10 Best PCs for Music Production in 2023

An Apple MacBook Air is always a safe choice when selecting the best computer. It's a lightweight, thin computer that is very portable, as well as beautiful to look at. The retina display is sensational, as it provides you with razor-sharp clarity that other computers cannot compete with. The touchpad is 20% bigger than a standard touchpad, which gives you a bit more freedom and control. This comes in handy when using music production software. You need a high-performance PC for music production, and the Core Intel Core i5 processor will keep your computer working well under the strain of the intensive programs you need.

Pros

+ Intel Core i5 Processor
+ Fast Track Touchpad
+ Incredibly Light
+ Loud, Bass-Heavy Speakers
+ Three-Microphone Array

Why We Liked It:

Apple MacBooks are adored by producers because they perform to a high standard, are user-friendly, and are reliable, which is important when it comes to a computer for making music.

An Apple iMac is perfect as a recording studio desktop computer. The 21.5-inch screen gives you a huge amount of display to work with so that you can have multiple tabs and pages up at the same time. Since it's such a large computer, it also includes a very large hard drive that has a maximum storage amount of 1TB. Memory is another strong point for the Apple iMac, as this desktop computer gives you 8GM. The Intel Core i5 processor is brilliant and it works at a speed of 2.3GHz, which is ideal for music production. Generally, it's a quick computer for music production.

Pros

+ Huge 21.5-Inch Display
+ 8GM Memory
+ 1TB Hard Disk Space
+ 2.3GHz Intel Core i5 Processor
+ Three USB 3.0 Ports

Why We Liked It:

An Apple iMac isn’t just one of the best PCs for music production; it's the best computer, full stop. It offers incredible performance, is user-friendly, and runs at a quick speed.

This MacBook Air with a 13.3-inch backlit LED display is another Apple computer for audio production that ticks all the boxes. When it comes to performance, you can be certain it will deliver, as it has a processor that's 1.8GHz Intel dual-core. It’s also got a turbo boost that can take the processing speed up to 2.9GHz. The RAM speed is impressive too, giving you 8GB. As you’d expect from a MacBook Air, it only weighs 2.96lbs and is 0.68-inches thick, so it’s ideal for anyone looking for an easily portable and transportable computer for music production.

Pros

+ Incredibly Light
+ Turbo Boost for Intel Dual-Core Processor
+ Thunderbolt 2 Ports
+ Flash Storage

Why We Liked It:

This Apple MacBook Air is proof that great computers for recording audio can be slim, lightweight, but also offer a lot of processing and RAM speed.

This is another high-performance computer for audio production by Apple. Since it's a MacBook Pro, you can be sure to expect power, which is exactly what you get thanks to the ninth-generation Core Intel Core i7 processor. This provides a speed of 2.6GHz, as well as a 4.5GHz turbo boost. You don’t just get power. It also offers an enormous amount of storage space. You get 1TB of SSD storage with this Mac Pro. It’s very easy and quick to transfer data to this PC because of the Thunderbolt 3 ports.

Pros

+ Very Quick Processor
+ Thunderbolt 3 Ports
+ 1TB SSD Storage
+ Retina Display
+ 4.5GHz Turbo Boost

Why We Liked It:

Apple always makes good PCs for audio production, but this is truly brilliant because of the brand-new processor. It offers a lot of speed, as well as a big turbo boost.

This is an ideal choice as an audio recording laptop if you want good performance at a very reasonable price. It has been designed with ruggedness in mind, so if you don’t want an easily-breakable, fragile music computer, then the ASUS Chromebook is ideal. The 11.6-inch display is crystal clear and HD, but the anti-glare technology will keep your eyes safe, as well as making it easier for long sessions recording audio. It offers 4GB of hard disk space and 16GB of flash storage. It also has an Intel processor that works quickly and reliably.

Pros

+ Quality Intel Processor
+ Anti-Glare HD Screen
+ Very Rugged
+ Easy-Grip Design
+ Long Battery Life

Why We Liked It:

The ultra-low price has to make it a top contender for the very best laptop for music production when it comes to money.

This is the final Apple MacBook on our list, and some might consider it the best Mac for music production. It certainly offers a huge amount of processing power due to the 6-core Intel Core i9 processor, which means that it could easily function as a professional studio computer. The processor on this Mac Pro has a speed of 2.9GHz, with a turbo boost of 4.8GHz. You can also configure it so that you get 32GB of DDR4 memory, which is good for producers who work with large files and like to run numerous programs at once. The SSD storage is a whopping 4TB and you get a sequential read speed of 3.2GB per second.

Pros

+ Very Powerful Processor
+ Huge Amount of SSD Storage
+ Turbo Boost
+ Touch Bar
+ Large 15-Inch Display

Why We Liked It:

This is a premium Mac Pro product that is excellent in every single area, making it an easy choice as one of the best laptops for music production.

This is another affordable ASUS Chromebook that can be used as a laptop for music production. It features a 360-degree, flexible hinge, which allows you to effortlessly turn it into a tablet from a laptop. The touchscreen makes it even more user-friendly, which might suit people who want a laptop for music production, as well as an everyday laptop. It provides you with a lot of speed due to the 4GB RAM, as well as the processor. When working with audio all day, you'll need long battery life. You get a whole 10 hours of playtime from a single charge and the screen is full-HD.

Pros

+ 360-Degree Flexible Hinge
+ 4GB Ram
+ Intel Core Processor
+ 10 Hours of Battery Time
+ 64GB Hard Drive Space

Why We Liked It:

The ability to turn it from a computer for recording audio easily into a tablet for watching movies thanks to the 360-degree flexible hinge is a great feature. This is something desktop computers don't offer.

Acer always produces the best computers when it comes to value for money, and this music production computer is certainly good value. It features an 8th generation Intel Core i3 processor that provides processing speeds of 2.2GHz, as well as a boost up to 3.2GHz. The screen is 15.6-inches which is substantial, and the full-HD resolution gives you a crystal-clear display. You get 13.5 hours of battery time when it has been fully charged. The sound system is top quality thanks to Acer’s TrueHarmony technology which really adds a lot of depth to the audio.

Pros

+ Affordable Price
+ TrueHarmony Audio System
+ Top Quality Intel Core i3 Processor
+ Full-HD Display
+ 13.5 Hours of Battery Time

Why We Liked It:

Considering the power of the processor, as well as the long battery life and full-HD display, this is truly one of the best laptops for recording music in this price range.

The AMD A6-7310 quad-core processor inside this high-performance music computer provides a lot of power and speed. It also has more than enough disk space at 500GB. This is great for budding producers who just want a computer for recording audio at home. HP is a reliable company, and this computer for recording music is one you can count on to deliver for a long time. The processor works at a speed of 2.4GHz, which is fine for running music production software. You get 5.5 hours of battery time when you’ve charged it fully, and it also has 1 USB 2.0 port.

Pros

+ Low Price
+ 500GB of Disc Space
+ 1 x USB 2.0 Port
+ 5.5 Hours of Battery Time
+ Windows 10

Why We Liked It:

It’s a reasonably priced computer for recording music that functions well, has decent processing speed, and has been made by HP, which is a company you can trust.

This is another music production computer from HP. It's a little different from the previous HP music computer on the list, though, as it has a WLED backlit touch screen. The 7th generation Intel Core i3 processor is always a good choice for a studio computer as it gives you a lot of power for operating your production software. There's one USB 3.0 port and two USB 2.0 ports, which gives you a lot of options for hooking up hardware and storage devices to it. It has a massive hard drive that can space of up to 1TB. Despite the large 15.6-inch screen, it's still a light laptop, weighing only 4.6lbs, which makes it portable.

Pros

+ Lightweight
+ 1TB of Disk Space
+ Three USB Ports
+ Powerful Processor
+ 4K Resolution

Why We Liked It:

It's proof that the best music production laptops don’t need to cost a fortune, as a desktop computer might. If you get this one, it'll provide you with a lot of storage, a 4K resolution, and a portable weight, all for a very affordable price.

Music Production PC Buyer’s Guide

There is so much choice when it comes to computers, that you can quickly find yourself asking which computers are best? When looking at information about a music computer, you can easily become overwhelmed by all the numbers and names of pieces of hardware. It might mean nothing to you. Fortunately, this buyer’s guide will explain what the key features of the best computers, and how to recognize them.

Processor

So which computer is best? Anyone who knows anything about computers will tell you that the processor is the heart of the system. A good processor is absolutely essential for any computer for music production. If you pick a processor that provides insufficient power, then it will slow you down, halt your work, and inevitably lead to worse quality audio. However, this is a lot of choices when it comes to processors.

Intel processors are standard in most high quality audio computers, whether that's desktop computers or laptops. You will find that they're referred to by which generation they are. Of course, the later the generation, the newer they will be, and this means that they will simply function better. The next choice with an Intel Core processor is whether to go for an i3, an i5, or an i7. Once again, you can expect better performance as you go through the processors. An i3 processor offers you a lot less than an i7 processor. You will be able to multi-task through different applications with each of these processors, but you require at least an i5, (preferably an i7) if you’re going to be using the computer for music production. Your last choice is between a dual-core or a quad-core processor. The latter will optimize your performance and give you a lot more power and speed.

RAM

RAM is equally as important as the processor when it comes to music production computers. The more RAM, the less chance you have of lag or the PC freezing during the music production process. If you have insufficient RAM, then you may not even be able to use music production software like Pro Tools, which requires a minimum RAM of 16GB to function. For that reason, the very minimum you should be considering when choosing the best PC for making music is at least 16GB of RAM, but preferably 32GB would be better.

Hard Drive Capacity

If you’re serious about audio production, then you’ll most likely have a couple of external hard drives that you’ll be connecting to your PC to act in conjunction with the internal hard drive. But it’s still important that every computer for music production also has a big hard drive capacity so that you can download sounds and store them without any worries, as well as keeping some tunes saved on the computer itself. 1TB has to be the minimum required unless you’re adamant that your external hard drives will be sufficient.

Screen

Good computers for audio production need to have a large, easy-to-read display screen. You'll need to ensure that it also provides you with HD resolution. When it comes to size, then it's a matter of taste, but anything over 15 inches is certainly big enough. Another choice with more recent computers for music production is a touch screen, which is a good choice if you want to use your music production computer as an everyday PC too.

Touchpad

Unless you use an external mouse (especially with desktop computers), you’ll use a touchpad when operating the PC. Touchpads will vary in size. Some Apple computers offer 20% larger touchpads than other laptops. It's important to check if the touchpad is reactive and intuitive.

Do computers for music production need high-quality video cards?

No. A video card or graphics card will not provide you with many advantages when it comes to music production. Of course, if you want to use your PC for playing video games or editing videos, then you need to check the graphics card. But the best computer for music production will simply be focused on packing as much power and speed into it so that you can use it for recording high quality audio. So get one that focusses on that rather than the graphics card.

Expert Tip

If you’re buying a PC for music production, then there’s a good chance that you’ll be hooking up some music hardware to the computer - perhaps a MIDI keyboard. Ensure that you check the number of USB ports – as well as other ports. Get one with enough to connect all the external devices you plan to use, such as external hard drives.

Did you know?

The very first recorded piece of music made by a computer was done back in 1951 at the University of Manchester. It could play three different tunes, which were Ba Ba Black Sheep, God Save the Queen, and In the Mood.

Conclusion

When it comes to finding a computer for music production, then it’s easy to get blown away by the tremendous amount of choice. Fortunately, there are a lot of great music computers available. To get the right one, make sure that it has at least 16GB of RAM, a modern processor that offers a lot of power, and that it also has a lot of USB ports for hooking up to external devices. A HD screen is a must too, so it will allow you to watch high-quality videos when you have downtime after a long recording session.

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