DEL.
as i have some time now; and your nice and open minded.
let me share some deep thoughts with you regarding running a computer based recording studio. which you might wish to ponder and might help you the next time you upgrade/buy a pc.(ymmv)
1. yes a ton of people these days use laptops as a daw.
BUT the downside is that laptops are not as expandeable as desktops. the latter can be stuffed internally with many fast ssd's with the right desktop.
eg win os on one ssd ; and ones songs/projects on a second ssd.
maybe a third ssd for added backups. thus one can cross back up between the 3 ssd's and useing externals too.
also if one selects the right desktop; some come with a slew of ports.
2. interesting to note is a few months back i posted on these forums a treatise from a microsoft product mgr who also runs a sophisticated recording daw rig. and he too prefers desktops.
3. now some people will say BUT laptops are portable.
very true. however a user can loose flexibility unlike a desktop.
in summary each (desktop and laptop) has plusses and minuses.
i lament the fact that common retail laptops dont come with the ability to have at least 2 internal drives.
OR DO THEY ? read on.
4. well yes you can buy special laptops for recording studios with more than one drive inside. built by custom builders and often purchased by the big boy recording studios. these custom builders also build not only high dsp powerhouse laptops but also powerhouse desktops.
the advantage of these pc's is everything is optimised
down to installation of ones chosen interface/daw software.
so the big recording studio just "turns the key".
frankly i'm thinking of one for myself. but the problem is they are expensive starting around 2k in dollars.
also the other downside is tech gets obsolete so quickly. this is my main concern.
but these powerhouses are dsp beasts of a pc ; and boast huge track and plug in counts. thats why big studios use them.
for further info if interested/for user references go to gearspace.com and other forums on the net/google and check out companies such as adkproaudio,scan co uk, pcaudiolabs,silentpc, purrfect audio and many others. the sites are an interesting source just for getting pc config ideas and other ideas for ones studio if nothing else.
some of them have interesting articles on daw's and digital audio.

BUT WHAT TO DO IF ONE HAS OTHER OBLIGATIONS WITH FAMILY ETC like me.
read on there is another nice lower cost option DEL.
5. I LOVE REFURB PC's WITH WARRANTIES. let me explain a nice low cost daw solution del. for about 900 dollars.
TWO REFURB SYSTEMS. one a refurb HP Z or LENOVO workstaion class pc desktop with XEON processors and stuffed with lots of memory and ssd's.(replace the old drive with an ssd if it has an old drive for win os). plus a portable refurb i5/i7 laptop with an ssd.
so this is how this idea works.
.the desktop (not on the net)is static as the main in studio pc.
all important song projects are done on this xeon beast of a powerhouse. some refurbs come with huge amounts of ram memory eg 64 gigs.
.the laptop is used while away on holiday for jotting down song ideas. its also used for net surfing ; testing out new software releases etc and thus sandboxing and keeping the main desktop safe and out of danger.
this is the approach i'm probably heading towards.
also i have a fire tablet thats just great for quick net surfing.

in SUMMARY DEL for 900 buks (the retail price of ONE new laptop normally at a usual retail store) i feel my refurb approach offers both more daw power //flexibility//as well as value for money.
also if one machine goes down there is a second machine to carry on doing work on till the machine that went down hard gets fixed by a local pc store.

heres an example of a powerhouse refurb beast of a pc (that many people dont often know exists. but be advised they can go fast as some studios in the know; know their value. the prices i notice have gone up recently unfortunately.)
https://www.staples.ca/products/2980177-en-hp-refurbished-z440-workstation-gaming-desktop-35-ghz-intel-xeon-1630-v3-500-gb-hdd-256-gb-ssd-16-gb-ddr3-windows-10-pro
the above is but an example. (replace the OS HD with a ssd.)

NOTE ; the above type of system can take multiple
internal ssd's. also notice the no of external ports.

DEL ; the above are some thoughts/info i hope you find usefull.
gotta go now ; my lovely wife just made me a nice cup of tea lol.
best
oldmuso

Last edited by justanoldmuso; 05/29/21 01:45 PM.
New Song "PRETTY GIRL" for my wife...Dec 2023
(my vocs....mixed for good earbuds.)
https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs/prettygirlrbfinalcalfsongsdec2023mp3
(and rock song THE STALLION and bluegrass song... BANKER MAN....90 songs useing bb/rb.)