Looking for Budget DAW PC Recommendations

I've got an old laptop that I've been playing around with reaper and a few vsti plugins. I've got myself a midi keyboard (that came with analog lab) and a good audio interface I'm now finding the laptop is struggling. Plus the small screen is a bit of a pain to work with.

Looking at the cheap refurbished office PC's the specs are way better than my laptop, 16gb+ ram etc, are they a realistic solution as I want to keep the costs down as this is a hobby rather than a job. An example below:

HP EliteDesk 800 G2 SFF Intel i5 6500 3.20GHz 16GB RAM 128GB SSD Win 10 $120

Any suggestions for 2nd had PC's to keep an eye out for? I'm guessing the onboard graphics are fine for DAW machine? I would also need a screen, again, probably the bigger the better I would guess for using the GUI.

thanks

Comments

  • +1

    As Windows 10 reaches end of life in October 2025, you may want to get a system with a CPU that meets the minimum spec for Windows 11, such as an Intel 8th gen or newer.
    End of life means you will no longer get security updates, so the operating system will become more vulnerable to malware, hacks, etc…

  • +2

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/810361

    Would be my choice. If you can get one for ~200 with the 16GB RAM update, then grab one of those Dell monitors that's always on sale or something you'd be set for a while IMO.

    • +1

      Running something very similar for my Ableton rig

      • ok cool. I'm looking at changing my DAW to LIVE for easier looping etc.

  • I eneded up getting a refurbished DELL OPTIPLEX 7060 INTEL I5 8500 8TH GEN 3.0 GHZ 16GB 256GB SSD 500GB HDD WIN11

    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/295856755370

    See how it goes, should be a quantum leap on the old laptop and not a whole lot of $$ which is a bonus!

    cheers

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