High power cpus usually do get a bad name in some circles. While it doesn't take a ton of cpu to playback 192kHz material for example, system latency may be an issue, and with a more powerful cpu maybe their are less DPCs. I have noted how driver problems caused high system latency using J. River when trying WASAPI vs. Lynx ASIO using their awesome library server over LAN. ASIO would cause high system latency and strain my low power ION board's gpu when minimizing and maxing the 1920x1080 screen - causing one click. WASAPI with same material, would result in super low system latency and no clicks or pops. It realy is amazing how well implemented WASAPI seems to be, for the most part.
This was with a dedicated gigabit wired lan connection, not wireless (which exhibited the same behavior but MUCH worse). There is this big anti-buffer, anti-power commmunity and I think it may be like Mike said, that with more crunching power you can actual better lock down everything Windows is doing. No one posts ABX tests, but hey maybe the difference when they add a linear is "night & day".
I think it's a balancing act which must be struck because at some point you are pushing the PC, such as streaming high bitrate video (mkv at 100000kbps or 192kHz audio at 3-5000kbps), closer to the edge of data shortfalls which results in buffer overruns that a DAC can't always handle (loss of sync or white noise_ because WASAPI lets the hardware and driver decide what to do with such data shortfalls (as opposed to ASIO).
This was with a dedicated gigabit wired lan connection, not wireless (which exhibited the same behavior but MUCH worse). There is this big anti-buffer, anti-power commmunity and I think it may be like Mike said, that with more crunching power you can actual better lock down everything Windows is doing. No one posts ABX tests, but hey maybe the difference when they add a linear is "night & day".
I think it's a balancing act which must be struck because at some point you are pushing the PC, such as streaming high bitrate video (mkv at 100000kbps or 192kHz audio at 3-5000kbps), closer to the edge of data shortfalls which results in buffer overruns that a DAC can't always handle (loss of sync or white noise_ because WASAPI lets the hardware and driver decide what to do with such data shortfalls (as opposed to ASIO).