Help me choose a computer

[Chelonian]

I've asked before but life got in the way and I didn't really do music this year. I have a little bit better lay of the land now and there have been some changes in the past year so I'm asking again, a bit more narrowed down:

I want to get a better (non-Apple) computer for both music recording and general use (writing, web, YouTube, Office type applications, PDFs, a little programming...no gaming). The music recording, as I've mention in a previous question, is nothing extreme. Less than 20 tracks, with some effects/plugins, with sounds coming from acoustic recordings (instruments, voice) and maybe some digital instruments (drums, etc.). I have used Audacity but will probably learn Reaper and use that.

From what I gather here and elsewhere, anything newer than about about a 4th-6th generation Intel chip, particular i5 or i7, should be fine. I'm thinking just to treat myself to a little faster computer and buy some usage runway with it I'd maybe aim for an 8th gen chip, i5 or i7. Or the roughly equivalent AMD chips. Then 16-32 GB RAM, and an SSD (not sure if makes a difference for it to be NVMe).

Now, that said, I'd also like the computer to be:

• Absent of dropouts or struggling to work for me to create music (or do my basic computing tasks), of course.
• Entirely unheard on acoustic recordings (fan noise, coil whine, disk ticks (but I'll turn off HDDs), etc.)
• As cheap as possible. I'm assuming I can get something unimpressive but perfectly workable for $150-$300 (used or refurbished. Maybe new if mini PC but see below.)
• Set up with an external monitor (it doesn't have to be portable, though that's slightly nice to have.)
• Running Linux and working with my MOTU M2. (Should be anything but I'll just mention that.)
• Used, preferably, as it's cheaper and I like to prevent e-waste (but I'll buy new if it is the best option)
• Physically small if possible, though this isn't all that important. It is just appealing.

So, given those constraints, these seem like my options, with comments:

1. Used desktop. Could be fine, especially a small form factor one. Could be issues with wear/dust/BIOS.
2. Refurbished desktop. Significantly pricier but more guaranteed?
3. Used laptop. Could be fine, has slight advantage of portability if I feel like writing in a coffee shop someday. Less bang for buck than desktop.
4. New fanless mini PC. I love the zero noise! Small size is cool. But I get the sense that most fanless miniPCs, though coming in below $300, are running not-very-fast chips, like N100 or N150, which are much slower than an 8th gen i5.
5. New fan-havin' mini PC. If quiet enough, OK. Small size, warranty, fast. Most expensive (>$300 I think for sure). Little worried about the long term reliability of these machines.

Q: Is an 8th gen computer a good sweet spot for budget and performance? And of my 5 choices of computer type, which make the most sense?

 

[shmaller]

Sounds like you've thought about this more than me, but just to give you something to go from, this is my laptop's chipset from 2015, and it's able to run Reaper with heavy FX no problem until I get into the 30-40 track range. (After that it really chugs.)