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Killer Specs for High End PC in 2006

I have read several different threads re iPods for audio and video, as well as various suppliers for the custom PC of my Audiogon dreams.

However, when speaking to PC builders, I have been caught surprisingly off guard when asked for the specs - I would have thought I knew what I wanted, but I am not yet clear enough to place the order.

In fact, I was practically flamed in another forum, by simply saying that I wanted the fastest, "best" PC with tons of memory and disk space for audio and video applications.

Given that PCs are not very expensive, and are not room dependent like audio, I still dont understand the mystery of building a cost no object, Windows based PC.

I would guess Alienware or other high end gaming PCs might be a good rough draft. But I dont want geeky hobbyist cases, gaming will not be my primary focus and I would like the audio and video to be even more sophisticated.

So I would greatly appreciate any advice and perhaps we can collectively design the ultimate, multimedia PC?

Here are my initial, perhaps frustratingly vague thoughts:

Maximum memory and hard drive space for audio/video
Capacity for additional, stackable hard drive modules
Ability to read and "burn" both CDs and DVDs
Fast "boot up", lean mean OS
Is component output for video possible?
Digital output (WAV files?) for external DAC?
Multiple monitors - at LEAST 3 - in "hydra" configuration
Video sufficient for video, gaming, but not necessarily CAD or molecular research
High end PC, or HTPC cases, as linked in other threads
Keyboard also "high end" build quality, preferably wireless
Robust, reliable build quality (dont want tweaky cooling systems for overclocking etc. if that reduces reliability)

I realize these few points may barely begin to solve the puzzle here, but perhaps this might inspire some thinking for others who plan to build a PC.

And any ideas, suggestions, personal experiences or vendors would be greatly appreciated.

PS

Extra Credit I

I thought it might be interesting to also design the ultimate "nearfield" audio system to go with this concept.

Powered studio monitors? Electrostatics for low level clarity? Surround sound perfectly oriented to the desk chair of this computer?

That could be another thread all by itself but please let us hear your ideas here too.

Extra Credit II

Another idea - could this system also be the hub of a LAN?

Could I log onto this system remotely, using it as a server, and accessing my files? And connect to a wireless router so send music around the house?
cwlondon
davemitchell
252 posts
 
Apple may have an edge for some video applications, but when I last investigated, PC was still best for audio because all of the best studio quality sound cards were only available for PC. (M-Audio, Lynx, RME)

Has this changed?

When last I dove into experimenting with PC audio, I couldn't find anything that was able to beat the digital AES/EBU (XLR) out of a Lynx or RME into a high end outboard D/A converter.
edesilva
768 posts
 
CWL, just to follow up... Glenn at ATechFabrication delivered my case right in line with the timeframes on the site. It fits right in amidst the other anodized black aluminum plate gear on the shelf, which happens to be some ARC gear and some Theta stuff. Build quality was superb--everything lined up and matched the mounting materials on the mobo, etc.

Took me about an hour to put it all together. I'll note that the last PC I put together was a S-100 bus monster with an 8080 processor and a pair of 8" floppy disk drives--think it was 1980, and I had to write my own mods to the BIOS to make the printer work. The machine booted up fine, and, while I installed a fan, I've left the chassis fan disconnected and it percolates along fine at 52C. This time around I installed an E-MU 1212m audio card, which was more of a pain than anything to get working (turns out its iTunes 7 that is at fault, not the E-MU).

Anyway, the hardware was the easy part--took me hours and hours to load driver updates for the mobo, network, RAID, Windows, Windows Office XP suite, Adobe CS2 Suite, and Macromedia Studio 8, along with all the other odds 'n ends of software I use. If I ever see the "You need to reboot to finish installation of this driver" again, I'll be happy.

Anyway, the machine is zero fan noise. I get some seek noise off the Raptor drive, but I'm willing to trade a bit of that for fast access times. The quietness of the machine makes the Plextor DVD/CD sound like a jet engine in comparison.

Good luck!
cwlondon OP
1,198 posts
 
Can anyone update these "killer specs" now that it is February 2007?

Any major breakthroughs since this thread started?

Thank you,
yyz
98 posts
 
I bought a Dell XPS 410 to serve as a media centre PC with Vista Premiun Home Edition ($2100.00). It does everything extemely close to the spec described in the begining of the thread. It is super quite and quite fast. I configured 2 hard drives for RAID 0 and use a 500 Gig Western Digital external drive for all my music (copied using EAC and lossless then FLAC). I also use a SqueezeBox feeding into a modded Benchmark DAC. The sound is pretty good though not a good as my modded Sony SCD-1 SACD/CD player. But the convenence factor has me listening to more music.

I believe I can get a tablet PC in the future to function as my remote control using remote desktop. I may need to upgrade to Vista Ultimate for the remote desktop.

I also have a TV tuner with this computer system and use Microsoft Media Center to record the NHL hockey games while I am at work. Everything works great.
cwlondon OP
1,198 posts
 
YyZ

Thanks for the update - sounds like a very nice system you are building.

Aside from huge hard drive storage, wireless and networking capabilities etc, does this puzzle boil down to the following:

* Latest, greatest video card

and

* Maximum RAM

Because it seems that much of what we are tying to do here does not necessarily require the fastest chipsets?

In the true spirit of being an audiophile, I am perhaps most concerned with spending the big bucks on a heavy, beautifully made chassis.

Some of the nicer silent ones I have seen have a small "footprint" and I had concerns that they might not accomodate the components I needed.

But if my thesis above is correct, than all I have to do is ask if ask the manufacturer if such a chassis will accomodate a high end video card?

Thanks for ideas.
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