Computer for home audio

I have something similar. One thing I do is keep the browser tabs to a minimum, especially on web sites that have a lot of video ads. These sites take up CPU cycles.

I also use a Sonare microRendu that isolates the computer noise from the DAC. It is an Ethernet-2-USB conversion device. I have learned recently that I can improve on this because there is some noise on the Ethernet wire that gets into the DAC. However, the microRendu sounds very good in my setup. There always the option of making an OPTICAL network from your computer to the DAC to lower or eliminate this Ethernet noise. Sonare also has a solution for this which they market as SystemOptique (a few hundred $$).

As already mentioned, USB out to an external DAC.

Why anyone uses a computer to stream music to a high end system today is a mystery. There are too many better available options now.

@ozzy62      Ozzy just read your comment about computers and music which is what I now use exclusively. I have built a bespoke computer for nothing else but music and it cost me a bomb but is so good that I eventually sold my Gryphon Mikado Signature because the PC blew it out of the ball park.

I'm using my 10 year old Dell XPS 9000 (which is still my main computer rig) to stream Tidal and Qobuz through USB.  It's feeding a MHDT Orchid DAC, and I have an ARC VSI-55 with Harbeth P3ESR and a Simaudio 430HA headphone amp.  Sound quality is as good as, maybe better than my main system which cost an order of magnitude more.