What have you discovered?

Hello, I am James from Chicago. I am facing some problem 

I've had more computers and DACs than I can count. I've owned everything from Dell to HP to Mac, as well as every laptop or desktop form. So...I have a 500GB NETGEAR and Pacific Valve & Electric Company Digital Music Server. In any case, it sounds better than most, however... In the last six months, I've realized that my new HP laptop with 1 terabyte and 10 gig RAM sounds better and trumps audio. I'm not sure what "beats audio" is, but it says on the box that it's the highest audio quality from a computer. Gimmicks? Yes, No? Okay, so the midrange laptop has a longer battery life than the HP laptop. And I tried my hardest to like the music server! I want to like it! It is pretty cool with all of the radio and video on the internet, and it can control your house if it is automated, such as lights, A/C, etc. So, if anyone out there had a music server and discovered they preferred their laptop, please explain why. I'm learning from your experiences as well as my own.