monitors out there that could sound very good, but the amount of money I would have to spend to make me not want to get up and walk 20 feet to where my main stereo is, is simply not worth it.

Ultraviolet

You make some good points.

FYI, I was flamed not for suggesting Alienware, but because I was not sufficiently specific in my request for the "best, fastest" windows based machine. Whether or not the Alienware machines were good or bad I didn't know but I just found their branding and design to be silly and juvenile.

High end audio is an appropriate metaphor, particularly as we are having this discussion on AUDIOgon.

As with my audio equipment, I care not only about the performance, but also the build quality and the appearance of any tool or applicance or component, my PC included.

I think the PC industry is still stuck in the dark ages, (other than the geeked out hobbyist world which decorates their home made Alienware PCs with neon lights and exotic cooling mechanisms) which is exactly why I am researching this topic.

Now further to your $20.00 PC, you might argue that a $10,000 Yamaha motorbike, or a tricked out Honda CRX goes just as fast as a Ferrari 612, so the only reason you should buy a Ferrari is if you want to waste money.

Or maybe that we should all have two cars: one, all AWD minivan, preferably purchased used at a discount, to get the groceries and drop off kids at soccer games and two, maybe a tracked out, fast and furious style Honda, or a second hand Caterham 7 which anyone knows will leave a Porsche Turbo in the dust for 10% of the price.

But we've explored all of these arguments before - a Seiko keeps better time than a Rolex, a Sears range top boils water as well as a Viking, a generic refrigerator cools milk and makes ice as well as a Subzero.

And those arguments dont belong on AUDIOgon.

For my house, and perhaps even for my office, I want a well made, beautifully designed, blazingly high performance PC which doesnt look like a mass produced, injection molded, depressingly ugly box, with a plastic keyboard, and yet another viewsonic monitor as seen on every white color slave's desk.

I have to spend many hours, day and night, on my computer and want it to be a high performance, luxury experience with gorgeous video, gorgeous sound, and everything I otherwise might need right at my fingertips. Why is that not a good idea?

You restored my faith to some degree with your comment on "PC" speakers, which I agree sound terrible. But in addition to having my ARC, Levinson and Tympanis in the next room, I think it would be great to have really good, studio (?) quality, active nearfield monitors also on my desk for the times when I can switch on some music, or tune into the video.

So Rhing and others, please keep the suggestions for "killer specs" and other high end, PC ideas coming.

Cheers

cwlondon

Assuming the same connection between the computer and an external DAC with uncompressed files, which sounds better a PC running Foobar 2000 or a MAC/iTunes?

I agree with some of your points. Alienware, and the whole flashing neon light crowd, is simply juvenile. Then again, the only people (barring the video editing crowd) that require the ultimate performing computers are generally the juvenile gamers, so the marketing is pretty spot on.

Personally, I hate plastic. I particularily hate the look and feel and noise of today's plastic computers. That's why I am mid way through an absolutely monstrous project. I am putting together a 8 drive, RAID-5 400gb SATA Seagate server. This server will be a 0 decibel passively watercooled beast (with the exception of 3 very quite pumps). Every heat producing item will be watercooled, PSUx2, hddx8, RAM, MOSFETS, Chipset etc. Some waterblocks were purchased, I'm making the hard drive cooling blocks and I've had to had others machined for me. All of this will be output to a large, but beautiful, copper radiator. There will not be one fan in this entire system. And just to add to the challenge, as I also do woodworking, I'm enclosing this entirely in a cherry end table. The pumps and hard drives will be further sealed in mdf and foam enclosures to block the small noise they do create.

This will be my first watercooled setup to this extent, but I've been building wooden cases for my computers for years. Currently I have a nice beech wood dual 2ghz machine that I'm typing on with a single wine holder and 15 disc rack built in.

The total cost of this computing project looks like it's going to be pushing 3.5-4k. It's using really the finest products made today for computing. However, this machine will not make my music sound even the tiniest bit better than my $20 machine in the basement. This project is simply about the aesthetics, silence and the challenge of attempting something that I believe is unique. I completely understand your desire for something beautiful--there's no shame in that and I obviously share that too. Unless you have need for all those cycles (and a desire to deal with the extra heat and noise from fans), I would skip the "fastest" cost no object audio pc as, in my opinion, it creates more problems than it solves. I highly recommend finding a slower (i.e. cooler processor) computer and building an enclosure to your liking.

To a certain extent, I agree with Ultraviolet on overspending on a music PC. It doesn't take a mega-processor to run a trouble-free processor, and that's why I didn't recommend a dual core Xeon motherboard. It doesn't take muc h processor power, but the system and OS should be optimized for best performance. For me, I am waiting for the Intel-powered Mac Mini to be introduced (hopefully at Macworld Expo next week). A current Mac Mini with Bluetooth and WiFi runs under $700. My main investment is in Glyph Technologies drives, which I do feel is worth the investment if you're going for a high end PC hard drive digital transport (and I am).

On the other hand, there is absolutely nothing wrong with climbing to the pinnacle of PC music server nirvana. If I had the bucks to buy a G5 Power Mac or an ultimate custom-built Windows rig, I would do it. The spec's I have provided earlier simply serve as a guide to those who want to pursue an excellent system. Who knows, I still might buy an A-Tech Fabrication HTPC HeatSync Case 6000 and roll my own, just to build a fanless system.