XXHighEnd

Hello,
I am thinking of upgrading my Netbook to a dedicated highend music desktop. E.g. Intel 3930K with 16 Gb memory, SSD and SataIII.
I like to hear of experiences of other people who did that in the past. Will the SQ go up and how much? Or is it only glitchless playback that will be improved?

kind regards, Arjan

Hi Arjan,  regarding XXHighend, in 2007 I started with a Dell Vostro 1500 laptop with 2 gigs of memory. In 2009 I switched to a Vostro 230 with 4 gigs of memory. In the spring of 2012 I put together the computor in my signature below. I found each change, particularly the last, significantly improved sound quality.  You should take a look at this thread started by Juan: http://www.phasure.com/index.php?topic=1673.0

Tons of good info there.

Yep, SQ should improve.
xxhe likes many cores and lots of ram to load bigger portion of files (although sometimes low SFS are more liked by the community)
4 cores and 8GB would be the very minimum If i were to build my dedicated PC now.

Hi Boleary and Telstar,
Thanks for your answers. So my next upgrade will be a dedicated music PC.
kind regards

Hi,
I am working on the selection of components for my new audio computer. But I need some advice. I have a couple of options but will limit it to two basic questions.
1) Go for a fast processor. A computer more or less similar to the one build by Peter last year. Based on a 3930K intel (130W). But a pc like that will need fans to cool and heavier power supply, and so on.
2) or go for a passive computer with e.g. a 3770T intel (45W) processor. This can be completly passive.

The question: will the faster processor with active cooling but 6 cores be better for SQ than the passive PC with a 4 cores processor, although passive.

I really like the idea to go for the second (passive) solution, just a good mobo, processor, 16Gb, HDD, SSD and small power supply, in a streacom case.

Any advice available?

regards, Arjan

Hi Arjan,

I would never go for the "slow one". It will be too slow to conveniently play music, and besides you will be limited for certain settings which are SQ related. So, SQ in general may (or may not at all) be influenced negatively, but it is about the stupid thing of e.g. receiving gaps at good-SQ settings because all is too slow, while "we" are able to dial-in those good-SQ settings.

I hope you can understand it. So, indirectly it is always SQ related and the faster the better. Just because you will have more options.

Regards,
Peter

Hi Arjan,

A year ago I faced exactly the same question, speed or silence.

In an attempt to find a fast but silent solution I chose for the Intel i7-2600S (95W). It seems like a tuned down version, but is overclockable.

It is cooled with an oversized cooler, the Thermalright AXP-140RT with a NoiseBlocker 120mm silent fan on top. This is the only fan in the pc. The PSU is a fanless Silentmaxx Fanless II.

It all works great, I had no issues with the common XX settings and the pc is very silent. The choice of the cooler and fan is of course dependent on the type of pc cabinet.
All was ordered at Informatique .

Regards,
Stanley

Hi,
Thanks again for the replies. I ordered the components for the audio PC. The basic mobo, processor and so is similar to the pc created by Peter last year. I will use a Nexus 5000 r3 power supply, it has a fan but is well known for its silence. I use a Silverstone milo 03b case, a 10 cm low case, I will add two case fans, but maybe not use them, lets see. The cooler will be a scythe shuriken 2 rev b with PWM controlled fan, this is my only concern. It seems that the only cpu fan controls today, for X79, are PWM, but this can interact with the SQ. Any thoughts on that?
This audio pc will replace my current netbook, I am really curious to find out the improvements!
regards, Arjan

Arjan,

While you can, cancel the order for the Nexus. It creates DC Offset on the mains ...
It is silent, but now your (amps etc.) transformers won't be ...

Peter

Hey Peter :)

This Nexus thing is quite interesting. How about the Seasonic brand ?

Is there a place where you listed the grocery list for the music pc you made ?

Regards,

Alain

Hi Peter,
Interesting remark on the Nexus. Do you have a better brand in mind, e.g. be quiet!. Or go completely passive with a seasonic?
regards, Arjan

Hi Arjan,

Seasonic is great. Take a model over 500W, it has extra capacitance over the "smaller ones. Quality comes with a price though.

Also the Corsair dsp 7xxW units are worth investigating.

Regards, Coen

I got the Sesonic Platinum model with a 1kw rating. Not that such power was required, but I thought that the more powerful the PSU, the less chance the PSU fan would run...

Alain

In the XXHighEnd PC the BeQuiet! Pure Power L7 530W is used.

Notice : The reason for exactly this one is not only it being quiet enough, but also it providing enough power connections and merely : it's smaller size. When the size is not of the most importance, others may suffice just as well.

Peter

Thanks Peter. I was wondering (and this reflect my ignorance, but anyway): if a PSU would induce DC offset, would it reflect when we check the DC offset of the NOS1 ?

Alain

Hi Peter,
Thanks for the info. That was also my first choice, because I saw that it was a be quiet! on your pictures. And then I started thinking, this can be improved......but I lack the experience.
kind regards, Arjan

And it is just that experience. I have that Nexus and 3 others here, all failed ...

And hey, aren't that supid reviews/tests ... The Nexus is the most silent. Yea, when you don't listen to your amplifiers.
Stupid stuff.

Peter

Right. The problem is: when they talk about noise, they too often only mention the incoming noise from the device... Not the noise that spreads into the signal and pollutes the rest...

For folks in the US: The OEM for the BeQuiet! stuff in the power range for Peter's PC is a Taiwanese company whose name I forget at the moment.  At higher ranges the OEM is Seasonic.  They're both available through Newegg and other US sources, so you wouldn't have to pay to import from Germany if wanting to build your own.

FSP is the Taiwanese OEM.