Buying new desktop and need suggestions

I just recently assembled a good budget audio production desktop computer for just under $500 (well, $530 after tax). It features an 8th gen i3 running at 3.6 GHz, 8GB of RAM, a small SSD, a 1TB mass storage drive, and it runs Win10 and Reaper like a champ (I'm not a Cubase guy so I have no idea how it would fare).

So you could easily put a solid machine together within your budget without going refurbished. Maybe invest a bit more in the CPU and get something like an 8th gen i5 or a Ryzen 5 for a little more horsepower and more cores/threads to spread out the load.
Did you assemble that or buy it as is? If you got it as is, let me know where (online) I can find it...
 
The first thing I would do is power down the laptop; flip it over; remove all the obvious covers; and vacuum it out. You *could* blow it out, but I don't recommend that with enclosed systems like laptops, PSUs, etc. It sounds to me like you have a slow heat issue (assuming it is NOT what others have suggested with Malware and a bad memory card and such) and the CPU is overheating a little, which is causing the freeze after 30 minutes. It's not getting so hot that it just shuts down, which probably means the CPU fan is still spinning but it's having trouble moving the hot air away from the CPU. I'm willing to bet you'll find a lot of dust under those covers. Just be careful when you're vacuuming near the fans, because they're typically not very well attached and flop around a little...and getting them back in the right spots can be a bitch.

It sounds like you know how much memory you've installed, so check it by watching the first startup screen; it will display the amount of memory the system recognizes. (If it goes by too fast, use the Pause/Break key to freeze the screen.) Or, you can download this free app I've been using lately; it's amazing. It tells you everything that is in your computer, hardware-wise, down to the clock speeds and channel widths of your memory. So you can easily tell how much memory the system recognizes using the app, and then you'll know if you have a bad memory card. (The app is called CPU-Z; just Google it.)

However, if your system is displaying less memory installed than you expect to see, do not automatically assume the memory is bad; just try reseating it first. Take it out and put it back in. All of them.

In terms of buying a new desktop, I've been using a few different systems depending on what my sessions call for...I won't go into the details, but it sounds to me like you *might* be able to use what I refer to as my "small, quiet system" (as opposed to my "big, loud, dorky system with liquid cooling and enough power to compute cosmology modeling..." hahaha). It's based around the newer "mini-PCs" Intel has been selling. They refer to them as NUCs, or "Next Unit of Computing." To get the best bang for yer buck, they *do* require a bit of knowledge and assembly but it's much easier than assembling a new tower from the ground up. The first thing to consider is how many dedicated USB and SATA (external drive) connections you'll need, as these boxes are very small and don't have many connections. I can only use my NUC when I'm doing basic tracking (max 8, preferably less, especially at higher resolutions) and don't need USB connections for keyboard/surface controllers, as their dedicated CC ccommands won't work through USB hubs. Most NUCs have just enough USB connections for a keyboard and a mouse, with one or two leftover.

So, if you're just a solo/project studio kinda guy, a NUC might be the way to go. But like I said, they're sorta DIY, like a barebones kit, and if you want to get the most outta yer money, you'll want to source the parts yerself, but that means you need to have a basic working knowledge of how memory works in tandem with the front-side bus and the CPU and all that jazz. You can pay a little more and buy one preassembled too, but you'll pay 30% or more for the convenience. But...like I keep saying, depending on how much power you need, you can get an Intel NUC from Fry's right now, ready to go outta the box, for less than $170. And it fits in the palm of yer hand. Keep in mind, that price includes no peripherals: no monitor, no keyboard, no mouse. And it's a pretty weak system. Just using it to demonstrate the pricing on these things.

Hope that helps.
 
The first thing I would do is power down the laptop; flip it over; remove all the obvious covers; and vacuum it out. You *could* blow it out, but I don't recommend that with enclosed systems like laptops, PSUs, etc. It sounds to me like you have a slow heat issue (assuming it is NOT what others have suggested with Malware and a bad memory card and such) and the CPU is overheating a little, which is causing the freeze after 30 minutes. It's not getting so hot that it just shuts down, which probably means the CPU fan is still spinning but it's having trouble moving the hot air away from the CPU. I'm willing to bet you'll find a lot of dust under those covers. Just be careful when you're vacuuming near the fans, because they're typically not very well attached and flop around a little...and getting them back in the right spots can be a bitch.

It sounds like you know how much memory you've installed, so check it by watching the first startup screen; it will display the amount of memory the system recognizes. (If it goes by too fast, use the Pause/Break key to freeze the screen.) Or, you can download this free app I've been using lately; it's amazing. It tells you everything that is in your computer, hardware-wise, down to the clock speeds and channel widths of your memory. So you can easily tell how much memory the system recognizes using the app, and then you'll know if you have a bad memory card. (The app is called CPU-Z; just Google it.)

However, if your system is displaying less memory installed than you expect to see, do not automatically assume the memory is bad; just try reseating it first. Take it out and put it back in. All of them.

In terms of buying a new desktop, I've been using a few different systems depending on what my sessions call for...I won't go into the details, but it sounds to me like you *might* be able to use what I refer to as my "small, quiet system" (as opposed to my "big, loud, dorky system with liquid cooling and enough power to compute cosmology modeling..." hahaha). It's based around the newer "mini-PCs" Intel has been selling. They refer to them as NUCs, or "Next Unit of Computing." To get the best bang for yer buck, they *do* require a bit of knowledge and assembly but it's much easier than assembling a new tower from the ground up. The first thing to consider is how many dedicated USB and SATA (external drive) connections you'll need, as these boxes are very small and don't have many connections. I can only use my NUC when I'm doing basic tracking (max 8, preferably less, especially at higher resolutions) and don't need USB connections for keyboard/surface controllers, as their dedicated CC ccommands won't work through USB hubs. Most NUCs have just enough USB connections for a keyboard and a mouse, with one or two leftover.

So, if you're just a solo/project studio kinda guy, a NUC might be the way to go. But like I said, they're sorta DIY, like a barebones kit, and if you want to get the most outta yer money, you'll want to source the parts yerself, but that means you need to have a basic working knowledge of how memory works in tandem with the front-side bus and the CPU and all that jazz. You can pay a little more and buy one preassembled too, but you'll pay 30% or more for the convenience. But...like I keep saying, depending on how much power you need, you can get an Intel NUC from Fry's right now, ready to go outta the box, for less than $170. And it fits in the palm of yer hand. Keep in mind, that price includes no peripherals: no monitor, no keyboard, no mouse. And it's a pretty weak system. Just using it to demonstrate the pricing on these things.

Hope that helps.

I did most of what you say...about running tests and recognizing ram etc. a while back and the computer checked out and I'm just a hobbyist I like learning and surprises when I push the buttons. Plus record guitar, keyboards and harmonica to see what I come up with. After reading or viewing things on the internet and YouTube I head for the computer and put it to use...like I said,it has a broken hinge plus some other broken plastic, I want a desktop because I've never had one...thanks
 
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I assembled it myself, entirely out of components that I bought at my local Microcenter.

I did the same on my last two builds. First one worked great until, well it didn't anymore.

Second build the new supposed awesome ASROCK Extreme 4 board did not work well for DAW stuff. There staff at my store was more about gaming and multicore overclocking shiz. That not what one needs for audio recording.

They did refund me the price of the mobo since it did not work for my needs. That was cool.
 
I had a Gigabyte Z97 board that pretty much hated everything. I returned a MOTU interface that wouldn't work with it, and it hated a couple of graphics cards, a FireWire card, and apparently it hated me too. I was actually kinda relieved when I accidentally fried it with a static discharge and went to a Ryzen 7 system instead. That Ryzen is glorious for audio and video editing/rendering. And I went to MSI motherboards and I've been very happy so far.

I guess that any motherboard brand is going to have some clunkers in their product line. That won't change the fact that I'm done with Gigabyte, since theirs was such an egregious fail of a mobo for me.
 
I had a Gigabyte Z97 board that pretty much hated everything. I returned a MOTU interface that wouldn't work with it, and it hated a couple of graphics cards, a FireWire card, and apparently it hated me too. I was actually kinda relieved when I accidentally fried it with a static discharge and went to a Ryzen 7 system instead. That Ryzen is glorious for audio and video editing/rendering. And I went to MSI motherboards and I've been very happy so far.

I guess that any motherboard brand is going to have some clunkers in their product line. That won't change the fact that I'm done with Gigabyte, since theirs was such an egregious fail of a mobo for me.

There used to be a monthly article in Sound on Sound called "PC Notes" (and another for mac mads) Hosted by the redoubtable Martin Walker.

The pieces gave a "rolling" examination of the state of CPUs, MOBOs and laptops as their properties and usefulness change over time FOR AUDIO work. This information was unique, gathered as it was in one publication and kept pretty current. Many, many people found it invaluable as Martin would seek out such gems as RevoUnistaller and other proggs that us mere mortals MIGHT try but were afraid of malware issues.

PC Notes has been gone for a year or so. No reason given at the time. The tirade of disaffected readers prompted a lame "PCs have really matured, not enough content to justify the space" The fact that just the predations that Microsoft continue to thrust upon us with Windows Ten could fill a YEAR'S PCNs seems to pass them by!

We is all bloody mad about it.

Dave.
 
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