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Desktop Tower vs Laptop - How much more capability for same cost?
Posted on 10/10/25 at 1:27 pm
Posted on 10/10/25 at 1:27 pm
My question is. For a budget of about $500 will the performance of a desktop vs a laptop be significant?
I need a computer in my new home studio to run music recording software, play YouTube, post to TD etc. (spare Chromebook I have won’t run the software as it needs to be windows or apple.)
Given I don’t really need the mobility of a laptop and I already have a nice monitor and keyboard .
Will the desktop be that much better if the money is equal?
I need a computer in my new home studio to run music recording software, play YouTube, post to TD etc. (spare Chromebook I have won’t run the software as it needs to be windows or apple.)
Given I don’t really need the mobility of a laptop and I already have a nice monitor and keyboard .
Will the desktop be that much better if the money is equal?
This post was edited on 10/10/25 at 1:28 pm
8
Posted on 10/10/25 at 2:18 pm to Crow Pie
desktop much better
Posted on 10/10/25 at 2:22 pm to barbapapa
Any recommendation for a Windows desktop in the $400-500 range?
Is there really a difference between say a Dell, Lenovo, HP or other?
Is there really a difference between say a Dell, Lenovo, HP or other?
This post was edited on 10/10/25 at 2:23 pm
Posted on 10/10/25 at 2:36 pm to Crow Pie
Not huge difference but I would buy something on sale at Costco for the extra warranty
Posted on 10/10/25 at 3:25 pm to Crow Pie
The only downside to a desktop is you will need to buy a monitor separately.
Take a look at reburbs at woot.com
Take a look at reburbs at woot.com
Posted on 10/10/25 at 3:33 pm to Crow Pie
Generally, desktops offer more configuration options and upgrade paths. But at that price point, the differences will be minimal. As you say, you have a monitor & keyboard, so that's an advantage.
Posted on 10/10/25 at 3:34 pm to Crow Pie
Posted on 10/10/25 at 3:46 pm to chryso
quote:I have a really nice monitor, so that was factored into that I wouldn't need an extra 200 on top of the box itself.
The only downside to a desktop is you will need to buy a monitor separately.
Posted on 10/10/25 at 4:04 pm to Crow Pie
which music software are you using? I'd look at a Mac mini if you already have a monitor
Posted on 10/10/25 at 4:25 pm to Crow Pie
Could look at Beelink mini pc if it fits your use case
Posted on 10/10/25 at 4:39 pm to whiskey over ice
I had Pro Tools and GarageBand on my Mac, but it was overkill for my needs—just recording my guitar work. I may go with Audacity (it's very simple), and it doesn't run on Chrome or Linux.
I used to use a mini years ago, but going back and forth between home and the work ecosystem is annoying and expensive.
I used to use a mini years ago, but going back and forth between home and the work ecosystem is annoying and expensive.
This post was edited on 10/10/25 at 4:43 pm
Posted on 10/10/25 at 5:29 pm to Crow Pie
Audacity runs on Linux
Posted on 10/10/25 at 6:46 pm to Crow Pie
I would say it depends on how heavy the music recording software is but there is little reason to buy a desktop these days unless gaming or doing heavy duty stuff
Posted on 10/10/25 at 8:19 pm to r3lay3r
quote:You are correct, because I was using a beat up Dell from work that I put Linux on before it crapped out which led to the cheap Chromebook that doesn't run Audacity. As you can see this studio gets nothing but rethreads and now it's going get its own dedicated system!!
Audacity runs on Linux
Posted on 10/10/25 at 8:23 pm to SG_Geaux
quote:Yes, I do very heavy work in Excel and that was another reason I needed windows cause Office on an Mac is just too different and slows me down way too much. I can also run these big files in my studio if needed which happens enough to make it needed.
doing heavy duty stuff
Posted on 10/10/25 at 10:33 pm to BabySam
This. As long as OP doesn’t need discrete graphics, a NUC that he can probably mount to the back of a monitor would be great.
Posted on 10/11/25 at 6:20 am to Crow Pie
Well like Whisky said, a Mac Mini is a no brainier, it comes with Garage Band for free, and it's a super powerful Music recording program. The Mac Mini with the M4 chip Hauls arse so it has all the power you'll need.. Since you already have a monitor, plug in and you'll be good to go.
Garage Band
Garage Band
This post was edited on 10/11/25 at 10:27 am
Posted on 10/11/25 at 8:29 am to LemmyLives
quote:I watched a review of Beelink Mini PC, Mini S13 ($200 ) and it seems fine if I dont use it for gaming. I won't need to game on this one so that isn't an issue.
As long as OP doesn’t need discrete graphics,
Is this what you mean by "discrete graphics"...is that running these new games?
Posted on 10/11/25 at 10:42 am to Crow Pie
quote:
As long as OP doesn’t need discrete graphics,
I watched a review of Beelink Mini PC, Mini S13 ($200 ) and it seems fine if I dont use it for gaming. I won't need to game on this one so that isn't an issue.
Is this what you mean by "discrete graphics"...is that running these new games?
yeah, if you have any requirements for heavy graphics processing (determined by what apps you'll use and their GPU requirements).
I bought the AMD5 model earlier this year to replace my aged everyday laptop that had become basically a desktop.
Can check prices from Beelink site and price shop. Looking at model I bought earlier this year they have this one on sale for $390 on Amazon
Beelink EQR6 Mini PC,AMD Ryzen 7 6800H(8C/16T,up to 4.7GHz),Mini Computer 32GB LPDDR5 RAM 1TB M.2 PCIE4.0x4 SSD Graphics 12core 2200MHz,Support 4K Dual Display/HDM*2/Wifi6/BT5.2/USB3.2,Win 11 Pro
Posted on 10/12/25 at 8:50 am to Crow Pie
Since you asked about bang for buck:
“Halftops” these are laptops without screens. You can find good ones on eBay starting around $35 for a decent windows 11 machine.
Jokes aside, $500 can get you into almost anything you want with a little thrift or it can get you an extremely basic desktop if new.
There is no one computer fits all. Apple is almost always a safe choice for creative tasks while Intel is almost always better than AMD for these tasks.
Laptops and mobile minis often outperform their desktop counterparts due to larger, more efficient, media, graphics, and neural accelerators along with much faster LPDDR memory. It all depends on the exact software you want to use and they likely have hardware recs in their manuals or support channels. If you want add-ons, large desktops are safer bets.
Edit: I do think a $35 8265u halftop would meet your needs depending on audio input device.
“Halftops” these are laptops without screens. You can find good ones on eBay starting around $35 for a decent windows 11 machine.
Jokes aside, $500 can get you into almost anything you want with a little thrift or it can get you an extremely basic desktop if new.
There is no one computer fits all. Apple is almost always a safe choice for creative tasks while Intel is almost always better than AMD for these tasks.
Laptops and mobile minis often outperform their desktop counterparts due to larger, more efficient, media, graphics, and neural accelerators along with much faster LPDDR memory. It all depends on the exact software you want to use and they likely have hardware recs in their manuals or support channels. If you want add-ons, large desktops are safer bets.
Edit: I do think a $35 8265u halftop would meet your needs depending on audio input device.
This post was edited on 10/12/25 at 8:54 am
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