Best Gaming Desktop PC for Music Production [2023 Reviewed]

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ThumbnailGaming PC for Music ProductionProRec ScorePrice
Alienware Aurora R14

Alienware Aurora R14

9.3
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Lenovo IdeaCentre 5

Lenovo IdeaCentre 5

8.8
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Acer Predator Orion 3000

Acer Predator Orion 3000

8.4
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Introduction

In the past decade, gaming machines have become quite popular, not only for their potential for running the latest most demanding titles, but also for their phenomenal performance in workflows that require heavy processing. As a general rule, if a computer is good enough for gaming, it’s probably good enough for music production. However, not all gaming PCs are equal, and determining what you want to buy needs some consideration depending on what DAW (FL Studio / Pro Tools / Ableton) you use and your overall use case.

When choosing the best gaming PC for music production, the most significant aspect you need to consider is the processor, which handles all your effects, virtual instruments, processing, and multitasking.

If the scope of your project is just recording instruments, then you don’t need a lot of power. Similarly, mixing tracks or podcasting doesn’t generally require high specs either, but that changes quickly depending on the effects you want to use on each track, and the amount of tracks you have active. On the other hand, if you have heavier editing and rendering requirements, then those can be quite taxing on on the CPU. If you use a lot of plug-ins, then you definitely need a solid machine.

Generally, either an Intel or an AMD processor with at least 4 cores will get the job done. However, we recommend machines with 6 cores and up scaled to how demanding your workload is. The number of cores determine how many processes you can handle at once, while the clock speed determines how well your device performs on long renders and intensive plugins, a mix of both covers all bases.

Between the two, AMD usually has a higher core count, while Intel has higher single-core performance, but they both do well regardless, with Intel edging ahead in stability. Most gaming desktops also come with GPUs, which isn’t a component that DAWs utilize, so unless you plan on running AAA titles, your choice in GPU is inconsequential.

The next most important performance driver is RAM, which is especially significant if you use third party plugins and Kontakt libraries that eat up memory quickly. If you absolutely have to, 16GB will suffice for light mixing and scoring, however, for serious production, we recommend going no lower than 32GB. The difference between the two is considerable, which will be apparent when you run background processes while you work on your tracks. For bus speeds, you don’t need to spend more on DDR5 memory unless you plan on gaming. For music production, DDR4 memory will suffice.

As for storage, we recommend 1TB of SSD storage to get started with your production, which can be upgraded later on as space fills up. Loading and streaming sample libraries from an HDD can be a slow process, so we recommend using an SSD to cut down on read/write times. If your budget is tight, you could get a low capacity SSD for your active projects and libraries, and an HDD for archives and backups.

Finally, it’s also important to check if the ports on the machine match your hardware, since it’s generally not a good idea to connect your production setup into dongles and hubs, especially your audio devices and synth/MIDI keyboards. Not only does this introduce additional latency and shared bus speeds, but also causes issues with some DAWs. Desktops offer a lot of flexibility but Mini PCs are also a great alternative. As long as you choose the best option for your specific requirements, your production setup will not disappoint.

Best Gaming 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

9.3ProRec Score
Alienware Aurora R14
Price to Performance
9.5
Processor
8.5
RAM
9
Storage
9.5
Connectivity
10
Additional Features
9.5

The Aurora R14 by Alienware is their promised refreshed design to the Aurora lineup. The R14 comes with a 12 core, 24 thread AMD Ryzen 9 5900 processor clocked at 3.0GHz, with turbo up to 4.7GHz. While there is no upgrade to the processor since its predecessor, the R10, the newer R14 has better thermals with improved heat dissipation to counter some of the issues from before.

As a chip meant for gaming, the Ryzen 9 5900 is overkill for almost any DAW application. The performance was outstanding with a lot of flexibility with plugins, and the high core/thread count didn’t cause stutters with multiple timelines and FX. DAWs in general run more stable with a high base clock, which holds true for this processor as well. With the onboard RTX 3080 with 10GB of DDR6X memory, performance holds up well in AAA titles.

One notable detail is the proprietary RTX 3080 will get hot with long sessions since the OEM thermal design is somewhat lacking. This can be significantly improved by adding a high quality thermal paste on the contact points.

The fans and the motor on the liquid cooling are fairly quiet, with noise reaching up to 51dB under maximum CPU and GPU load. This will be lower in realistic conditions, so you won’t have trouble recording. Despite the 120mm (4.72 inches) radiator, the CPU remained cool throughout our DAW sessions. Sustained heavy load on more demanding projects wasn’t an issue either, even with considerable instruments and plugins, and with multitrack rendering.

The 32GB of 3466MHz RAM gave DAWs considerable cache to work with, even with an unreasonable amount of plugins during our stress tests. The 1TB NVMe SSD and 2TB HDD provide a good platform to store your active projects, games, with enough room for deep storage and backups. This won’t require upgrading any time soon.

In terms of connectivity, the R14 comes with 5 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (1 with PowerShare), 4 USB 2.0 ports (2 with Smart Power On), 3 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports (1 with PowerShare). Altogether, the massive assorted 12 ports between the front and rear provide more than enough connectivity to add your peripherals, interface, and other production equipment.

The chassis is large, measuring 23.2 x 8.86 x 20.1 inches, with a futuristic black casing and Red LEDs indicating the AMD chip inside. Between its size and the hidden cable management, it will accommodate any upgrades you could want. The Legend 2.0 case design does well to improve airflow with the intake and exhaust fans.

The Aurora R14 comes with a 750W platinum rated power supply which provides exceptional power efficiency, and enough juice to push the Ryzen 9 APU, and the RTX 3080 to their limits and still have enough left over for upgrades and your interface and mixers.

With what it offers, Alienware’s Aurora R14 spares no expense to give some of the best performance on the market with a powerful CPU/GPU combo, along with high capacity RAM and a total of 3TB of storage between the SSD and HDD. It manages temperatures well, and is quiet enough to record with. Additionally, Dell’s customer service is reliable and any issues you may have will be resolved quickly.

Alienware Aurora R14 Benefits

The Ryzen 9 5900 handles even the heaviest production workloads with ease, with some headroom left over to push the machine more.

The 32GB of high-speed RAM is a good capacity for serious DAW production, and gives you ample cache to work with.

The R14 has a varied selection from a total of 12 USB ports, which is enough connectivity for any equipment you’d want to plug into it.

Alienware Aurora R14 Drawbacks

The OEM cooling solutions on the GPU don’t perform as good as designs from other manufacturers, however, this can be solved with a high quality thermal paste.

The offerings on the R14 aren’t too different from its predecessor, however, it does have better thermals with bulkier heat sinks and thermal management.

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

8.8ProRec Score
Lenovo IdeaCentre 5
Price to Performance
8.5
Processor
8
RAM
10
Storage
10
Connectivity
8
Additional Features
8.5

Lenovo’s IdeaCentre 5 is part of their lineup of consumer gaming machines. This 7th generation model comes with a Ryzen 7 5700G with 8 cores and 16 threads at a base frequency of 3.8GHz, clocking up to 4.6GHz. The processor itself is stable in production workloads, owing to the higher base frequency, and has enough cores to utilize multi-core support in DAWs like Ableton. Being a gaming rig, performance is exceptional in rendering, and working on multiple timelines with FX and plugins doesn’t bog the system down.

This isn’t as proficient as the Ryzen 9 on the Aurora, performing 7% worse, which is more apparent on DAWs that utilize the higher core count. Lenovo didn’t upgrade the APU from its 6th generation predecessor, which is fair since there isn’t too much the Ryzen 7 can’t do anyway. The on-board RTX 3060 provides enough performance to keep up with the APU, however, you shouldn’t expect 4K gaming on the best AAA titles.

The thermals were an area of concern considering the compact chassis and a lack of intake and exhaust fans, however, the primary 65W CPU fan is powerful. This is an upgrade from the previous model, with 50% better airflow, and less noise and heat. Nonetheless, temperatures will spike with prolonged load, so we recommend adding another fan to help keep things cool, especially if you overclock the chip. While the noise is minimal, it isn’t low enough to record without isolating your recording setup.

With 64GB of DDR4 RAM, you have a substantial pool of memory to pile on plugins without worrying about page file swapping. Our stress tests with multitrack rendering with different plugins went smoothly, with no sign of stuttering. The addition of a 2TB SSD and 1TB HDD is a step above the Aurora, which provided more HDD storage than SSD. Like the Aurora, the 3TB of space will be more than enough for almost all production applications.

In terms of connectivity, the IdeaCentre houses 1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 port, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, 1 USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port, 4 USB 2.0 ports, 1 HDMI and VGA port each, headphone and audio out jacks, and an ethernet port. While less than the Aurora, this is just enough for your gaming peripherals and production equipment. There is only a single Type-C port, so if your equipment uses a Thunderbolt/Type-C standard, you will need to depend on hubs and dongles, which isn’t always convenient since some DAWs have trouble with daisy-chained devices.

The chassis is compact, measuring 14.8 x 6.69 x 11.33 inches and weighing 16.64 pounds, which is good if you don’t have a lot of space to work with, but unfortunate if you plan on adding even a small cooler. The case itself is sturdy, however, the overall built quality is somewhat flimsy – the HDD cage especially feels like it shouldn’t be handled too much. This shouldn’t be a problem since PCs generally stay in one spot.

The Platinum rated 500W PSU does well to power the provided hardware and has some headroom for upgrades. Powering your audio interface, synths, and mixers directly through the bus shouldn’t be an issue either. The addition of a high wattage power supply upfront is good, since upgrading these proprietary PSUs can be tough.

Overall, the Lenovo IdeaCentre Gaming 5 is a powerful all-round gaming setup that will provide enough performance to run AAA games at a respectable FPS and relatively high settings. Being geared towards performance, it runs DAWs flawlessly on even the most demanding workloads.

Lenovo IdeaCentre 5 Benefits

The Ryzen 7 APU performs well in DAW applications and doesn’t cause stutters even with heavy workloads.

The 64GB of dual-channel RAM allows you to work multiple timelines with many plugins, giving you a lot of headroom for multitasking.

With 3TB of assorted storage, the IdeaCentre has ample room for your DAW projects, archives, and games.

Lenovo IdeaCentre 5 Drawbacks

The single fan needs to be supplemented with an additional fan for long renders, however, for most applications, temperatures will remain cool.

The build quality is somewhat lacking, but it shouldn’t be an issue since PCs aren’t handled too much.

The single Type-C port limits newer equipment, however, if you’re open to dongles or if your equipment uses Type-A connectors, this won’t be an issue.

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

8.4ProRec Score
Acer Predator Orion 3000
Price to Performance
8
Processor
10
RAM
8
Storage
8
Connectivity
8
Additional Features
8.5

The Predator lineup is one of Acer’s most recognizable gamer-centric computers. The Predator Orion 3000 comes with an Intel Core i7-12700F processor, with 12 cores and 20 threads (8 performance, 4 efficiency), clocking in at 2.1GHz, boosting up to 4.9GHz. The i7 performs far better than the Ryzen processors on the Aurora and IdeaCentre machines by a margin of 16% and 23% respectively.

While this improved render times and allowed us to add more demanding workloads to our timelines, the low base clock did cause some issues with stability since DAWs aren’t designed for fluctuating clock speeds. This is, however, still a marked improvement from its predecessor’s i7-11700F by 24%. The build also comes with an RTX 3070 installed, which adds the option to use your device for other applications such as gaming and video editing.

With the added performance, the system’s total TDP requirements climb and temperatures are noticeably warm under sustained load. However, this issue won’t pop up too much working on your timelines, even with heavy use of plugins, FX, or multitrack rendering. The heating mostly boiled down the lack of a proper i7 cooler with a copper core, with the OEM opting for an i3 cooler instead, so replacing the stock cooler would solve the issue entirely.

The unit is quiet under light and medium loads, however, there is a noticeable low-pitched noise under heavy load. This shouldn’t be an issue since recording audio won’t be too taxing anyway.

The Orion comes with 16GB of DDR4 RAM, which will suffice for light work such as mixing tracks and beats, however, for dedicated production, we recommend upgrading to at least 32GB in dual-channel since plugins can eat through memory fairly quickly. The 512GB NVMe storage makes for a handy boot drive, however, it won’t be able to store too many projects, and certainly won’t have room to archive or back up your repositories. We recommend adding an additional 1TB drive, preferably an SSD for faster transfer speeds.

Connectivity options on the Orion include 1 USB 3.2 Type-C Gen 2×2, port, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, 2 USB 3.2 Type-A Gen1 ports, 4 USB 2.0 ports, and the usual audio jacks and ethernet port. The ports are sufficient, even with peripherals connected, however the ports are a bit cramped, especially after plugging in our interface, mixers, and synths. For those of you who use additional equipment, a hub or dongle solution will be required to plug in your whole setup.

The chassis isn’t too small, measuring 14.84 x 6.89 x 15.16 inches and weighing 11.84 pounds. While this certainly has the space required to make upgrades, there isn’t a lot of I/O to connect to. However, for production applications, the option to upgrade RAM and storage is more than enough. The build quality is decent for a prebuilt OEM machine.

While the proprietary 500W power supply isn’t nearly enough to run the i7-12700F (180W) with the RTX 3070 (220W) at full power, it is more than enough for production workloads since the GPU won’t be utilized by DAW software. The PSU will power your equipment with ease, however, if you plan on gaming on this machine, we recommend

In a nutshell, the Acer Predator Orion 3000 is a gaming-centric machine that prioritizes performance with its exceptionally powerful i7-12700F, and the 500W PSU leaves some room to upgrade your production setup down the line.

Acer Predator Orion 3000 Benefits

The i7-12700F outperforms every other machine on our lineup by a substantial margin throughout our testing.

The 500W power supply is a decent canvas to add upgrades onto.

The case is fairly sturdy for an OEM prebuilt, and won’t show signs of wear any time soon.

Acer Predator Orion 3000 Drawbacks

The RAM and storage are fairly lacking, however, both can be upgraded easily aftermarket.

The connectivity options are a bit limited, however, there are solutions available to remedy that issue.

The thermals suffer because of the stock cooler, however, adding an aftermarket cooler will fix the flaring temperatures.

Verdict

gaming PC for music production comparison scoring model quantitative analysis

Based on our scoring model, the Processor, RAM, Storage, and Connectivity categories all have significant variance between them. The processor on the Orion outperforms both the Aurora and IdeaCentre by a margin of 1.5, and 2.5 points respectively on DAW performance. However, on the RAM and Storage categories, the IdeaCentre earns itself a perfect score ahead of the Orion scoring 2 points less on each, and the Aurora, scoring 1 and 0.5 points less on each category. In the Connectivity category, the Aurora beats the competition by its varied port selection and sheer number of options, scoring 2 points more than both.

Alienware’s Aurora R14 remained the most consistent option with its high scores, averaging 9.3 points across our categories. It provides the best Price to Performance among the three, most notably with its powerful Ryzen 9 APU, 32GB of RAM and a total of 3TB of Storage. It also provides the most Connectivity options, offering 12 assorted USB ports compared to the 8 on both the other machines. The Aurora scores the lowest on the processor category, however, that still puts it at second best behind the Orion.

With just 0.5 points less than the Aurora, the Lenovo IdeaCentre is a solid contender. Albeit with a less powerful processor, the IdeaCentre provides the best RAM and Storage of the lot, with double the system memory of the Aurora, and a better mix of SSD/HDD storage. The Connectivity category was the unit’s weakest link, with just the 8 ports on offer, however, it’s nothing aftermarket solutions can’t fix. Like all options on this list, the IdeaCentre also comes with an RTX graphics card, along with a 500W PSU that it shares with the Orion. If you don’t want to spend the extra bucks on the Aurora, you wouldn’t regret picking this machine up for what it offers.

However, based on the scores, the best gaming PC for music production is hands down the Alienware Aurora R14 with an average core of 9.3. Armed with a liquid cooled Ryzen 9 processor for rendering, 32GB of DDR4 RAM for intensive plugins and multitasking, the upgradability options with the spacious chassis and 750W power supply, along with the additional bells and whistles associated with premium machines, the Aurora puts itself squarely in first place. Try as we might, we couldn’t fault this product on too much, which is why we cannot recommend it enough!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Gaming PC be used for Music Production?

Gaming requirements are quite similar to Music Production, so a gaming machine is always a good bet for music production. Most modern games require a ton of CPU and GPU power, gaming PCs are designed to handle heavy load, and even have cooling systems to combat the heat that comes with high resource utilization during gaming. They also have RAM and Storage in spades since games take up a lot of space and system memory. These are all resources that DAWs require as well, so a gaming PC will be a safe bet for a performance oriented music production machine.

How much should I spend on a Gaming PC for Music Production?

Ideally, the amount you’ll spend on a gaming PC for music production can vary from sub $1000 to upwards of $2000, depending primarily on the kind of work you do, and how much you’re willing to spend. Within reason, the more you spend, the more performance you’ll get. If all you do is light mixing and scoring with a limited number of tracks, a budget gaming machine will get the job done, however, for heavy rendering, you might want to consider a costlier, more powerful machine.

Are Gaming Motherboards good for Music Production?

Gaming motherboards work really well for music production, especially with applications that require heavy processing and a ton of system resources. A gaming motherboard will generally allow you to overclock your CPU, give you more PCIe slots and SATA connectors for your storage devices, a higher total capacity for RAM, and faster speeds on both storage, and system memory with PCIe 4.0 and DDR5 support. Some gaming motherboards may also have more heatsinks to manage thermals better.

Do I need a Graphics Card for Music Production?

You don’t really need a graphics card on your system since music production in general is a CPU intensive task. Digital audio signals on your DAW are processed sequentially, which is something the CPU handles far better than GPUs.