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For the past 6 - 7 years I’ve done all my work on a now 7 years on Windows laptop Asus K55. It’s done quite well with its limitations. I have around $500 US budget and I’m looking for a Windows desktop. Don’t really need a monitor, mouse, keyboard so I don’t want to pay extra for them in a package deal but if a good desktop deal includes them that would be okay.
Main purpose: BIAB, Reaper, recording, mixing, multi tracking, midi tracks, audio tracks, multiple VST and VSTi running at the same time, rendering, etc,... probably should have plenty of USB ports.
Thanks in advance for your recommendations.
Does the noise in your head bother me ?
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Are you looking for sources or specs?
For sources, Staples and Best Buy sell just the CPU box and often have good deals. I like being able to view the back of what I will be buying (although this does not apply to me; I have built all my own computers since 1983).
For specs, this is the rank of importance for what you want to get, and where you should budget your money, ranked STEEPLY from most to least important: CPU, disk (must have an SSD), RAM (8 GB or more), laser mouse, Graphics. I'm assuming you will use Windows 10; Home version is sufficient unless you have an extensive home network.
If you ask a more specific question, I and others can give better answers. Cheers.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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tobias. REFURBISHED ALL THE WAY. if you dont believe me. ask on the reaper forum. (i'm a reaper/biab user.) i was on the reaper forum other day and noticed yet another user extolling virtues of refurbs. he said will last another 20 years. its so powerfull. just start a thread on the reaper forum "what do you think of refurbs ?" ive seen perfectly good i5 refurbs go as low as 200 buks. xeon beasts for 700 buks with ssd's. eg https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/hp-z440-workstation-xeon-e5-1620v3-3-5ghz-4-cores-16gb-ram-512gb-ssd-quadro-k2200-4gb-win10-pro-refurbished/14348023just needs a second ssd. three CAVEATS. 1. try and test with realband in store. if they let you. my store will. in rb action. >> test audio performance. i get with i5/ssd 191 traks reported in rb. my system cost couple of hundred buks. 2. get a warranty for a year. 3. make sure you can return pc if probs. eg your audio interface dont like it. if you anticipate heavy cpu use libraries and slews of plug ins. get the most powerfull processor you can afford. i7 or xeon. best. muso. ps search pg forums for more of my comments on refurbs. eg in the mac threads.
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 11/28/20 07:27 AM.
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..) https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs(90 songs created useing bb/rb) (lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
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Okay, to be more specific; What do I need? It will be a DAW machine. I don’t know much about specs. That’s why I’m asking. I can use my current mouse and keyboard and monitor and have spares of those. I have an Audio/ Midi interface. I’ve done around 80 with BIAB and around 30 of those have gone into Reaper for adding audio tracks, editing, mixing, etc. I’ve been recording on and off for 35 years or so. Started way back on 2 track Reel to Reel, then many 4 track cassettes, then big console to ADAT, then to DAW some 18 years ago.
Does the noise in your head bother me ?
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I agree with the refurbished option. I have purchased a number of them for others from TigerDirect with no problems. Out of around ten purchases only one was DOA and TigerDirect immediately replaced it. All have warranties and you get a more bang for your buck withe refurbished computers.
Dad, how will I know when I've become an adult.
When your day is ruined because they rearranged the grocery store.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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The most important spec by far for BIAB will be the CPU. justanoldmuso mentioned an Intel i7 CPU, and I agree.
For Reaper or another DAW, the speed and size of the storage drives becomes very important. I recommend an SSD for Windows, and I use a second SSD for certain programs including BIAB, audio editing, DAW and video editing. Then I have a very large fast Western Digital Caviar conventional drive for storage, plugin libraries, etc.
Your comment about recording for 35 years made me realize I've been recording for 55 years.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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The most important spec by far for BIAB will be the CPU. justanoldmuso mentioned an Intel i7 CPU, and I agree.
For Reaper or another DAW, the speed and size of the storage drives becomes very important. I recommend an SSD for Windows, and I use a second SSD for certain programs including BIAB, audio editing, DAW and video editing. Then I have a very large fast Western Digital Caviar conventional drive for storage, plugin libraries, etc.
Your comment about recording for 35 years made me realize I've been recording for 55 years.
Jeezzs Matt, and I thought I was getting old!! You still got a Intel 4004?...lol Happy Holidays Matt
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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Thanks, after some research I think I'll be looking for;
SSD Solid State Drive 500 or bigger.
Intel Core i7
16 gb or more memory
Might go refurbished.
Anything else important?
Does the noise in your head bother me ?
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With a budget of $500
Refurbished Dell
i7 Intel processor
8 gigs of at least DDR3 ram
250 gig SSD with a SATA 500 gig drive (best case would be a new Samsung 1 TB SSD and whatever the computer came with)
some sort of interface to plug a guitar or mic into.
I looked on Amazon...
From Amazon for $429. This looks likes a pretty solid machine. Needs a bigger drive. Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-76E1T0B/AM) on sale, black Monday $99.
Dell Optiplex Gaming PC 3020 SFF Computer - Core i7 4770 3.4 GHz, NVIDIA GT 1030 2GB, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, HDMI, DVI, VGA, DVD-ROM Drive, Keyboard, Mouse, WiFi, Windows 10 Professional(Renewed)
This will run most anything and there are ways to deal with the limited amount of ram.
Cheers,
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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Those look like just about what i use, that is four years old. It will be fine.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Changing out the RAM for 16 gigs of DDR3 ram would be about $50
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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I mostly agree with what others have mentioned. In the case of using BIAB, best bet is to prioritize the CPU, followed by SSD. In the case of using any other program you have, RAM first. I've personally got 48gb of ram for my music machine - the more the better.
As others have mentioned, refurbs are a good bet. I've got an 11-year-old computer that runs BIAB perfectly. Certainly a newer computer could do better, but because I was able to maximize my RAM and install an SSD, it's MUCH faster than even many brand new computers.
I work here
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I mostly agree with what others have mentioned. In the case of using BIAB, best bet is to prioritize the CPU, followed by SSD. In the case of using any other program you have, RAM first. I've personally got 48gb of ram for my music machine - the more the better.
As others have mentioned, refurbs are a good bet. I've got an 11-year-old computer that runs BIAB perfectly. Certainly a newer computer could do better, but because I was able to maximize my RAM and install an SSD, it's MUCH faster than even many brand new computers. Ditto ... I run 32gb and that allows me to keep BiaB open (and other apps) while running multiple instances of effects on Logic tracks. And a long mastering chain. Bud
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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The issue with all of this is the cost. 32 gigs of RAM is generally more useful than 16 gigs. Not all RAM is created equal...better RAM more money. Faster processors, more money. In terms of BIAB and DAWs in general only a certain amount of RAM/Processor speed is useful. Core i7 4770 3.4 GHz, and 32 gigs of fast DDR4 and pro SSD is what I have in my current machine. You can still buy that same i7 new today. I can have more stuff open than I can deal with.
The OP mentioned a budget of $500.00. There is an obvious limit to what can be had for that amount of money.
In considering what to use in a new machine I want to build I am finding going to a Intel Core i9-9900k 8 cores with clocking up to 5.o GHz does not result in better performance in my DAW than an i7-9700k 8 core 4.7Ghz. It would only result in better performance in video and gaming. I don't play games at all and I am not doing a lot of video stuff so it is a bit hard to justify the additional cost.
A pretty good refurbished machine can be had for five or six hundred dollars. That machine will run BIAB and any DAW without issue. It will not let you have your DAW, fifty vst's 100 tracks deep, BIAB all open at the same time. It may be possible to get 100 tracks deep with that limited of a machine if you know how to manage resources.
Cheers,
Billy
Last edited by Planobilly; 12/01/20 05:16 AM.
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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In considering what to use in a new machine I want to build I am finding going to a Intel Core i9-9900k 8 cores with clocking up to 5.o GHz does not result in better performance in my DAW than an i7-9700k 8 core 4.7Ghz. Why the performance to the eye is not any better, the processor is not working as hard to accomplish the same task. Why buy lesser and overclock when you have the resources to buy mo' bettah? My 4 cylinder turbo Jeep Renegade can keep up with the Corvette next to me as we both go 90, but that Corvette's engine isn't working nearly as hard to do it. And if you can afford the Corvette, you can also probably afford the speeding tickets and higher insurance costs....
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I'm running a Core i7 4770 3.4 GHz (had it for a lot of years) and 16 gigs of ram. I've never had any problems running BIAB. I can't remember it ever crashing. Where I do have problems once in a while is in Cakewalk by Bandlab. Reaper is a lot more stable but even that has crashed, but rarely. I've just recently started using just vsts - SampleTank 4, Addictive Drums 2 - and blame that for the odd glitch. I'm using these vsts because I can't figure out how to get my Ketron SD 2 working. What's supposed to be a simple hookup has given me many frustrating hours. 
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In considering what to use in a new machine I want to build I am finding going to a Intel Core i9-9900k 8 cores with clocking up to 5.o GHz does not result in better performance in my DAW than an i7-9700k 8 core 4.7Ghz. Why the performance to the eye is not any better, the processor is not working as hard to accomplish the same task. Why buy lesser and overclock when you have the resources to buy mo' bettah? My 4 cylinder turbo Jeep Renegade can keep up with the Corvette next to me as we both go 90, but that Corvette's engine isn't working nearly as hard to do it. And if you can afford the Corvette, you can also probably afford the speeding tickets and higher insurance costs.... There is actually a lot to be said for your comments. You are definitely on track Eddie. I have rarely if ever been unhappy with buying "better" stuff" no matter if it was computers or cars. I have a new Honda that gets about forty miles to the gallon and a 2008 Nissan Titan with 160,000 miles on it that gets 12 MPG. If I go to the store tomorrow I will drive the truck. Why, because I like the truck...go figure. I think you have helped me make a decision I have been vasalating on for a while now. So thanks. Cheers, Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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I have a new Honda that gets about forty miles to the gallon and a 2008 Nissan Titan with 160,000 miles on it that gets 12 MPG. If I go to the store tomorrow I will drive the truck. Why, because I like the truck...go figure.
Plus.... trucks are cooler! My best male friend just bought a Chevy Avalanche 4WD with the Z71 package. He bought it from his brother in law's boss, who is a finnicky guy about car care and that trucks has been treated better than a lot of children for its whole life. Oil changes done 500 miles EARLY. 6 month inspections. Bedliner, tonneau cover, front grille and headlight protective bumper, chrome running boards. Absolutely beautiful. He stopped by with it Sunday and it is so quiet I didn't even hear him pull in. But he left as I was taking the dog for a walk and when he stuck his foot into it, it ROARED. He needs a truck to pull a rather large boat. (We get to fish again this year!!) Same logic. Instead of buying minimum, he spent a few thousand more and overbought. I believe in overbuying. That flied directly into the face of my cheap Slovenian heritage, but there's a time to save and a time to spend.
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In considering what to use in a new machine I want to build I am finding going to a Intel Core i9-9900k 8 cores with clocking up to 5.o GHz does not result in better performance in my DAW than an i7-9700k 8 core 4.7Ghz. Why the performance to the eye is not any better, the processor is not working as hard to accomplish the same task. Why buy lesser and overclock when you have the resources to buy mo' bettah? My 4 cylinder turbo Jeep Renegade can keep up with the Corvette next to me as we both go 90, but that Corvette's engine isn't working nearly as hard to do it. And if you can afford the Corvette, you can also probably afford the speeding tickets and higher insurance costs.... Well, if it makes you feel any better I just ordered a i9-9900...lol Also a Asus ROG Strix Z390-E Gaming Motherboard LGA1151 (Intel 8th 9th Gen) ATX DDR4 DP HDMI M.2 USB 3.1 Gen2 802.11AC Wi-Fi plus other stuff I probably don't really need. It's called transcendental consumption, and while it does exist in other cultures it is a basic American idea...lol Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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You will be happy in a year when lesser components become obsolete and yours don't!
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What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?
XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-10 includes 1,000 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 includes 3,700 styles (and 35 MIDI styles)!
The XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs are not included in any Band-in-a-Box® package.
The XPro Styles PAKs 1-10 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
The Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the Xtra Styles PAK Bundle for only $199 (reg. $349)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version as they require the RealTracks included in the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box today with XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAK Sets!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.
Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac is here and it is packed with major new features! There’s a new modern look, a GUI redesign to all areas of the program including toolbars, windows, workflow and more. There’s a Multi-view layout for organizing multiple windows. A standout addition is the powerful AI-Notes feature, which uses AI neural-net technology to transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI—entire mixes or individual instruments—making it easy to study, view, and play parts from any song. And that’s just the beginning—there are over 100 new features in this exciting release.
Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac and save up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special offer—available until May 15, 2026. Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page to explore all available upgrade options.
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
Our Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK are loaded with amazing add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is included with most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac packages, but you can unlock even more—including 20 unreleased RealTracks—by upgrading to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49.
Holiday Weekend Hours
As we hop into the Easter weekend, here are our holiday hours:
April 3 (Good Friday): 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM PDT
April 4 (Saturday): Closed
April 5 (Easter Sunday): Closed
April 6 (Easter Monday): Open regular hours
Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!
— Team PG
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