Recommendation needed for PC for audio recording/production

[puneettaneja]

Hey Guys,

I need some recommendation for a PC desktop/laptop (for less than $600) for a home recording setup. I will be using this only for audio recording and production and will not need to install any software other than DAWs (Sonar, Reaper), the plugins and virtual instruments. A couple of things:

- A Mac is not an option. I am looking to buy only a PC.
- I am not looking to build a PC. I am looking to buy something off the shelf so really looking for someone who's had success with a PC they bought instead of building one.

Some specific questions that I have:

- Is an i3 processor (with 3+ Ghz) going to be good enough? What about Dual Core 2 instead of i3? Is there much difference?
- I am considering 4 GB RAM and 7200 RPM Hard Drive (Don't care much about the size of hard drive as I have an external hard drive)
- Is there anything else that I need to keep in mind?

I have researched the existing threads and looks like most folks here build their own PCs so any suggestions to this post will help a lot of us who don't have the option to do the same.

Appreciate your help!

 

[tyler657recpro]

Hi there,

I would recommend getting a barebones kit. Tiger direct has a ton of great deals.

GIGABYTE P67A-D3-B3 DiabloTek Barebones Kit - GIGABYTE P67A-D3-B3 Mobo, Intel Core i5-2500K CPU, Corsair 4GB DDR3 RAM, Seagate 1.5TB HDD, LG 24x DVDRW, Thermaltake V3 BE Tower, Diablotek 600-Watt PSU at TigerDirect.com

This one can be had for under $500. I bought a very similar one a few months ago and LOVE it. So much cheaper than buying one at best buy or similar. Just add a video card and you're good to go. There are also other models with less goodies if thats a bit out of your budget. These barebones kits usually come with way better motherboards than the big box store computers do. With cheaper motherboards you can end up with more hardware conflicts, like your firewire card and graphics card having fits about each other.