Computer for music only?


Used Lenovo ThinkCentre M91 Desktop PC Intel Core i5 3.1GHz 4GB 320GB HDD Capacity Windows 7 Professional - OEM... any thoughts on this computer for music only
zoot45
More info about the intended use would yield better answers. What software do you plan to use, to drive what, where will your music be, etc.
Www.smallgreencomputer.com
Spec'd out by the experts at www.computeraudiophile.com. not something I've bought for my own use, but something I aspire to own. I use jriver with the jplay plugin.
Pc audio is not that demanding on a system, it's more important to dedicate that system to audio only and eliminate superfluous processes. I think there are various guides on the benchmark and wavelength websites to accomplish this.
internet radio, ripping cd, download music
Quicksilver 90 watt monos, MF M1 A dac, Theta Miles as transport, Quicksilver preamp, Fritz LS 5/R speakers
Thank you. Sounds like this will be a secondary source, and like this would be an initial foray into PC audio. In that case the specs look good. How much RAM does it have? 32 or 64-bit?

I'm of the opinion this is the best way to get your feet wet in computer audio and later decide if you want to pursue it further. Some tips to think about down the road:
Dedicating the computer to audio playback only is the preferred route so you can eliminate other processes that cause internal noise.
Using the same computer for ripping and playback is not ideal. You can rip at any other computer, copy the files into a flash drive, and copy them into the audio computer. Take a look at computeraudiophile.com guide to ripping CDs. I follow it to a t and works great.
Switching mode power supplies introduce a lot of noise. Replacing it with a linear PS yields nice benefits.
Eventually, using an audiophile usb card, like the Paul Pang Audio, also yields improvements in sound. This is a big plus of a desktop vs a laptop.
If your PC is 64-bit, consider using Windows Server 2012 as operating system and later use AudioPhil's Optimizer. Big improvement in sound!
Also eventually, using a SSD for the operating system and another drive for music also yields sound improvements.
Further again, powering the hard drives independently from the mobo and the audiophile usb card also yields benefits.
Going passively cooled and getting rid of fans (because of both the noise we hear and the electrical noise their motors generate) is also a plus, but to get there you need to replace the computer case, at which point you might as well replace the whole thing. But you could feed the fans from an independent switching source.
You can see this keeps going in typical audio fashion...

Bottom line is this would be a great way to start and will allow you enough flexibility to try improvements.
Hope this helps.