Apple Desktop For Music Production

Working on a music production project on a slow computer can be very stressful. Imagine getting system dropouts everytime you hit play when composing. That's an instant creative killer.

• Good Desktops For Music Production
• Apple Music App Desktop

The accepted wisdom is the Apple Mac is the best computer for music production. It has always been and will probably always be a well-made computer from which creators and music makers can benefit. As a platform, it's stable, predictable and all the major music software and hardware developers produce products for it.

In this article you will learn some tips to optimizing your Windows & Mac computer for music production. These tips may get you a small speed boost, without having to buy a new computer.

If you are in the process of buying a new laptop or computer, you should check out my free e-book: the truth about DJ-ing and music production. I dedicated a whole chapter with minimum specifications for budget, midrange and high end computers for music production. 9 Ways To Optimizing Windows & Mac for Music Production. Working on a music production project on a slow computer can be very stressful. Imagine getting system dropouts everytime you hit play when composing. That's an instant creative killer. In this article you will learn some tips to optimizing your Windows & Mac computer for music production.

Apple com update itunes. That said, sometimes you're better off simply upgrading your computer. However, if you want to squeeze out a little more life out of your computer or a little strapped for cash right now, here are 9 tips to optimize your computer for music production.

Good Desktops For Music Production

1 – Increase buffer size & allow multithreaded processing

The first thing you should do is to adjust your audio settings in your DAW.

Go to audio settings and increase the buffer length/size as high as possible to allow your CPU more time to process the audio.

Generally, keep the buffer size small when recording, to avoid latency. But when you mixing, you can allow a higher buffer size as you load more plugins and effects into your project.

Next make sure to allow multithreaded processing in your DAW, so that all of your CPU cores can work together and not leave all the work to a single core. It's worth checking it, in case you left it unchecked.

Fl Studio feature: If you are on Fl Studio, turn on 'Smart Disable' – a feature in FL Studio that allows you to disable plugins that are not used. Don't worry, you can re-enable them as soon as you need them again.

2 – High-performance mode (Windows)

If you're using a laptop running on Windows, go into your computer power settings and make sure that you've selected high-performance mode.

Then go into the advanced settings and check that you've set your minimum processor state to 100%.

Sure, your computer will use more energy and get hot – but you wouldn't want to do music production a slow processing computer anyway. Although, make sure to keep your laptop cool by placing it on a laptop cooling pad.

3 – Audio & effects housekeeping

With the experimentation you do when arranging and producing music, you'll quickly fill up your project with unused effects, audio files, loops and tracks.

These items takes up space and RAM on your computer. So every now and then, it make sense to clear off audio clips and effects that you're not using, such as old vocals tracks or any samples you are not using in your track.

Depending on the DAW you use, there is usually a way to clear unused audio clips.

For example, if you're on Logic Pro X, go the ‘Project' tab by clicking the ‘Browsers' in the upper right hand corner. Click ‘Select Unused' then head to Project Management and click ‘Clean Up'.

Brian li shows how to delete unused audio files in Logic Pro on his blog.

Andhere's a example on FL Studio:

Go to 'Tools', select ' MACROS' then choose 'Purge Unused Audio Clips'.

Apple Music App Desktop

Depending on the DAW you use, the steps may be different. However the reason we do this is the same. Clear out junk and redundancies whenever you don't need them.

4 – Turn on your internet and background apps

When you produce music, it's advisable to close all apps and turn off your internet connection.

Why? Any app that is running on the background actually uses RAM and CPU processing. Especially if you're on an older computer, it's probably a good idea to free up processes as much as possible – so turn off any apps that you're not using while making music.

A common CPU-hog is caused by file sharing applications, such as Onedrive, Dropbox or Google Drive. The file syncing that happens in the background, often takes up a fair bit of CPU processing. So if you have those types of apps on your computer, try to pause syncing and turn off your internet connection to momentarily save up some processing juice for your DAW.

Besides, doing this also enables you to focus better without finding yourself scrolling on social media – which can turn into a bad habit.

5 – Bounce your MIDI tracks to audio

If you use lots of software instruments and MIDI tracks, you might quickly run out of processing juice on your computer. When you playback a software instrument track with MIDI tracks, your computer has to process quite a lot – converting MIDI data, sequencing and playing it back into audio – all real-time.

It's a good practice to bounce your MIDI tracks into audio whenever possible.

You'll lose the ability to go back and change things, but this is one of the best computer processing saver with music production. What I recommend is to create different project file versions of your track, so you can go back to older project anytime, should you need to adjust a certain MIDI track.

If you're on Logic Pro, the ‘freeze' track does exactly this – with the exception that it allows you to unfreeze your track and work on your MIDI file.

And on Studio One – you can do this by using the ‘transform to audio feature'.

6 – Use Group/Bus tracks for compressing and EQ

Sometimes you don't need to use effect inserts in each of your individual tracks. Instead, you may even gain more control over your mix and reduce your computer's processing load by using group or bus tracks for compression and EQ-ing work.

If you find yourself running out of processing power, sending individual tracks to a reverb bus (with one effect), rather than inserting the reverb effect on every individual track.

Sure this might limit the way you do mixing – but mixing with bus tracks can sometimes proof rewarding when you're able to get a more controlled sound.

7 – Invest in a solid-state hard drive

If you're on an aging computer or laptop for music production, consider upgrading its hard drive from a mechanical hard disk to a solid state hard drive (SSD).

The performance benefits are huge. The main culprit that makes older computers slow is often the hard drive, which quickly turns into a bottleneck for speed.

A faster SSD hard drive enables your computer to process information faster, which is important for music production as your DAW reads & playback audio files from your hard disk in real-time. SSDs are now quite affordable these days, and depending on the computer you use, it can be fairly easy to replace it yourself.

Some SSD recommendations for music production:

SSDs for desktop PC

• Samsung 970 Evo Plus – one of the fastest M.2 SSDs in the market.
• WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD – no more loading screens.

SSDs for laptop/notebooks

• Samsung SSD 860 QVO – SATA interface, goes up to 1TB.
• ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro – Reliable and fast M.2 interface SSD

8 – Invest in more RAM

Not quite a optimization tip, but when buying a computer or looking to upgrade for speed, besides upgrading your hard drive to SSD – consider getting more RAM for your computer.

Digital Audio Workstations (DAW) are RAM-hungry applications. In fact, at this point of writing, most DAWs recommend having a minimum of 8GB RAM on your computer.

Generally, the more tracks, instrument samplers, effects and VSTs you have in your arrangement, the more RAM you are going to need to run smoothly.

The good news is upgrading your computer's RAM is often the cheapest, best upgrade you can do (unless you're on a Macbook Pro 2016 & above, then you're out of luck). If your computer has an empty RAM slot or can be upgraded – it's worth spending that small bit to upgrade the RAM. New macbook apps.

9 – Monitor your computer processes for rogue applications.

Over time of using your computer, regardless of whether you use a MAC or PC, you might have applications or services that you no longer use, running in the background, hogging the processor.

In fact, with some use and online browsing, some computers eventually get infected with malware and adware that can potentially use up processing power.

Make sure to monitor your system usage on a regular basis.

Simply launch ‘Activity Monitor' on a Mac or ‘Task Manager' on a PC and see if there's any apps that is using your computer's resources, RAM and CPU. If you find an app that is standing out, investigate the app. If you don't use the app, uninstall it.

A word of advice is to Google the name of the processes that you don't recognize on your task manager and see where it originates from. Before you kill any processes, always verify what they are (and do).

There are many third-party applications like CCleaner that helps you pin-point apps or processes that are hogging your system resources and gives you recommendations to quit or remove them. Again, be extra careful when using third party applications like this and double-check before you delete anything.

Conclusion

Follow the few tips above and you should see some improvements in your system's performance, helping you get a bit more out from your computer without having to buy a new one so soon.

Although eventually, it may make more sense to simply upgrade and buy a new computer – so that you stay productive on producing more music and not fixing processing issues on your computer.

Did you find any tip useful in this post? What are some good computer optimization tips for music production we've missed out? Let us know in the comment section below and we'll add your tip right up.

About the author

Anna Grant is a music aficionado and content writer at Supreme Tracks – an online recording studio where you can buy beats online. She plays keys and guitar and has many years of experience writing for the music industry.

Today we're looking for the best computer for music production and recording. So you have the music production gear; keyboards, speakers, microphones, and most importantly, those creative ideas storming around in your brain. But what about the actual computer to act as the backbone of your entire digital music production setup? When it comes to a music making computer, we want to settle some anxiety you may have right off the bat: it isn't too big of deal which one you get. When we say that, we mean what kind, type, brand, etc. You will want to follow our checklists for musts so you ensure you have a computer that can actually handle the modern-day digital music production setup; however, there is a vast majority of models to choose from that will work perfectly fine.

How to Choose Your Computer for Music Production

• Your budget – As perhaps assumed, this is our first and foremost the biggest deciding factor. Although you don't necessarily have to drop thousands of dollars on your music making computer, the higher you go, the better overall quality your work flow will be. Many reading this article may be just starting to build a home studio, so keep in mind what other gear you need to balance your money out. To have a fast and easy setup however shouldn't take more than a thousand bucks (and lower). If you're a starter musician buying your beginners music gear, you may want to save some money and grab a more budget-friendly computer to get going (read our beginners music computer guide for that). However, we do recommend saving up as much cash and being as patient as you can, since computers will be a long-term investment for the next 5 or so years. As stated previously, they're also the backbone of a home studio — without a solid music computer, your other gear won't even work properly and will be useless.
• Mac vs. PC? Uh oh, we're not going to get into this debate. When it comes to music production, this debacle is quite overplayed. You need to understand that in the end both are merely just computers. There is not a preferred 'brand' of computer for music making! The only deciding factor for using a Mac or PC (in our opinion) is explained in the next bullet point (or if you're loyal to a certain route, but that's not our business). However, you can also read our PC or Mac for music making article for more detail into this popular argument before you continue on.
• What DAW are you using? Do you have your digital audio workstation picked out yet? If so, this may steer you towards a specific Mac or PC choice. We would only go with Mac if you're planning on using Pro Tools (they do have a Windows version out now), Garageband or Logic since they are Mac-only. Otherwise, both can work, but double-check on your preferred software's compatibility.
• Laptop vs. desktop – Here's another debate when it comes to computers for music. Nowadays, I've heard of producers using laptops at home considering how powerful and capable they've become in recent years. One of the biggest deciding factors for a laptop vs. desktop choice is if you're planning on traveling or performing live. If this is so, we'd grab a laptop since it'll work amazing for these purposes as well as can hold its own while you're at homein the studio making some tunes in between gigs (you can read our music production laptops guide as well). Otherwise, grabbing a powerful desktop PCMac has a lot of potential. We have mostly desktop below, so read our guide we've just linked in case you're in need of a laptop — we did sprinkle a few below, too.
• These are all pre-built – We know many computer junkies out there who frown at those who buy computers that already have their insides picked out. We wanted to mention this last since it won't pertain to everybody. If you're in the mood to just get going on making some tunes, pre-built is the way to go. Creating your own music computer does give you some flexibility when it comes to doing a little more work and researching the best RAM, hard drive and processor you'd like to mix and match with (which can probably save you a few bucks in the long run as well); however, many pre-built PC's in the market are still amazing for recording and producing music, so if you aren't into learning how to make your own computer right now, it's no worries. We'll leave that up to you. If you are indeed into making your own music computer, read our article for an in-depth guide.

Checklist for Computers for Making Music

In order to get a feel for what specifications we actually need in our computers, let's first compare and contrast with some of the most popular music software out there and what minimum system requirements they ask for. We can then use this as a guide to see what the absolute minimum is. Going above is always a good idea since a lot of software out there update quite frequently and sometimes increase their requirements, and you want to be set for the long-term, not just the 'minimum'.

Let's review the three most popular software out there right now in Pro Tools, Ableton and Logic. Pro Tools is by far the most demanding software, so if you aren't using it but still want a computer that supports it, you'll be in the clear for literally anything else out there.

Pro Tools:

• Operating System: Windows 8.1 or higher, Mac OS X 10.11.6 or higher
• Processor: Intel Core i7
• RAM: 16 GB (32 GB ‘recommended')
• Hard Drive: 15 GB (installation only)
• PCle slot for HDX or HD native cards

Ableton Live:

• Operating System: Windows 7 or higher, Mac OS X 10.11.6 or higher
• Processor: Intel Core i5
• RAM: 4 GB (8 GB ‘recommended')
• Hard Drive: At least 10 GB

Logic Pro X

• Operating System: macOS 10.12 or higher
• Processor: Intel Core i5
• RAM: 4 GB
• Hard Drive: 6 GB for installation, 63 GB for full Sound Library installation
• Graphics: OpenCL-capable, Intel 3000 or later

Now that we've analyzed the 'minimum requirements', and key word here is 'minimum', let's organize it al into a checklist for you to use when shopping for the best music production and recording computer.

1. Processors – This is a tough one because a 3.0 GHz processor is a huge difference if it's let's say dual core or quad-core. Processor is extremely important (besides RAM or an SSD drive listed below), because it allows us to work in a quicker, more fluid manner, as well as merely to handle the 'processes' we need while we make our music. In our opinion, the faster you can work, the more ideas you can get out of your head and into your music canvas. You also don't want your computer clogging up during a crucial moment of creation, especially if you're recording and there's a blip in your track and you have to re-do it all! We would go with at least a 3.0 processor that is at least a quad-core — more specifically, an Intel Core i5 or AMD equivalent.
2. There must be at least 16 GB of RAM. Any higher you go in the RAM department is always a plus, so be our guest. For this year we've just increased this requirement from 8 to 16 because Pro Tools now has a minimum requirement of 16 GB! RAM is short for Random Access Memory, which is responsible for storing temporary data to act as the 'working memory' of our computer. This is important because just like our processor, music software needs to constantly 'work' with each action you partake in, calling for not only 'enough' working memory but fast enough so we don't experience any glitches or lag. We'll be honest — we have 64 GB in ours. But our projects are huge, and starting out with 16 is fine and you can continue to upgrade from there.
3. At least 500 GB of hard drive capacity– This is up to you, as some say 1TB at least; however, 500 GB is pretty hefty if you aren't downloading sounds and storing them on the computer or using the device for anything else (such as work, school, images and videos). Keep in mind however a lot of VST software plug-ins and effects are very demanding in regards to hard drive space. We actually use both our internal hard drives as well as an extra external hard drive with about 2 more TB on it (we have thousands of VST's and samples).
4. Make sure at least some of your hard-drive is SSD (Solid-State Drive)! This is very important because SSD helps process data and requests much faster than regular HDD. Read more about SSD vs. HDD here.
5. A big enough screen to work with (15″ and up), but that really comes down to your personal preference and whether or not you're on a laptop or desktop computer. We personally need two screens and couldn't imagine making music without two for a dual-monitor setup. It really helps workflow. But that's your call.
6. We don't think video cards matter at all unless you're editing videos on the side. The stock card in most pre-built computers are feasible, since nowadays most computers will come with some great video cards that support most types of video work or video games.

The Top 10 Best Computers for Music Production and Recording

The following list is our recommended 10 best computers for production currently in the market. We made sure to choose a wide range of types. Also understand that there are new models of computers coming out almost weekly now, so don't let the 'this one is new!' label get too into your head. We feel the following models are solid because of user reviews, specs, and overall reputation. Let us know if you have any questions or comments!

Apple iMac

If you're planning on being a 'studio only' producer (whether you're home, semi or even professional), here's the best Mac computer to buy. If you grab one of these, you can use their Mac-specific DAWs, such as Logic, Garageband, and of course Pro Tools. Even if you don't plan on using Pro Tools right away, you can always upgrade in a few years (we think this will last you at least 5+ years if you purchase a model with a decent specification list). So don't forget to keep the future (long-term of course) in mind when investing in a computer for music production, considering it's what holds the entire setup together. If you want a Mac, grab either this or the laptop we first presented and don't look back, we wouldn't bother reading on.

We link you to a broad search page because there are many iMac versions available and are continued to be released to this day. This is also first due to this — we have options to pertain to our budgets and can mix and match certain specs we need or don't. Of course, be sure to use our checklist above when finding the right Apple iMac for you. This is by far the safest pick as the best music making computer in the market today.

Lenovo ThinkServer

We've done a lot of research and talking to our friends who make music for a living, and when it comes to a PC that isn't Mac, the name Lenovo continued to come up. Although it really doesn't matter (really, it doesn't) which brand you grab, there are a few aspects to take into consideration: user reviews, reports on longevity, brand support, and stats on the quality of internal parts they use. That's why we feel as compared to some other PC brands like HP, Acer or Dell (although mentioned later), it's safe to grab one we've analyzed and have used personally. Therefore, this is our (our recommendation) choice for Windows PC for producing music.

Lenovo builds tanks, and the word among the internet supports that. This may be a bit excessive for some, but can more than handle any process you throw at it to act as the best music recording and production computer out there if you need a Windows machine. Enter the Lenovo ThinkServer.

Acer Aspire

When it comes to the best music making and recording desktop PC, we have a few options. The Acer Aspire is one we couldn't ignore as another one of the best music production computers due to the reviews backing up its overall quality and build. Depending on which model you grab, there will be very feasible specifications to get your music making going out of the box. You have numerous USB ports for your interfaces and other external pieces of gear, ability to have multiple screens (oh yes, this helps tremendously), a decent weight (it's a desktop, so in our opinion the heavier the more sturdy), and a wonderful Acer community out there if you need any help.

Here's a great pick for a desktop PC to run Windows with your music making endeavors, and you get some great options to customize to your price-point on top of it all.

Apple MacBook Pro

Here's the consensus when it comes to the best laptop for music making and recording — The Apple MacBook Pro. Talk to many producers who have a laptop in their setup and they'll swear by it (if they're 'Mac people' of course). In fact, there will probably be people who scoff at the thought of making music anything but this. Yes — people still swear by making music on laptops only!

You all can have your opinions; however, if you don't have a strong belief yet and if you want a computer for making music that you're confident others use, this is one to grab, especially if you're planning on producing on the go, or perhaps performing live (when that happens again). There are many specification combinations available to fit within your budget range, too (such as screen size, memory capacity, processor speed (for a price) and more).

Another big reason we recommend the Apple MacBook Pro first for a laptop-seeker aside from Mac's obvious reputation is the flat-out performance of these things — they're sturdy, last a while, come with feasible internal builds (that you can't customize, though) and more. Lastly, some music software come as mac only, while others both — it's more likely software and gear are mac-only as opposed to windows-only — something to think about. MacWorld's article loves the MacBook Pro for music making.

PC Audio Labs Rok Box

Flying under the radar at times (unfortunately) due to the lack of heavily marketed brand names, PC Audio Labs brings us computers literally made for the tough processes of music production. We were unfamiliar with what they brought to the table until a few years ago, but after heavy research and asking around with other producers what their thoughts were, many had zero complaints and actually scoffed at the fact that we recommended any other music production computer aside from these guys.

Perhaps labeled as ‘expensive' by others (you'll get what you pay for, trust us), especially compared to dinkier machines, their Rok Box series in particular brings us many solutions in not only the personal computer department but laptops as well. They have quite a few models to choose from depending on budget — you can up go to a few thousands to grab a tank, or perhaps just under a thousand for a decent budget-friendly workstation for beginners. They also allow for add-ons for your PC's internal parts, such as RAM, hard drive and more. Praised by many professional musicians around the world, we're glad this takes a place relatively early in our best recording and production computer guide. They also have tons and of how-to's and support videos on their website to help you through out your music journey.

Dell Inspiron

We've had Dell around our entire lives, and although they had mixed reviews back in the day when it came to quality, the Inspiron series as a whole has been recommended quite a few times when it comes to overall effectiveness, especially for music considering the specs are up there. If you aren't a fan of Mac and don't recognize the Lenovo name, we'd grab this one and check out the reviews for yourself.

The Dell Inspiron is a highly reviewed and reputable desktop PC for music production. They have decent user support if you ever need (we suppose is a plus), and it doesn't hurt to have a brand name you're familiar with. Dell Inspiron help is always available, too.

HP Pavilion

The HP Pavilion is another popular and highly reviewed pre-built computer series in the market right now that brings us great specs and power for handling music production tasks. Widely praised for their compatibility with ‘gaming', this also gives us confidence music software is viable as well. Again, this is a pre-built ‘series' (yes, they have laptops as well if you're a big HP fan), so you can choose a particular model that fits not only your budget but music software's needs as well.

Of course, we require going a bit higher than the ‘minimum' (a few of the higher models have more than enough, or you can always add-on let's say some more RAM or hard drive memory later down the road as well). Just another decent computer series here that can act as the best music recording computer if you want a known brand and Windows desktop.

Lenovo ThinkPad

These things are tanks. Lenovo is a heavy hitter in the quality department of both laptops and PC's (we have a few of their models in this article for a reason). The overall build is extremely sturdy (which is one of the main reasons we recommend Lenovo's to our readers) and they'll last you for quite a while if you're looking to invest in a laptop that will be around for a while. Additionally, a lot of these come with SSD (Solid State Drives) which as we've stated previously, is a must and a huge plus for convenience and speed (SSD's are basically less affected by impacts, load apps and your computer quicker, and lower failure rates).

What's even better are the options they give you; you can go as high as you'd like in the RAM and processor department. We've again linked you to a broad page to see the many different types of ThinkPad's out there if you wanted one of the best laptops that uses Windows (in our opinion) — we recommend sticking in the middle price-point, fulfilling our checklist above; however, if you can go higher, we'd say go for it if you have the cash. We're typing on a Lenovo ThinkPad right now.

Acer Predator

This Acer Predator is considered by many as a 'gaming desktop computer', and although obviously by the video card it is, the processor, RAM and overall quality of the machine works quite well as the best computer for music making, too. We put this in here because it's just another option — although the PC's listed first are more suited (and perhaps a bit cheaper) when it comes to music production (since video cards aren't necessary with recording or producing), the Acer Predator is a PC to keep in mind while you shop if you indeed plan on perhaps playing games, making videos or other activities on a computer. I mean, it's not like you're buying a PC just to make music with (perhaps some of you are), so purchasing a computer that is more of an all-around type may be in your interest.

Lenovo ThinkCentre

This is Lenovo's bit of a mix between a laptop and PC. The Lenovo ThinkCentre is considered a 'tiny' desktop due to the size, and when it comes to price it's relatively cheap as compared to many models we've listed in here. It's just another option; you may be looking for an in-the-middle price point and something that fits snug into your existing studio setup. It's also great for traveling if you plan on setting up a desktop at a friends or stage.

Although we do recommend spending the extra few bucks on a computer we've previously listed, the ThinkCentre still brings what we feel are requirements for the 'best music production computer' specifications, is by a reliable brand on top of it.