When you get the ripping, formats and playback software sorted there's also the computer's operating system to consider. Windows, for one, does hundreds of things in the background that have nothing to do with music playing. "Stripping out" a Windows install can noticeably improve playback sound quality. You can either do this yourself (daunting at the least) or there are commercial products that will do it. Windows Server 2012 R2 seem to be the preferred OS for this.
