True, but most people aren't changing their audio systems around very
much, either,
Prevsiously you used the term "audiophile" and yes, they
certainly do change their systems.
Audio doesn't require short high speed buses. It needs
cleaner (for traditional analog) power that creates more
heat per watt, and spacing out components allows passive
cooling. You can't just space out a modern video card or
CPU then passively cool it (within reasonable measures).
Actually though, audio systems are more similar to computers
than you'd like to accept. Computers ARE modular like audio
racks, and are often stored in cabinets like computer cases
are. If you've ever looked behind a complex audio system
there are certainly a lot of cables, and if you opened up
your cassette deck to change parts you might not find a lot
of free space in some areas either.
There just isn't a good reason to space out everything, but
several reasons not to. You don't need a lot of space to do
anything, only enough space, and towards that end a large
case will be sufficient.
and yet there is a healthy market for component audio
systems. There should also be a similar market for component computer
systems, so why aren't any available?
Actually, consumer-grade audio has done exactly what
computers have, become more integrated and smaller.
Wasting space by expanding a computer could apply to
anything though- spread out the work on your desk all over
the floor so you can get to it better. Expand your garage
so you have more space between your garden tools. The idea
can be expanded to cover any areas and ultimately most
people prefer having things take up only as much space as
necessary and having larger open areas instead. They simply
don't find the frequency and difficultly of working in a
computer case (or whatever) to be work spreading it out to
take up more space).
Why can one put different PC components in different boxes, then
connect them with standardized cables, just as one does for audio
systems?
It's a bad idea, there's relatively little gain and plenty
of reasons not to.
It is NOT hard to cool a PC. It's not hard to add or remove
components either. Same thing happened with automobiles,
you used to be able to pull a steering rack out without
dropping the subframe, but these days you might not be able
to even pull an air filter or battery without moving things.
People like "small", and most don't "want" to do mechanical
things. They'll buy small then decide later what happens if
it breaks. If that troubles you and you do PC repair, it's
up to your descretion to try and charge more for working on
smaller systems if you feel that's a bother. Then again,
would you rather have to drive to a 'site because the
computer isn't easily transportable, rather than having a
box plopped down in front of you?
Further, most people order an OEM box or go to a store to
pick it up. They don't want to pay another $50 shipping for
a monster system that won't even fit on their desk.
Basically I"m suggesting that other people simply don't have
the same priorities as you do, that their priorities are the
majority so it is only cost effective to produce systems
bought by that majority of people.
One box could contain the (removable) motherboard, another
could contain expansion cards,
Nope, you can't just extend a high-speed bus.
another could contain disk drives,
Again, high-speed bus. It's not hard to remove drives from
most systems anyway, avg. person does it once every few
years if ever. That last thing they'd want is a high
percentage of space taken up just so that someday others
could replace it easier.
PLUS, drives can be cooled passively by computer case
exhaust fans, but they will not be cooled as much by being
in a separate enclosure with no fan. You'd need a fan in
separate enclosure for same level of cooling so it's no
quieter, no smaller, and not much easier to work on- the
benefits of integrated systems simply far outweigh the
benefits of separate boxes for everything.
and
so on. And connectors could be designed for easy connection and
disconnection and long-life, rather like connectors on professional
audio and video equipment that may be connected and disconnected
thousands of times.
Longer-life connectors would be nice, but also more
expensive. Many, many, many components in a PC could be
made better at higher cost. A nickel here and there isn't a
lot of additional cost but it does add up, ultimately if a
system cost 50% more but it's paper specs didn't read any
differently, people wouldn't buy it. ECS motherboards are
an example of this- people buy cheap when they, personally,
can't appreciate the difference.
Yes. But see above. With more standardized cables and better
connectors, one could just plug things in and out. Do expansion cards
really have to connect with contacts direcly on a bare PCB that can't
tolerate more than a few insertions and removals?
It's quite a few insertions and removals, more than any
normal system could ever encounter. Bottom line- it works
as-is. Cost of theoretical improvements must be weighed
against benefit. Most systems last longer than their
warranty.
Yes. Right now every case ends up being a mess, no matter how
carefully one begins.
Not every system, but who cares?
How many people open up their washing machine and comment
that the wiring to the knobs and buttons isn't esthetically
pleasing? People are prone to do irrational things and
having cables tidy without specific reason is one of them.
Certainly cables shouldn't be subject to fall into fans or
such, but computers are NOT supposed to be works of art on
the inside- close the case and buy a real piece of art.
How about modular systems. Do PCI cards _have_ to be slotted right
into the motherboard? What are the maximum lengths for the signal
paths?
You should simply read specs and then have a basis, rather
than arguing things you don't know about yet. Just believe
me, there are many reasons why PCs are as they are.
Spreading them out is a waste of time, $, and space.
Could expansion cards be mounted in small boxes that would then plug
into a simple external bus?
What a terrible idea. Making things complex for no good
reason is silly. You propose changes without any clear
gain.
We have absolutely zero need to move cards away from a
motherboard. AT worst, hot-running cards need space on the
hot side. Nobody is forced to have a card in the adjacent
PCI slot AFAIK, so it's only if one chooses to do such
things that they cause problems. Bottom line- some people
think building a PC is only about putting part A in slot B.
So it is with many tasks where someone assumes they know but
hasn't given much thought to the short, let alone long term
consequences.
I find myself wondering why I must open cases and fool directly with
printed-circuit boards for a computer when audiophiles need never open
the cases of their equipment to put a system together.
Because audiophiles aren't working at board level. However,
I am an audiophile and I DO work at board level on
audiophile equipment, so your assumptions may be in error.
Apples and oranges though. You are only considering
hands-off audiophiles. If you consider only hands-off PC
users, they do in fact set up systems a similar way,
plugging in a different monitor, or USB scanner, etc- they
don't open up their systems either. If you try to do the
functions of a system integrator or builder, they you would
also have to argue using same consideration of being a
system integrator or builder for individual components and
circuit boards within a closed amplifier or CD player or
whatever-the-gear.
All they need
is the right cables ... not soldering irons.
Now you're being silly. They don't only need the right
cables for internal parts, there are noise and electrical,
signal quality issues not so unsimilar to a PC.
Further, you do not need a soldering iron for typical PC
construction. However, over the past month or so with my
audiophile hobby, I've soldered at least 20X as much as for
PCs, maybe 100X.
Perhaps because the market is so small at present.
Yes, exactly. People who try to space out systems are in
the minority, plus there is a limitation in how far things
can be spaced out.
No matter what the bus, it is typical that to lengthen it,
it will have to be slowed down. Even now work is being done
to better serial connections and make this less of an issue,
BUT so is work to decrease size and increase integration.
Most people simply do not want something far larger and far
more expensive that does little of anything more.
It also makes it a lot harder to keep components cool, since they are
consuming more power in a smaller space.
Lot harder than what?
Spacing things out has a quite diminishing return. Take a
CPU for example- the primary problem is getting the heat
from the core to the heatsink fins, NOT whether you have a
small case or not, as most cases are still plenty big enough
for a pair of 92mm fans, if not 120mm, which is enough.
Spacing things out means you need more fans. That's not
easier. It's not quieter. It's more expensive. It is
harder to maintain opening several boxes to clean out dust
every so often. Having multiple boxes means a very large
increase in the total cost to manufacture cases, and their
weight, shipping costs.
You are free to buy multiple cases and try it out if you
don't believe me. Nobody is stopping you.
