Hey there folks,

Unfortunately, BiaB (and music as whole) is a hobby for me at the moment (bills, child support etc...). I'm considering purchasing a new desktop at some point, and need to figure out precisely how to maximize each cent.

When recording live instruments, I've used Reaper this far...which works fine since I use a Zoom G5x and G3 for guitar and bass, respectively. Since they both supply the effects and operate as an audio interface this takes a massive load of my computer's processor.

However, I would like to start recording a dry guitar signal, and using VSTs-monitored in realtime so I can adjust the color, tone, and parameters of each effect in post.

Furthermore, I want to start delving deeper into RealBand and experimenting with as much as a dozen RTs, Loops, and MIDI tracks with multiple VSTs.

I need to make a number of compromises, and determine precisely which components to invest more in. Now (and please correct me if I'm wrong), since a GPU is the least important thing for my purposes, what I need to focus on is:

a) CPU

b) RAM

c) SSD vs HD

With respect to the CPU, there's generation, clock speed, cores, and threads. Also, I've noticed that a i-5 8600 can cost more than a i-7 7400. What's the deal there? With respect to RAM, should I be looking at DDR3 vs DDR4? Clock speed? Channels?

Your advice/input would be very much appreciated!

Band-in-a-Box 2021 PlusPAK w 2019 Bonus Pak. Custom Build Desktop PC W/ Windows 10 Home 64-bit. CPU: Intel Core i5-9600k @ 3.7GHz (6 core x 6 threads) RAM: 16GB DDR4. Storage 238GB SSD + 2.7 TB HDD. GPU: ZOTAC NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB