Best CHEAP Budget Desktop PC for Music Production [2024 Reviewed]

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All text and image links lead to Amazon unless stated otherwise. All product scores are based on ProRec’s in-house scoring model

Thumbnail	Budget PC for Music Production	ProRec Score	Price
	Dell XPS 8950	9.4	Check Price on Amazon
	HP EliteDesk 800 G6	8.6	Check Price on Amazon
	Acer Aspire TC-1760-UR11	8.3	Check Price on Amazon

Introduction

If you’re looking to produce on a budget, you’re better off getting a PC over a laptop to get every dollar’s worth of performance out of your machine. While budget machines are often shipped with lower configurations and cost-cutting measures, it doesn’t have to be a negative experience. Bar a few exceptions, you don’t need a processing powerhouse of a computer to get through your DAW workloads with ease.

When choosing the best budget PC for Music Production, one thing you don’t want to compromise on is a good processor. While you don’t need the best CPU on the market, you still want something that will stand the test of time (no upgrades in the near future). We recommend investing in an Intel i5 or above, or an AMD equivalent with no less than 4 cores.

Your second most important concern for music production is RAM. If your music isn’t plugin heavy, especially with orchestral Kontakt libraries, you will do just fine with 16 GB. However, if you use a lot of VSTs, samples, and channels, then 16GB of RAM is not going to cut it. For most applications, you’ll see jitters as your OS swaps with your storage to free up memory, unless you’re doing something simple such as running a Podcast. If you’re a power user, then you need at least 32GB of RAM to keep up as your needs expand and the size of libraries and dependencies increase.

Loading and running VSTs, libraries, and large projects will quickly become a chore if you opt for an HDD over an SSD. Most budget prebuilts will be conservative with the storage they provide, often providing a low capacity M.2 SSD, sometimes paired with a mechanical drive. This is nowhere near enough storage, and you will need to slot in additional drives as space fills up. While M.2 NVMe SSDs provide better read/write speeds, you can add SATA SSDs if you want to cut some costs and still get relatively quick storage.

To power your system, most manufacturers provide their own OEM connectors from the PSU to the motherboard. This can make upgrading difficult and expensive, if even possible, so it’s important to get a decent one upfront to have a good upgrade path. You don’t need a high wattage PSU fit for gaming, a reasonable 450W power supply rated Gold or above will fit your production needs so your machine doesn’t end up power limit throttling, or crashing because of insufficient power.

You can certainly go without features that have no impact on your production needs, i.e., aesthetics, a graphics card, DDR5/PCIe 4.0 speeds, etc. So long as you prioritize the core components, you’ll do just fine! Make sure to always take your DAW requirements into consideration. Ableton, FL Studio, and Pro Tools, all have ther minimum requirements listed on their official product pages. Go through those before you make a buying decision.

Finally, you’ll want a machine that has the right ports to accommodate your interface, studio monitors, synths, mixers, and any additional hardware you plan to add in the future. PCs are very modular and they allow you to add increments to upgrade your system down the line. As long as the machine you buy has a good processor, decent chassis size, and a decent PSU, you can add upgrades as you need them, which will ultimately give you a much more competent machine in the future.

Best Budget PC for Music Production Reviews

All text and image links lead to Amazon unless stated otherwise. All product scores are based on ProRec’s in-house scoring model

The XPS 8950 is yet another addition to Dell’s line of high-performance consumer machines. The unit comes with a 12 core/20 thread Intel i7-12700 clocking at a base frequency of 2.1GHz, with turbo up to 4.9GHz. Performance-wise, the i7 holds up to even the most demanding workloads, evident by our stress tests with heavy multitrack rendering, intensive effects and plugins. The processor was stable throughout with no stutters – its high core count is enough to handle heavy multitasking, and the clock speed is more than adequate to process long chains of audio without any issue.

Compared to its predecessor, the XPS 8940, there is a significant leap in performance, with a 20% increase in single core performance, and up to 29% better results on multi-core applications.

With the addition of a proprietary liquid cooler on the CPU, temperatures remained stable across our workloads. The radiator is fairly quiet, and the cool temperatures didn’t let the fan spin enough to make too much noise. This makes for a good setup for recording without the need for a dedicated isolated sound booth.

One thing to keep in mind is that while liquid cooling is an effective tool to combat heat, it can fail catastrophically. Therefore, when you receive your machine, we recommend inspecting the intake tubes to check if they’re mounted properly to avoid gurgling from air pockets.

The XPS with its 32GB of DDR5 RAM provides enough capacity for your production workloads, and more speed than you will realistically need. This configuration will allow you to run an ample amount of FX and plugins, and also to work on multiple timelines with some room left over to expand your use. You can always upgrade this in the future since DAWs constantly require more with growing libraries.

As far as storage goes, the XPS is equipped with a 512GB SSD, along with a 1TB HDD for slower deep storage. While the overall capacity is decent, the distribution is not. The 512GB SSD won’t leave a lot of space for your active projects and libraries, especially if you work on multiple projects at a time. To avoid moving back and forth between the HDD and SSD, we recommend either upgrading the existing SSD, or slotting in an additional one to make use of another bus worth of bandwidth. This is doubly useful since your storage needs will grow over time as you accrue audio and sample libraries.

The connectivity options on the XPS are impressive, with 4 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, 2 USB 2.0 ports with SmartPower, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 1 port with PowerShare, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port with PowerShare, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C port, 1 Universal Audio Jack, 1 Dual-Mode DisplayPort 1.4, 1 SD Card Reader, and a 7.1 audio 6 connector stack of retaskable audio ports. This will more than cover your peripherals, interface, mixers, and synths with ports left over.

We recommend removing all Dell bloatware, along with Intel’s Killer services to get the most stable connectivity with your production equipment. This will keep your devices from negative interactions with software, which could otherwise cause latency and audio dropout issues.

The chassis isn’t large, measuring 16.8 x 6.81 x 14.68 inches and weighing ‎16.79 pounds. The cable management is good, as you’d expect from Dell, however, additional grills would help improve airflow, which is something most prebuilds struggle with.

The XPS is powered by a 460W Bronze rated power supply of Dell’s proprietary design. As per its rating, it’s not the most efficient PSU, however, it does get the job done. For music production, the 460W will prove more than enough for your hardware and production equipment with enough room to slot in upgrades to RAM and storage.

All things considered, the XPS is a production powerhouse for its price. The configuration is designed to prioritize performance with a proficient i7 CPU that won’t bog down on even the most demanding workloads, and the 32GB of DDR5 RAM complements its performance well.

Dell XPS 8950 Benefits

The i7-12700 provides a stutter-free experience, even with the most demanding plugins and libraries.

With 32GB of high-speed DDR5 memory, the XPS never feels sluggish, even with significant multitasking.

The 9 assorted USB ports give plenty of options to connect your production equipment and peripherals.

Dell XPS 8950 Drawbacks

The low capacity SSD isn’t enough for production, however, slotting in an additional drive will solve the problem.

The 460W 80+ Bronze rated PSU isn’t the most efficient, however, it gets the job done.

There are some audio dropout issues caused by negative interactions with Dell bloatware and Intel Killer services, however, disabling them solves the issue entirely.

All text and image links lead to Amazon unless stated otherwise. All product scores are based on ProRec’s in-house scoring model

HP’s EliteDesk 800 G6 is a business class “Mini Desktop” machine that comes with an Intel Core i5-10500T on board, with 6 cores and 12 threads at a base frequency of 2.3GHz, and max turbo up to 3.8GHz. Being a compact budget PC, the performance is somewhat conservative, especially when you compare it with the i7-12700 on the XPS that performed 79% better on single core applications, and 105% more with multi-core usage. This will be felt as you introduce more timelines and plugins, where the system will noticeably slow down, and render times won’t be as short as on the XPS.

On its own, the performance is good for a mini PC, especially if you consider the increase in performance from the previous G5 with the G6, yielding 18.2% more performance across the board. The EliteDesk is by no means meant to be pushed this hard, and for light to medium DAW usage, with a reasonable amount of VST and plugin use, this machine will do really well.

With a device this compact, thermal management is always a concern. While we didn’t encounter any serious thermal issues, temperatures did spike with prolonged use under rigorous testing conditions. The thermals won’t be an issue for most uses however, and if the need arises, a case this small can always be supplemented with external fans to help dissipate heat.

The single fan on the CPU isn’t too noticeable until utilization reaches 70%, after which it’s very audible. The ventilation grills don’t seem to be designed with sound-proofing in mind. Even with the noise, recording audio should be manageable since you can just move the portable device further away from your mic and it won’t register.

The EliteDesk comes with 64GB of DDR4 RAM across its two slots. While this is an impressive amount of memory, it loses some usability on account of the underpowered processor. With memory intensive FX and plugins, more often than not, the CPU will be your bottleneck. Still, the extra headroom is nice to have. The machine also has a 1TB NVMe SSD installed, which is pretty good considering this is not a machine for heavy production. If you do need to upgrade, there is a secondary M.2 port to slot in another SSD.

For a device its size, connectivity on the EliteDesk is respectable, with 1 USB-C 3.2 port, 6 USB-A 3.2 ports, 3 DisplayPort ports, 1 headphone jack, and an ethernet cable. While this is a port or two behind full-sized desktops, this machine really isn’t expected to house a ton of production equipment, especially considering the low power output from the PSU. For your interface, synths, and mixers, this will suffice, however we still recommend using hardware that’s powered by the wall instead of the bus so the device doesn’t throttle.

The chassis itself is as small as it gets, with dimensions 6.97 x 6.89 x 1.35 inches, weighting 3.13 lbs. The layout on the board is better than comparable mini desktops. The design is well thought out, especially with the RAM slots tucked under the CPU cooler that folds back for easy access.

The device is powered by a 65W brick through an external power supply like you’d see in laptops, which contributes to making the device as compact as it is. This is not a machine you’d want to use to connect the most devices, or run the best hardware, however, this is a good enough power supply to run a reasonable amount of production equipment with ease.

Overall, the HP EliteDesk 800 G6 is a decent machine, compact enough to be tucked away from view. While the processor is good enough for light and medium usage, managing expectations is important since this isn’t a performance machine. With a good capacity of RAM and storage, along with decent ports for its form factor, the EliteDesk is a competent machine fit for light use.

HP EliteDesk 800 G6 Benefits

With 64GB of DDR4 RAM, the EliteDesk can handle even the most demanding plugins and effects.

The 1TB SSD on a PC this compact fits its use case perfectly and provides ample storage in context.

The small proportions allow the EliteDesk to be used in confined spaces with a minimal footprint.

HP EliteDesk 800 G6 Drawbacks

The processor on the G6 will leave you wanting for more performance, however, this is only the case on higher end workloads.

Since it lacks proper sound-proofing measures, there is significant noise at high utilization, however, the solution is as simple as moving the device away from the mic.

With a 65W adapter, the amount of hardware you can add will be limited, however, you can always use equipment powered by the wall instead.

All text and image links lead to Amazon unless stated otherwise. All product scores are based on ProRec’s in-house scoring model

Acer’s Aspire TC-1760-UR11 is yet another budget addition to their Aspire line of products. The Aspire comes with a 6 core/12 thread Core i5 12400, clocking in at a base frequency of 2.5GHz, with max turbo up to 4.4GHz. With the 12th gen Alder Lake CPU, the machine performs well in general productivity, and handles FX, VST processing, and heavy rendering without any issues.

As an upgrade to the Aspire TC-1660-UR11, the performance gains when working on demanding timelines are negligible, with a recorded 6% increase over its predecessor. Compared to the i5 10500T on the EliteDesk, the Aspire performs 30% better across different DAW workloads, allowing us to fit in extra effects and plugins on our tracks. However, it performs worse than the XPS by roughly the same margin, falling behind by 28%.

With the single cooler on the CPU unassisted by intake and exhaust fans, temperatures tend to flare up, especially under heavy sustained load. Unless you’ll be working on timelines that push the CPU to over 80% utilization for a long period of time, or rendering large RAW files, this won’t be too big an issue. However, we still recommend adding another fan just to be safe. The fan is silent, and you won’t have issues recording nearby.

The Aspire comes with 16GB of 3200MHz DDR4 RAM. While the high speed is nice to have, the extra cost would have been better spent adding additional capacity. For light uses where you don’t rely on demanding plugins, effects, and sample libraries, this will suffice, however for heavier workloads, we recommend upgrading to at least 32GB. Even if you manage to just get by, system requirements and the size of your production dependencies only grow over time, so it’s best to future-proof your machine.

Additionally, the 512GB NVMe SSD won’t provide enough storage for Windows, your RAW files, or any headroom for archiving or backups. We recommend leaving the stock SSD in as a boot drive, and adding at least a 1TB SSD on the available SATA connector so each of your storage devices have separate bus bandwidth for faster read/write speeds. There is only a single SATA connector however, so we recommend upgrading storage all at once so you don’t have to worry about cloning your storage or tinkering with splitters to make a third storage device work.

Connectivity on the Aspire is acceptable, with 1 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port, 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, 4 USB 2.0 ports, 2 HDMI ports, a headphone jack, and an ethernet port. The I/O could have been better with an additional USB-C port, or just more ports in general. However, this is sufficient for your interface, and additional production hardware.

The chassis is not large, but by no means small, measuring 13.78 x 6.42 x 13.39 inches, and weighing 14.17 lbs. The design of the case isn’t the best, with the mounting plate for the HDD covering a significant portion of the device. Working around it is difficult if not impossible, and will require you to remove the plate to get access to more of the motherboard. This shouldn’t be too difficult since the chassis is fairly bare-bones.

The 300W power supply on the Aspire is the only component that keeps it from being a great canvas for upgrading. With a low wattage proprietary PSU, paired with non-conventional connectors to the motherboard, finding a high wattage replacement CPU will be difficult and expensive. However, if your upgrades extend to just the RAM and storage, the wattage on this power supply will be plenty to fit your needs.

Overall, the Aspire is an extreme ‘value for money’ machine that provides a powerful CPU with substantial performance to build a competent production setup around. While it isn’t as impressive at face value, it is a skeleton that will support quite a few upgrades to make it into a great machine that will grow with your needs.

Acer Aspire TC-1760-UR11 Benefits

With its i5-12400, the Aspire handles even the most demanding plugins and effects with multiple parallel tracks.

It provides a formidable framework to build it into a competent machine over time.

The fan runs fairly quiet, so you won’t need a dedicated sound-proofed setup to record your audio.

Acer Aspire TC-1760-UR11 Drawbacks

The single fan doesn’t dissipate as much heat as the CPU produced, however, it should be resolved once a secondary fan is added.

The RAM does cause stutters when working on larger files, however, this can be easily fixed by slotting in another DIMM.

The proprietary power supply has low wattage, however, albeit difficult, it is upgradable and it won’t cause issues if all you upgrade is RAM and storage.

Verdict

Based on the scoring model, we can see the highest variance in the Price to Performance, Processor, and RAM categories. The score difference is the highest in the RAM category, where the EliteDesk comes in first, followed by the XPS, and the Aspire finishing last with 7.5 points having 4 times less memory than the EliteDesk. The other two categories mirror each other, with the XPS earning a perfect score in both, the Aspire lagging behind by a point, and the EliteDesk finishing last.

The XPS being the most expensive option on this list still provides the best bang for your buck, evident from its perfect score in the Price to Performance and Processor categories. It remains stable in every category, never scoring below a 9. The XPS ties with the EliteDesk in terms of storage, but offers the best port selection as well as the most comprehensive list of add-on features between the three selections.

The EliteDesk on the other hand outperforms both the XPS and the Aspire in the RAM category, where it earns a perfect score for having 64GB of memory. It also ties first place with the XPS in Storage, providing less overall capacity, but opting for a larger SSD than its competition. The EliteDesk manages to remain fairly consistent, scoring ahead of the Aspire on all but two categories, i.e., Price to Performance and Processor, which was expected for a mini PC. While it manages to tie the Additional Features category with the Aspire, the higher cost of the EliteDesk doesn’t work in its favor. Nonetheless, it provides solid performance across the board.

Based on the results of our scoring model, the best budget PC for music production is unarguably the XPS with its impressive average score of 9.4. The XPS prioritizes all the right features, providing the best CPU performance of the three products, aided by its lightning fast DDR5 memory, and ample storage for your music production needs. With a respectable I/O and a decent PSU, it can be upgraded to expand its use as your production requirements grow. Overall, the XPS is a silent powerhouse on a budget that will give you the performance of some of the best hardware out there at a fraction of the cost. Considering both its impressive spec sheet, and the price tag, the XPS is highly recommended!

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of budget PC do I need for music production?

For music production, the ideal PC will have a powerful processor (Intel i5 or better, or an AMD equivalent chip), a good amount of RAM, preferably 32GB or more, a PSU that supports upgrades, enough ports for connectivity, a chassis and motherboard that have the space and connectors for additional hardware, and enough storage to last you a while.

Components like RAM and Storage can be upgraded easily down the line, however, the processor, motherboard, and PSU have either limited or no options for upgrades, so it’s best to get the specs you need upfront on those parts.

What budget processor do I need for music production?

For your budget processor, we recommend going no lower than a modern Intel i5 or a Ryzen 5 machine with upwards of 4 cores. Anything lower than a 10th generation Intel machine, or a sub 5000 series Ryzen won’t have much in the way of future-proofing. Ideally, you should get a processor that you can build a good production setup around so it doesn’t end up playing catch-up with other, faster components.

Do you need a strong PC for music production?

Strictly speaking, you don’t need a strong PC for music production, you just need one that fits your requirements. If your music production needs are limited to mixing beats and scoring tracks with light effects and low plugin use, a mid-range PC with some headroom to expand your workloads will do. However, for any serious production, you’ll want a powerful PC that will support more plugins, more effects, multiple timelines, and provide faster render times.

Is a gaming PC good enough for music production?

Gaming PCs are designed for demanding processing with well managed thermals, and have faster bus speeds to reduce latency - both of which also benefit music production software. They also come equipped with more RAM and storage than their regular counterparts with higher clock, and read/write speeds respectively that smoothen your DAW experience.

Additionally, they also house high wattage PSUs to support power hungry graphics cards, which comes in handy when you want to power your equipment directly through the ports, and eliminates the risk of power limit throttling as you add more upgrades to the system.