![]() ![]() Hardcore gaming enthusiasts build their own units from the ground up: case, power supply, screw in a motherboard onto which clips CPU, RAM, graphics card and sound card, connect a hard drive – you’re off to the ball game. This kind of modularity runs to the very core of the PC world. A third party card dropped into a free PCIe slot on the motherboard lifts screen redraw and frame rate performance to meet a game’s demands. Our gamer requires better-performing graphics (and sound). Motherboard-hosted sound and graphics chips do little more than get users up and running with office applications and web browsing. PC gamers are accustomed to their hardware platform being more extensible. Owners of later-generation Apple laptops are even less fortunate – what you buy is what you get for the product’s lifespan. Once additional RAM is fitted, little more can be done to improve the PC’s ability to multi-task. A diminished footprint brings with it sharp upgrade limitations. Uni-box restrictions are mirrored by the world of small form-factor computers e.g. Total spend arrives a long way north of US$3000. I trick the Nova out with an IKEA Aptitlig chopping board for price-commensurate isolation, a LessLoss DFPC power cord and a Resonessence Labs Concero HD USB converter for superior DAC-direct performance. Ditto the Peachtree’s headphone output for which I’d recommend headphones of DAP-friendly impedance and sensitivity. Once the inevitable itch to upgrade strikes, the user is limited to external appendages: isolation shelf, deluxe power cord or USB-S/PDIF converter – one of each will suffice.Įxemplifying: neither the US$2000 Peachtree Nova 220SE’s ICEPower amplifier section nor its ESS Sabre 9023 DAC implementation is user-upgradeable. Ultimate obsolescence therefore ships free of charge. Locked into place for the product’s life span the integrated’s internals are (mostly) a no-go zone. Owners of integrated amplifiers will know the score: speaker outputs, headphone output and DAC and/or phono stage encased in a single unit takes the box count down, waves bon voyage to interconnects and commandeers only a single power socket/cable. ![]()
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