Just looking to do some simple recordings of my guitar and keyboard, maybe attempt to sing. I would like a computer that I can just leave everything hooked up to. I’m using a laptop right now with mixcraft and I have a focusrite interface. It would be much easier with a computer tower than the laptop. I’m constantly taking my laptop other places and get unmotivated having to hook everything back up. I’m just not sure what computer to get for this, I would like to keep it simple. Everywhere I look it brings up computers that are almost $2,000 but that seems like way too much for simple recording, that’s more than what I spent on my gaming laptop.
Computer for amateur beginner
- Thread starter R2d2ah
- Start date
Ooo! You haven't properly looked chuck! Five minutes on Google found me scores of refurbished towers under $500. But, have you considered the specification you need? For modest music work, with a bit of future proofing I humbly submit...
Go for a full sized tower, not 'small form factor'. You WILL want to get in there sometime!
Windows ten.
SSD main hard drive. Does not need to be massive because you just need the OS and DAW software on it really and you can fit a huge, cheap spinner for samples and storage or/and get a USB 3 external drive*.
USB 3.0 ports. Anything probably will have several but check.
i7 processor. An i5 will 'do' but you might as well get second fastest (i9 is going to be out of bugdet and you don't need it)
Min' 8G of ram but don't be silly, it gets pricey and 16G is an overkill IMHO (unless you want to do video work in which case go nuts) In any case, ram can be upgraded.
I would regard an HDMI** port as vital these days and the ability to drive two monitors is nice but not vital.
One problem with towers is noise. I have had two HP desktops and they have both been very quiet, other brands not so. You can mitigate the noise however with better fans and absorbent kits. May not be an issue for you though? Depends upon your recording MO.
*Strongly advise you get one anyway. One Tb is not expensive and can be used to backup work and take an 'image' of your hard drive which can rescue the computer (and lappy!) if 't'appen.
**Some PCs, mainly laptops come instead with a 'Mini Display Port'. Fine but you then Need an adaptor to get to HDMI. Faff and expense but if MDPort fitted AS WELL as HDMI. useful.
Jusfort. Monitors: Look in charity shops for 22"+ FSTVs Make sure they have a VGA port or/and HDMI. Make bloody good monitors for 100 bucks and you can watch the cricket/baseball while waiting for the muse to strike!
Dave.
Go for a full sized tower, not 'small form factor'. You WILL want to get in there sometime!
Windows ten.
SSD main hard drive. Does not need to be massive because you just need the OS and DAW software on it really and you can fit a huge, cheap spinner for samples and storage or/and get a USB 3 external drive*.
USB 3.0 ports. Anything probably will have several but check.
i7 processor. An i5 will 'do' but you might as well get second fastest (i9 is going to be out of bugdet and you don't need it)
Min' 8G of ram but don't be silly, it gets pricey and 16G is an overkill IMHO (unless you want to do video work in which case go nuts) In any case, ram can be upgraded.
I would regard an HDMI** port as vital these days and the ability to drive two monitors is nice but not vital.
One problem with towers is noise. I have had two HP desktops and they have both been very quiet, other brands not so. You can mitigate the noise however with better fans and absorbent kits. May not be an issue for you though? Depends upon your recording MO.
*Strongly advise you get one anyway. One Tb is not expensive and can be used to backup work and take an 'image' of your hard drive which can rescue the computer (and lappy!) if 't'appen.
**Some PCs, mainly laptops come instead with a 'Mini Display Port'. Fine but you then Need an adaptor to get to HDMI. Faff and expense but if MDPort fitted AS WELL as HDMI. useful.
Jusfort. Monitors: Look in charity shops for 22"+ FSTVs Make sure they have a VGA port or/and HDMI. Make bloody good monitors for 100 bucks and you can watch the cricket/baseball while waiting for the muse to strike!
Dave.
TalismanRich
Well-known member
I was just looking at the local Office Depot and you can get an Lenovo I7-9700 running at 3gHz with 16GB ram, 500GB SSD, 2 USB 3.1 ports, 1 USB 3.1 Type-C port and 2 USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, Bluetooth, CD/DVD burner, etc for $760. For $65 you can pick up a 2TB Seagate Barracuda drive for data.
That would SMOKE my old I5-4750 Lenovo that runs Reaper just fine with 16-20 tracks, plugins, MT Powerdrummer, does video editing with Cyberlink PowerDirector, and PhotoDirector, Handbrake, and all the rest of my audio/video stuff.
Its amazing to think that I once paid over TWICE that amount for my 386SX-25 with 256K ram and 20MB hard drive. It did have that new brand VGA stuff and DOS 3.1!
That would SMOKE my old I5-4750 Lenovo that runs Reaper just fine with 16-20 tracks, plugins, MT Powerdrummer, does video editing with Cyberlink PowerDirector, and PhotoDirector, Handbrake, and all the rest of my audio/video stuff.
Its amazing to think that I once paid over TWICE that amount for my 386SX-25 with 256K ram and 20MB hard drive. It did have that new brand VGA stuff and DOS 3.1!
mjbphotos
Moderator
Not sure about your issue of 'having to hook everything back up' - plug the interface to the laptop (1 USB cable) and you're ready to go!
My newest studio computer - HP with 256G SSD, 8G RAM, 3.0 GHz quad core processor (Win 10), 'refurbished' with 3 year warranty for under $300 (tower only) - through Walmart.com, but they just 'resell' from the refurbishing company - and offer a better extended warranty than that company.
My newest studio computer - HP with 256G SSD, 8G RAM, 3.0 GHz quad core processor (Win 10), 'refurbished' with 3 year warranty for under $300 (tower only) - through Walmart.com, but they just 'resell' from the refurbishing company - and offer a better extended warranty than that company.
reinmj
Wait.. what?
Build your own!!
I just built a pc for a friend for recording/mixing exclusively and it rocks, for under $500
Ryzen 3 3200g
(Cpu Cores 4)
(GPU Cores 8)
(3.6 to 4 GHz)
Gigabyte Aorus b450m Motherboard
16GB Ram
Fractal Designs Silent case fans
Handles some pretty big projects with several Vsti's and never even reaching 30% CPU usage. Quiet enough to record around and he's happy as a pig in sh*t with it.
Way cheaper to build your own.
I just built a pc for a friend for recording/mixing exclusively and it rocks, for under $500
Ryzen 3 3200g
(Cpu Cores 4)
(GPU Cores 8)
(3.6 to 4 GHz)
Gigabyte Aorus b450m Motherboard
16GB Ram
Fractal Designs Silent case fans
Handles some pretty big projects with several Vsti's and never even reaching 30% CPU usage. Quiet enough to record around and he's happy as a pig in sh*t with it.
Way cheaper to build your own.
TalismanRich
Well-known member
While building from scratch is great, the one thing that you need to include in the price is the OS.
While running Linux is an option, Win 10 will likely cost you from $90 to $130 for the home edition. Buying one prebuilt will most likely include the OS.
While running Linux is an option, Win 10 will likely cost you from $90 to $130 for the home edition. Buying one prebuilt will most likely include the OS.
reinmj
Wait.. what?
Not really. I bought a win 10 pro license for him for 30 bucks online(not cracked, genuine). Everything under $500, all parts under warranty with a system my IT tech said is worth around double if I wanted to sell.
Chili
Site Moderator
I usually get a refurb'd PC or laptop from Newegg.
A quick search pulls up something like this:
Dell Optiplex 7010 Desktop, Intel Quad Core i7 3770 3.4Ghz, 8GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB Hard Drive, Windows 10 Pro x64 - Newegg.com
A quick search pulls up something like this:
Dell Optiplex 7010 Desktop, Intel Quad Core i7 3770 3.4Ghz, 8GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB Hard Drive, Windows 10 Pro x64 - Newegg.com
TalismanRich
Well-known member
One thing that I have found is that the newest generations of processors are WORLDS more efficient than the earlier generations. My 3.2gHz 4th Gen I5 is roughly equivalent to a 10th Gen I5 at 1.1gHz. My 1.3gHz I7 10th Gen just blows the I5 into the weeds!
I wouldn't go for the big $$ I9 processor unless I was building something for business (as in "its going to make me money"). But you can get a pretty decent 9th gen I5 or I7 for not too much money. If you're really strapped for cash, then grabbing something like the refurb Dell is definitely an option, The biggest downside is that you can't just upgrade processors anymore like in the old days! They keep changing sockets, LGA 1150, 1151, 1156, 1366, 1200. Every time they change architecture, they design a new socket with new pinouts, so you have to replace the motherboard too.
In the end, I'll run something until it start to die. The machine I'm working on right now is a Phenom II 1035 from 2013. It doesn't even have USB 3, that didn't exist when I bought this Dell. Still does fine for internet and I run Reaper on it as well. If I need to record, I go downstairs to the Lenovo I5.
In any case, the $2000 mark that the OP posted is WAY WAY over the mark. He can easily get by with 1/4 to 1/3 that amount.
I wouldn't go for the big $$ I9 processor unless I was building something for business (as in "its going to make me money"). But you can get a pretty decent 9th gen I5 or I7 for not too much money. If you're really strapped for cash, then grabbing something like the refurb Dell is definitely an option, The biggest downside is that you can't just upgrade processors anymore like in the old days! They keep changing sockets, LGA 1150, 1151, 1156, 1366, 1200. Every time they change architecture, they design a new socket with new pinouts, so you have to replace the motherboard too.
In the end, I'll run something until it start to die. The machine I'm working on right now is a Phenom II 1035 from 2013. It doesn't even have USB 3, that didn't exist when I bought this Dell. Still does fine for internet and I run Reaper on it as well. If I need to record, I go downstairs to the Lenovo I5.
In any case, the $2000 mark that the OP posted is WAY WAY over the mark. He can easily get by with 1/4 to 1/3 that amount.
Yes! You must IMHO get an SSD. Two reasons,
boot up will be super fast as will transfers from HD to say USB 3.0 sticks, but the main one is that Win ten EXPECTS you to have an SSD and, I am reliably informed, runs badly on a spinner.
You can of course install a huge, cheap conventional drive for storage and backup where you are not fussed ow long stuff takes to be shifted.
Oh yes! Two other reasons. Dead silent and uses a lot less lektrik.
Dave.
mjbphotos
Moderator
SSD- yes, as Dave says super quick start-up. Super-quick transfer to USB stick. Quieter than a spinning HD, of course. Although I only have 1/4 of the memory I had before (256 G vs 1T) - I didn't need to reload all my old projects into the new computer, but have them all on backup drives if I ever do need them.
TalismanRich
Well-known member
My Lenovo had a TB 7200 drive and it ran fine, but after I got my laptop with the SSD, I was impressed enough that I bought a 5500GB Samsung EVO 860, transferred the boot image to that drive, and then added a 2TB Barracuda. Boot times dropped big time, and things do seem to run better.
You CAN run Win10 with enough RAM and a good spinner, but an SSD really helps. I only paid $80 for the EVO and $55 for the Barracuda. It was money well spent, and the original drive is sitting securely in the drawer as backup.
You CAN run Win10 with enough RAM and a good spinner, but an SSD really helps. I only paid $80 for the EVO and $55 for the Barracuda. It was money well spent, and the original drive is sitting securely in the drawer as backup.