Inexpensive used PC OK for audio recording in 2025?

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Chelonian

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I want to buy a used computer (not a Mac) and wanted to just double check that if I get a merely "OK" computer it will be sufficient to do music recording. This will also be my main computer for everything else in my life, all of which is not CPU intensive stuff.

I'm thinking something like 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD. No idea how recent a processor I should get. I want to spend as little as possible. I'm seeing used computers on eBay or Craigslist, etc. for around $100 give or take. For example, one that's those specs and with an Intel Xeon E3-1225 processor. That's a 2011 CPU! That seems way too old for 2025 now, but maybe it'd be OK. But I can certainly spend more than $100. Maybe twice that or more if it would be worth it. I just don't like to buy more computer than I really need, but I also want to have a comfortable experience. I've been getting by on really old, slow computers so almost anything is going to feel like a huge upgrade. Come to think of it, I'm probably going to need a storage hard drive as well, or just a bigger SSD (especially with music files piling up over time).

My music projects won't be too complex. Up to 20 tracks and digital effects but probably most things will be under 10 tracks and not a great deal of effects. Pieces may be a few minutes long.

Also hoping to run Linux for everything.

So any tips on specs?
 
Well, that is a hard one. The answer is yes (IMO), but ...

DAW - if you are using a efficient DAW like Reaper, no problem on that side.
Effects - This can be tricky, but if you learn the freeze feature, or render and put processed audio into another channel and then turn of the effects, no problem. Most of the time, you should have a problem, but if you do, learn how to freeze/process the audio
256 GB, gonna be rough, eventually get an external storage, should work.

Linux, if you know how to work with computers, you can make it work. Biggest obstacles are interface (make sure it will work with Linux), plugins, you might find trouble finding plugins that will work with Linux. That has been my main reason for not switching.

If you use VSTi's, you might have some issues, but you can work through them. Computer recording has been done on lower powered computers, ask people on the board who started out "back in the old days", (and they will tell you ;) )

Hope this helps.
 
DM60 said:
DAW - if you are using a efficient DAW like Reaper, no problem on that side.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. I probably will use Reaper. Heretofore, I've been using Audacity and it's been good enough for my purposes.

DM60 said:
Effects - This can be tricky, but if you learn the freeze feature, or render and put processed audio into another channel and then turn of the effects, no problem. Most of the time, you should have a problem, but if you do, learn how to freeze/process the audio
Click to expand...

I don't want to have to be doing a significant amount of extra work every time I want to record a song. I could bump up in price on the purchase, I just don't know how much is enough to avoid having to worry about running out a computer's limitations....or waste time working around them.

DM60 said:
If you use VSTi's, you might have some issues, but you can work through them. Computer recording has been done on lower powered computers, ask people on the board who started out "back in the old days", (and they will tell you ;) )
Click to expand...

This is my thought. People have been successfully recording music at home for a long time, so even a 2010 era chip would be just flying by 2000's standards and people were recording back then in 2000. But I also don't want to be unnecessarily cheap and give myself hassles for years, either. Trying to find that Goldilocks zone.

DM60 said:
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Thank you, it does.
 
Chelonian said:
I don't want to have to be doing a significant amount of extra work every time I want to record a song. I could bump up in price on the purchase, I just don't know how much is enough to avoid having to worry about running out a computer's limitations....or waste time working around them.
Click to expand...
If you are using Reaper, then it is a simple drop down, not really extra work. I only say that in case you run into a limit because of processing count. It is a easy workaround for the occasion that you need it. Plus it will make a low end computer go real far and useful.
 
In years gone past, I was successfully running Logic on an Olivetti 486 with a 16gb hard drive and 256mb RAM. The moral of that story is that working with audio doesn't inherently make huge demands of a PC. So you are likely to be able to do what you plan on just about anything, and, as others have noted, particularly if you use Reaper which is not a resource-hungry program. But more RAM and faster CPU will always allow you to do bigger and better.
 
If you're planning on using it for any online stuff, and you're wanting a Windows machine, you need to get at least an Intel 8th generation processor, as Windows 11 requires TPM 2.0. Those are processors that were released in 2017 to 2019. Or you can use an AMD Ryzen processor. Check Microsoft's site to see if it is on the Win 11 approved list. Win 10 support is going to end in Oct 2025, so there are going to be a boatload of older machines available as people upgrade old machines.

THere is a method to install Win 11 on older machines, but Microsoft has said that they will be doing things like putting a watermark on the screen of machines that are not supported. It's a trivial matter for Microsoft have an update to look at the machine and decide to not update or otherwise restrict the OS.

Those older machines will easily run DAWs. I run Reaper on a 4th gen Core I5 with 12GB RAM and a 500GB SSD/2TB HDD and it works great. As long as you don't spend a lot of time browsing the 'net, you're perfectly safe. An offline computer doesn't need updates and virus protection. However, trying to save $50 or $100 by buying a really old machine (which also has an old motherboard running older slower RAM) is really not a great strategy. Computers have gotten much faster, and you can find used machines that are reasonably current for not much money.

$250 to $300 should be able to get a capable, reasonably current refurbished machine. My daughter needed a laptop and got a refurbished HP Elitebook 840 G6 with 8th Gen Core I7, 32GB RAM and 500GB SSD for $320 on Amazon. It's worked out great for her, and will upgrade to Win 11 when she needs to. To me, it's a better choice than saving $100 and getting something like the Refurbished Dell Latitude 3410 Laptop 14 - Intel Core i5 10th Gen with 256GB and 8GB RAM. They have similar processor speed but you have more memory and storage. (you can upgrade the Dell but that will cost you around $100.)

If you're looking for a desktop, look for similar specs. I see them on Craigslist all the time, but not as many as the laptops.
 
Just a comment about being cheap... I have a copy of Computer Shopper from 1988 and you could buy a computer with a 16MHz 80386, 40MB HDD, 1024KB RAM and a 12" monochrome monitor, for a mere $2599! Upgrade to 80MB for $3100. Computers today are INCREDIBLY cheap! 1000x more powerful and 1/10th the price.
 
TalismanRich said:
Just a comment about being cheap... I have a copy of Computer Shopper from 1988 and you could buy a computer with a 16MHz 80386, 40MB HDD, 1024KB RAM and a 12" monochrome monitor, for a mere $2599! Upgrade to 80MB for $3100. Computers today are INCREDIBLY cheap! 1000x more powerful and 1/10th the price.
Click to expand...
I had a bleeding edge 286 with 20MB, paid about DM-5K (Duetsche Mark) (or $2500 ish). All I could run was a program called Ballade (Sequencer) and the sound was from a Roland LAPC-1.

I still have the LAPC-1, thinking of getting it going and driving it from my Ableton MIDI out. But that requires some work to get power to the old ISA card. I have the MIDI In/Out connection.
 
Rich's comment about Windows 11 is a good one. As soon as Windows 10 is unsupported, any gizmos you have that use Windows 10 drivers will stop development.

It is incredibly annoying when you go to update something you love, to be told that's it - finished. All the new upgrades and fixes stopped, trapping you in time. Then you discover your old sample libraries you used won't work. I used to use two or three that were part of many projects, but now Cubase cannot load them. I have better now, but I rely on opening old projects for updating stuff. Routinely, when I have time, I work through the library, loading up old projects and resaving them in the DAW's latest format. It is common for me to have forgotten old sample libraries. I've just upgraded the video edit computer because Adobe, which I pay for happily, told me I couldn't install the latest version. I could stay with the old one, but that's stupid. If it won't run windows 11, that is a serious block. Like when leaded fuel became extinct. Sure, you can find work arounds, but it makes life difficult.
 
"I love it when a plan comes together!"
I have been upgrading a win 7 desktop to win 10 (not a simple task I tell thee!) I got it done but in the process borked a little used 1TB spinner HDD. Not ever so fussed because win 10 really needs an SSD so I bought a 240G unit. I did however want to use the 1TB drive for storage and backup but in trying to format it I made such that win 10 could not see it (or so I thought)
However, the 'new' ten PC had a problem. Just running the demo tracks for Samplitude 6 caused a grave warning to pop up saying "CPU at 65C!" Took the heatsink off and yup, load of fluff twixt fan and heatsink and there seemed to be very little heat sink compound on the two surfaces. I DON'T GOT NONE DO i!! Phoned a PC shop a few miles away, chap went to look. No, sorry we don't appear to have any in stock...but! Bring the sink in and I will put a smear on it for you." "I am on my way mate!"

I also took the HDD and told him truthfully that I have effed it. "Just a mo'". He disappeared out back then came back less than 5 later. "All fixed. 931MB free, healthy and formatted NTFS". He wanted a fiver. It seems you can fix drives in "Computer Management" Who knew?!

Fitted sink to CPU and ran Sam 6 on loop for 30 mins. All the 6 cores stayed under 38C and I can see the drive!

I also would not be worried about ten on the net for the foreseeable? I have an HP i3 G6 W7 that I use online all the time and for an hour or more at a time. Never had a problem. For sure, don't LEAVE the music PC connected but the odd use to download a driver or similar is never going to cause a problem in my experience. This Lenovo lappy has a physical switch that kills the network card then I plug in a wi fi dongle which is 5 times faster!

Dave.
 
A lot depends on the abilities of the person using the computer. For someone who's pretty well versed in tech, a lot of things are trivial. I'm typing this on an unsupported laptop running Win 11. It's working fine. Whether MS will decide to lock it up is to be seen. I still have a the old HDD and can restore it to it's previous state. But I've been a computer hobbyist for 40 years. I've stuck 32K memory chips in old TI and Atari computers, built a dozen computers for myself and others, and have a half dozen operating systems in boxes downstairs. (anyone remember DR-DOS, Novell Netware, OS/2?)

For someone who just buys a computer and installs a program and runs it, things are different. Its like the difference between knowing how to drive a car, vs climbing underneath and pulling a tranny to replace the clutch plate.

If someone wanted to pull a boat, you don't recommend buying a Mini Cooper. If you just need to drive around to get groceries, you don't need a Ford F350 Super Duty.

If the OP was a techie type, he probably would have already built a kick butt machine out of spare parts he gathered from other people's old computers that were given to him. You can spend $2000 buying the latest hot setup, but for what the OP says he wants to do, a decent, fairly recent midrange refurbished computer will get the job done for a low price, and should be good for 5 or 10 years if care is taken.
 
Yes Rich, I quite agree that the OP is unlikely to 'roll his own'. I just wanted to give my experiences. I am NO computer guru but am in the fortunate position of having a laptop that does what I need (for now*) and the PC I mentioned as a spare project I built a few years ago and thought it too good to waste (AMD 3.5G 6 core 10G ram. Pretty nifty)

Although I know little of computers I do know enough electrics not to fork the internals and in any case there are no lethal voltages inside a PC BUT! STAY out of the power supply tin! BTW Rich, can you suggest a REALLY quiet ATX PSU? The incumbent is 350W I thought 400W but is bigger better?

*I am presently researching a W11 laptop for my son. His present machine is W10 but I want to get him something that will last another 5 years without problems. The spec I am thinking is...15.6" fast i5 or i7, 512G SSD, 16G ram W11 home. I hope to keep under £400ish.

Dave.
 
Chelonian said:
I want to buy a used computer (not a Mac) and wanted to just double check that if I get a merely "OK" computer it will be sufficient to do music recording. This will also be my main computer for everything else in my life, all of which is not CPU intensive stuff.

I'm thinking something like 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD. No idea how recent a processor I should get. I want to spend as little as possible.

So any tips on specs?
Click to expand...
Yes get as much Ram as you can afford 32 gb min - and get a larger drive 1 gb min - and get a 4tb external hardrive for backups - I would also get at minimum a i9 CPU -
you are going to be obsolete sooner than latter with the computer you’ve spec’d.
 
Papanate said:
Yes get as much Ram as you can afford 32 gb min - and get a larger drive 1 gb min - and get a 4tb external hardrive for backups - I would also get at minimum a i9 CPU -
you are going to be obsolete sooner than latter with the computer you’ve spec’d.
Click to expand...
Hmmm, OP is thinking about spending $200 to $300 for the computer and you recommend an I9 CPU which alone runs between $400 and $600. He's moving from Audacity to Reaper (most likely), 10 to 20 tracks and not a lot of digital effect. Why does that math not seem to add up?

It's like I said, you don't need an F350 SuperDuty to go to the grocery.
 
ecc83 said:
Yes Rich, I quite agree that the OP is unlikely to 'roll his own'. I just wanted to give my experiences. I am NO computer guru but am in the fortunate position of having a laptop that does what I need (for now*) and the PC I mentioned as a spare project I built a few years ago and thought it too good to waste (AMD 3.5G 6 core 10G ram. Pretty nifty)

Although I know little of computers I do know enough electrics not to fork the internals and in any case there are no lethal voltages inside a PC BUT! STAY out of the power supply tin! BTW Rich, can you suggest a REALLY quiet ATX PSU? The incumbent is 350W I thought 400W but is bigger better?

*I am presently researching a W11 laptop for my son. His present machine is W10 but I want to get him something that will last another 5 years without problems. The spec I am thinking is...15.6" fast i5 or i7, 512G SSD, 16G ram W11 home. I hope to keep under £400ish.

Dave.
Click to expand...
It's been some years since I have built a new spec computer, but Corsair were good PS units. Getting a 120mm fan vs the 80mm kept things a bit more quiet, and going to 450 means the PS won't have to work so hard, and should stay on the cooler side. That makes the the fan run slower. Something like the Corsair VS450 should be pretty quiet and reliable. I've also used EVGA but that was a long time ago.

I don't know how prices and availability is for the UK. It might be different from the US. I usually check NewEgg when hunting PC parts, and PCPartsPicker can help you check compatibility.
 
TalismanRich said:
Hmmm, OP is thinking about spending $200 to $300 for the computer and you recommend an I9 CPU which alone runs between $400 and $600. He's moving from Audacity to Reaper (most likely), 10 to 20 tracks and not a lot of digital effect. Why does that math not seem to add up?

It's like I said, you don't need an F350 SuperDuty to go to the grocery.
Click to expand...
No you don’t - but if he gets less the Computer is going to be obsolete - and then he’ll have to spend it again - IMO of course!
 
I think the risk of obsolescence with an 8th to 10th gen processor is not that great for at least 5 - 7 years.

I'm running a Core I5 system from Feb 2016 for my video and audio recording. That's almost 9 years, and it still handles everything that I do. I don't do orchestral scores with massive Kontact libraries. Earlier this year, I did a 22 track mix but of all recorded audio, IR reverb, a bit of pitch correction, compression, light EQ, and volume automation. It wasn't even moderately stressing my system. Another was 15 tracks with the same plugins plus a drum plugin. Again, no stress. It's probably similar to what the OP is saying he plans on doing.

One thing he does mention is that he may be running Linux for everything, which means that he's not really subject to Microsoft's whims. If he can get 5 years out of a $300 computer and finds that he's ready to upgrade, by that time we'll be looking at the 19th or 20th gen processors (whatever those might be) and probably 2-3 times more powerful than that I9-14900K system that cost $1500 to $2000 today.

Oh yeah, that I5-4570 system I bought in 2016 cost me $480 new. I added a 500GB SSD for $80. 9 years for under $600 and it's still going. For the same price, I can buy a Lenovo I5-14400 system with 8GB and a 512SSD, get another 16GB RAM for about $50 and a 4TB spinner for data storage for under $100 and be good for another 10 years.
 
"No you don’t - but if he gets less the Computer is going to be obsolete - and then he’ll have to spend it again - IMO of course!"

And in my humble opinion and experience...ain't so. I am more in line with Rich here.

This Lenovo T530 is an i7 620M with 8G of DDR3. My son's T430 is IIRC about the same spec and both are win 10.
I do buggerall musically with mine but he runs Samplitude ProX 3 and Reaper and Cakewalk and does quite a lots of song building and editing. He has never indicated any lack of computing power to me. He HAS said the laptop is limited when it comes to video work which is why I want 16G of ram in the next one. For sure! I would like 64G ram and a top end i9 for him but I cannot afford that and I don't think, on the present evidence he will ever need such computer grunt?

ANNANOTHERTHING! We have windows 12 waiting in the wings. What is there to say TODAYS almighty $1000 i9 will run it? None of our w10 machines will run 11.

Dave.
 
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