Since you're purchasing new and want one primarily to run Band-in-a-Box my suggestions are:

1) If you can choose between a desktop or a laptop, choose the desktop. You may be able to use your existing monitor, speakers or other accessories thus saving some upfront costs. Desktop parts are cheaper than their laptop counterparts and MUCH easier to swap if there is a need to in the future.

2) Buy a name brand you trust. Dell, Lenova, HP, Toshiba and Acer all have well designed and configured products. I prefer Dell just because I've used a lot of their stuff, the website product support is easy to navigate and is very comprehensive, the included hardware diagnostics are good and you can download user, parts and service manuals.

3) The two main cpu processor manufacturers are Intel and AMD. While both work well I prefer Intel because the Intel cpu support chips seem to perform better in audio tests than AMD. I would look for i3, i5 or i7 cpu chips. The higher the number, the more powerful the Intel cpu.

4) Buy as much ram as you can afford with 8 GB as a minimum and 16 GB or higher desirable.

5) Buy as large of a primary storage drive as you can afford.

6) If you must choose between cpu, amount of ram or storage drive size I'd want more ram first, upgraded cpu second and storage third.

6) Finally, The two main versions of Microsoft Windows are Home and Pro. Get Pro because Pro has more configuring options you may need later on since you're working with audio.

Jim Fogle - 2026 BiaB (Build 1224) RB (Build 8) - Ultra+ PAK
DAWs: Cakewalk Sonar - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8
Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD
Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home