ian
on the net are slews of free orchestral and synth plug ins.
i recommend you check out kvraudio.
https://www.kvraudio.com/plugins/best-free-pluginsalso as you live in the uk...
also chek out computermusicmag uk for 20 quid.
gives you access to their vault of numerous then free plug ins...bout 80 in total. i buy it once a year for the plug ins etc.
what sound device do you use ?
in the realband forum is a thread on sound devices people find work nice.
ps on audient and focusrite sites are very good pc optimisation guides for setting up a studio. etc etc.
best
om