For music production (or anything, really) I don’t see the added benefits of the extra cost and it has always felt like the exorbitance of branding more than anything else. Personally, I’ve always bought AMD because they cost less and I’ve never had any trouble with them. For AMD AM4 is the current socket and for Intel, it’s LGA 1151/socket H4. There is a handy table in this article which shows all of the AMD and Intel socket types.Ĭlick on Computer Type at the top of the table to sort it and look at the Desktop sockets, focusing on the most recent Intel and AMD socket types as shown by the date at the left. These have changed a lot over the years, though things are starting to slow down due to Moore’s Law. There are several form factors but most are impractical for music production and geared for other usages. This is because you’ll likely have to take out whatever you already have and replace it with more expensive sticks. Not to mention mini ITX tends to have only 2 RAM slots, which means it’s more expensive to add RAM as a later upgrade. I recommend ATX or micro ATX because mini ITX is quite small, and while it might be cheaper, it runs the risk of overheating and there are no benefits to this unless you really don’t have the space for a standard computer case. There are three main form factors for motherboards: ATX, micro ATX and mini ITX. There are other brands out there worth checking out, but you can’t go wrong with these two quality-wise, and they both make a wide variety of boards for different price ranges. I have used them both without issue over the past 20 years. I highly recommend either ASUS or Gigabyte motherboards, as they have consistently been making quality motherboards for a long time. The motherboard is the most critical component because it determines the socket type and speed range (and thus future-proofing) of the CPU and RAM you can use in your system as well as other things. Think of it as the infrastructure by which information travels between all the other components. The motherboard is the base, so go high quality onto this part which all the other components fit. Namely, the motherboard should be chosen first as it affects everything else. You should research and choose your components in something of a particular order, however, which is reflected below. However, it’s pretty simple to get all the pieces and put them together without too much trouble – with a little patience at least. It will seem like a lot to learn when trying to build the best computer for music production if you’re not familiar with computer hardware. So, why not give it a shot and put together something customised for your personal needs which also costs significantly less than pre-built computers? Here’s what you need to know to get started. If you follow these tips, you’ll do just fine. Be patient and ask questions in the online forums if you’re really confused about something. I want to encourage you regardless – as long as you are patient and careful, It’s not rocket science! Be sure to use little force when inserting the CPU, to also read up elsewhere and educate yourself on the basics. But… let’s explore building your own!Ĭommon fears are that this is too complicated or that you might break something. There are various cheap PC’s for music production, and popular brands that make the best computers for music production are Acer Aspire, Dell Inspirion, NVidia, AMD & Intel Core. You will also likely save money instead of being stuck with an off-the-shelf system that can’t be upgraded.
#Building a home studio computer mac#
There is a key difference between the power you can enhance with a laptop vs desktop computer and/or Mac or PC. Why Should You Build A Computer Yourself? These will have the components you can go with for building a solid system including the best CPU for music production that will be upgradeable going forward.
#Building a home studio computer Pc#
This should save you money and help you build a cheap PC for music production that will work well with your DAW. If you’re a music producer wanting your first home recording studio setup, or maybe wanting something better ergonomically or for speed and CPU performance than your tired old computer for music production, why not build your own desktop computer? That way, you can ensure you have the best computer for music production! In this article, I will give guidance and a strategy for a music production PC build.