Best Computer for Music in 2023 [Our Reviews and Comparisons]
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Are you looking for a computer to add to your digital music production gear? Or do you want to upgrade your current desktop to get ahead in the cutthroat music production industry? If you browse through your choices for the best computers for music production you will find many of them.
Computers act as the backbone of your entire music production. Therefore, before investing in one it is necessary to consider the critical features that you require as a music producer. The computer you choose should be able to handle the modern-day digital music production setup.
Have a look at some of the Best Computers for Music Production that can handle all your audio specific tasks.
Table of Contents
Comparison Table
| Product | Features | Latest Price |
|---|---|---|
1. Apple MacBook Pro |
|
Buy on Amazon |
2. Razer Blade Stealth 13 |
|
Buy on Amazon |
3. Asus Rog Strix Scar III |
|
Buy on Amazon |
4. Dell Inspiron 15 7000 2 in 1 |
|
Buy on Amazon |
5. HP Spectre x360 |
|
Buy on Amazon |
Our Best Computer for Music Production for 2020 Reviews and Comparisons
1. Apple MacBook Pro
- Ninth-generation 6-Core Intel Core i7 Processor
- Stunning 16-inch Retina Display with True Tone technology
- Touch Bar and Touch ID
- AMD Radeon Pro 5300M Graphics with GDDR6 memory
- Ultrafast SSD
Product Highlights
MacBook Pro is one of the bestselling Apple laptops. The addition of the touch bar has increased its appeal among music producers. With improved performance and battery life, this computer also features the best speakers and a color-accurate retina screen to make your production tasks easy.
MacBook Pro is a great choice for any music producer. Fast SSD drive, Core Audio, RAM, battery life & CPU power on this device can meet most music production demands.
Features
The most attractive feature of the laptop is its keyboard. Touted magic keyboard, the new switch mechanism under the keys is the more traditional scissor-switch. The keys have a full millimeter of travel, less springy and relatively quiet compared to the previous editions of MacBook Pro.
To enhance the performance, the device is equipped with a 2.6GHz 6-core 9th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, boasting turbo boost up to 4.5GHz. Apple promises that the 16-inch MacBook Pro employs the “most advanced thermal architecture ever in a Mac notebook,” to let it run at higher power for longer periods of time.
Along with higher power, long-lasting battery life is also important when you engage in music production on your laptop. MacBook Pro houses a full 100Wh battery and accompanies a 96W charger to compliment it. Even though the company claims that it runs for 11 hours we found it could last around 8 hours.
What We Like About Apple MacBook Pro
It features a 16-inch retina display that supports TrueTone functionality, which helps images to be color accurate.
What We Don’t Like About Apple MacBook Pro
There is no SD card slot.
PROS
- Good image and screen quality
- Improved battery life
CONS
- Expensive
2. Razer Blade Stealth 13
Product Highlights
Razer, the gaming hardware giant is renowned for its excellent gaming-oriented products. If you have been looking around for a high-quality laptop you would have definitely come across the Razer Blade Stealth series.
Razer Blade Stealth series is a product lineup that contains four different editions of the laptop. All of them are designed specifically for gamers. The unique design coupled with a powerful GPU and better graphics performance won its first version, the CES 2016, the best laptop award.
The Razer Blade 13 houses a fast processor, a new option for a discrete graphics card, and up to 16GB of RAM making it apt for music production.
Features
The laptop features an 8th generation Quad-Core i7-8565U, which makes editing/mixing of audio files faster. The 16 GB RAM memory isn’t upgradeable. However, the GeForce MX150 graphics card helps with the RAM usage when producing music, as it aids some plugin processing
To tweak your audio plugins and draw automation you simply need to touch the screen. The accurate touchscreen display comes along with a 256GB SSD that can be upgraded to 512GB.
What We Like About Razer Blade Stealth 13
The laptop features excellent build quality and is lightweight making it easily portable.
What We Don’t Like About Razer Blade Stealth 13
Battery life is disappointing. We found that it can only last around 3 to 4 hours when put through intensive tasks.
PROS
- Solid performance and quality.
- Vibrant display
- Has USB-C, one of the most powerful USB connections
CONS
- Expensive
- Disappointing battery life
3. Asus Rog Strix Scar III
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 8GB GDDR6 (Base: 1110MHz, Boost: 1335MHz, TDP: 80W)
- Latest 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H Processor
- 240Hz 15.6” Full HD 1920x1080 IPS Type Display
- 16GB DDR4 2666MHz RAM | 1TB PCIe SSD | Windows 10 Home | Gigabit Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac 2x2)
- ROG Intelligent Cooling thermal system with dual 12V fans, anti-dust technology, and adjustable fan modes
Product Highlights
Aimed at the higher end of the gaming spectrum, this laptop is a serious studio contender when it comes down to music production. Coupled with high frame rates and vibrant display, this laptop is a beast for your tasks and undoubtedly a feast for your eyes. The sophisticated design with a sleek and slim body makes it easily portable, favoring a traveling producer.
Features
Equipped with an Intel i7 processor and a base spec of 16 GB of RAM, the laptop can take on any music production task you throw at it. Boasting 1TB NVMe PCIe storage and 16GB RAM with an extra 2.5-inch drive bay, the laptop can quicken the pace of your tasks and reduce heat.
The ROG Strix Scar 3 dissipates the interior heat using crafty ways so that it never becomes uncomfortable to use. The thermal management system ensures that the device keeps on performing without any throttling.
The 240Hz display of the Strix is no gimmick. Coupled with a 15.6-inch full HD screen and 144Hz refresh rate, your images will load faster with less screen flickering.
What We Like About Asus Rog Strix Scar III
The device features a powerful configuration with great performance.
What We Don’t Like About Asus Rog Strix Scar III
Battery life isn’t impressive. The 66WHr, 4-cell Li-ion battery can handle browsing and other small tasks for up to 4 hours.
PROS
- 240Hz display with thin bezels
- High frame rate
- Great performance
CONS
- Unimpressive battery life
- Screen doesn’t support Nvidia G-Sync
4.Dell Inspiron 15 7000 2 in 1
- Inspiron 15 5579, 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Truelife,LED-Backlit Touch Display with Wide Viewing Angles-IR Camera, 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8550U Processor (8MB Cache, up to 4.0 GHz), Windows 10 Home 64-bit English , 16GB 2400MHz DDR4, Intel UHD Graphics 620, with shared graphic memory, 512 GB (SSD), No Optical Drive, 3 in 1 Card Reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC), Bluetooth 4.1, 802.11a
Product Highlights
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 sports a sleek aluminum design. An optional 4K display with Dolby Vision HDR gives it a crisp and vibrant display. The display is a glossy UHD touchscreen with narrow bezels allowing you easy maneuvering of the computer while music production.
Features
The laptop is fitted with an Intel Core i7-8565U processor and an Nvidia MX250 graphics card. This is aimed at attracting gamers but at the same time can be helpful for faster performance of your production tasks. You can watch a 1080p YouTube video in full screen with several other tabs open in the background and not encounter a single lag.
The Intel Core i7-8565U CPU is the only option for the Inspiron 15 7000 2-in-1 Black Edition. Promising a base clock rate of 1.8 GHz and turbo frequencies reaching up to 4.6 GHz (single-core) and 4.1 GHz (multi-core), this computer should be more than fast enough for just about any general usage.
Additionally, Dell has included CinemaStream video traffic prioritization which helps to promote smooth video streaming traffic over other data streams.
What We Like About Dell Inspiron 15 7000 2 in 1
The bottom-firing stereo speakers on the Inspiron 15 7000 2-in-1 are loud enough to fill a medium-size conference room.
What We Don’t Like About Dell Inspiron 15 7000 2 in 1
A thin chassis and a 4K display is an odd combination because it causes battery life trouble. It has a runtime of just 5 hours and 37 minutes on 4K display. At 4k display, you will also experience janky images and choppy scrolling.
We recommend using the laptop at 1080p display.
PROS
- Touchscreen
- Fast performance
CONS
- Disappointing battery life
- Lags at 4k display
5.HP Spectre x360
- 15.6" 4K Ultra HD touch screen: 3840 x 2160 native resolution. Natural finger-touch navigation makes the most of Windows 10. IPS technology for wide viewing angles. Energy-efficient WLED backlight; NVIDIA GeForce MX150 graphics: Driven by 2GB GDDR5 dedicated video memory to quickly render high-quality images for videos and games; Built for Windows Ink: Quickly jot down notes and ideas with ease.
- NEW: Expanded keyboard that includes a number pad; HP stylus pen included; 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8550U mobile processor: Ultra-low-voltage platform. Quad-core, eight-way processing provides maximum high-efficiency power to go; 16GB system memory for intense multitasking and gaming; 512 GB Solid State Drive (PCI-e): PCI-e SSDs are great for major gaming applications, multiple servers, daily backups, and more.
- 360° flip-and-fold design: Offers versatile functionality with laptop, audience, tabletop, presentation and tablet modes; Weighs 4.61 lbs. and measures 0.8" thin Thin and light design with DVD/CD drive omitted for improved portability. 6-cell lithium-ion battery; HDMI output expands your viewing options Connect to an HDTV or high-def monitor to set up two screens side by side or just see more of the big picture.
- Thunderbolt port for connecting advanced monitors and external drives: This single interface supports both high-speed data and high-def video — plus power over cable for bus-powered devices — ideal for digital content creators; Next-generation wireless connectivity: Connects to your network or hotspots on all current Wi-Fi standards. Connect to a Wireless-AC router for speed nearly 3x faster than Wireless-N
- Built-in HD webcam with dual array microphone: Makes it easy to video chat with family and friends or teleconference with colleagues over Skype or other popular applications; Built-in fingerprint reader: Streamlines security settings for quick, typo-free access; Built-in media reader for simple photo transfer Supports SD memory card formats; Additional port: Headphone/microphone combo jack; Windows 10 operating system; Note: This laptop does not include a built-in DVD/CD drive
Product Highlights
If you find yourself traveling a lot and like a thin laptop for your audio production needs, then consider the HP Spectre x360. Though it costs more than other laptops in its price range, the device features impressive performance and all-day battery life.
Features
Powered by the Intel Core i7 – 8550U, the quad-core processor gives a considerable 30 percent performance boost compared to the older versions of Spectre x360. Coupled with 16GB DDR4 RAM the machine can easily run more than two dozen Chrome tabs, stream music, copy data, and download apps all at the same time without any lags.
The laptop packs a punch with an admirable battery life that can run up to 8-9 hours in a normal day usage. The 60Whr battery will help you run it continuously for an entire music editing session.
Coming to the display, the laptop is fitted with a 1920 x 1080p touchscreen which is color accurate with decent viewing angles. HP has also included an interesting feature called the Sure View technology. This allows the users to hide the display content from prying eyes with the click of a button. The technology helps the display look washed out to anyone who is not sitting right in front of the laptop.
What We Like About HP Spectre x360
The color fidelity is accurate leading to vibrant and clear display.
What We Don’t Like About HP Spectre x360
There’s only a single USB3.0 port that you could use for your audio interface or MIDI controller.
PROS
- All-day battery life
- Bright screen
- Excellent build quality
CONS
- Trackpad is slow and frustrating
- Expensive
Final Verdict
After careful consideration, we have chosen the Razer Blade 13 as the best computer for music production. Equipped with a fast processor and 16GB of RAM, it provides optimum performance for music production. Coupled with an accurate touchscreen display the laptop can hasten the speed of your audio editing.
Choosing the right laptop for audio production depends mainly on three factors; the DAW software, the processing power and RAM for VST intensive productions. Another factor to consider is your budget restrictions. Most of the high laptops featuring fast processors and solid-state drives are expensive but there are a few good ones that are affordable as well.
Hope our suggestions will help you choose the right computer for your music production!
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