Top 10 Best Cheap Laptop For Music Production

In order to even begin to begin working with audio production, besides instruments and other equipment, you require a computer. Without a desktop or a laptop, you won’t have any way to record, mix, and master some other audio.
Sometimes it is tough to find the best cheap laptop for audio production when you are on a small budget, so we’re providing you with an inventory to help simplify your process.

See also: 

1. Top 8 Best 14 inch Laptop under 600 
2. Top 6 Best 17 inch Laptop under 600 
3. Top 7 Best 8GB RAM Laptop

Top 10 Best Cheap Laptop For Music Production 

#1, Microsoft Surface Go

Interest in the Surface line-up gathers speed with every new iteration, but also for budget-conscious producers, the Microsoft Surface Go 2-in-1 is worth consideration. Ironically, you are not going to be crafting extensive compositions on its own little touchscreen — the low-end Intel Platinum processor will see to that – and having just one USB port implies hubs will be demanded, but on paper, it is still an impressive proposition.

8GB of RAM on the top-line version, together with a 128GB solid-state driveway, means using the Surface Go as a musical sketchpad is a feasible choice. It comes pre-installed using Windows 10 S, which limits what programs could be installed, however, this may be altered to provide full-fat Windows 10 Home readily in the settings.

Pros

• Small but perfectly formed
• Outstanding design

Cons

• Just one USB interface
• Cost increases when you put in in accessories

#2, Acer Swift 3

Not every fire has to be confined to price. Thus, we’ve researched the marketplace and filtered the best potential laptop for audio production within the financial institution. Acer Swift 3 is just one such funding laptop, which costs but provides more.

The laptop is powered with the hottest AMD Ryzen 7 octa-core processor paired with an 8GB of RAM and storage to the unit is managed by 512GB of all SSD storage, and that does the function of housing your network files. There’s little doubt in the functioning of the laptop so far as music production is concerned, however, even in the event that you attempt to play games on it, the Acer Swift 3 will not disappoint you since it includes a strong integrated AMD Radeon graphics.

So far as the display is concerned, it’s a 14-inch Total HD display that becomes enough bright and dim to operate in almost any lighting conditions. What’s more, in addition, it includes a backlit keyboard for late-night workouts. Out of all of the features, battery life remains one of the most significant features, and Swift 3 provides battery life up to 11 hours on a single charge.

Speaking about the multimedia capabilities of this laptop, it’s stereo speakers powered by DTS sound. It ensures better audio quality with proper protection. On the other hand, the speaker output is somewhat low compared to other devices in the section. Nonetheless, it produces distortion-free sound and may play high-end FLAC files easily. The laptop also includes all the essential ports and slots to connect with your audiophile headphones, midi controller, along with other audio equipment.

The Acer Swift 3 is priced under $600, and it offers everything to match all of the studio requirements of audio producers. Therefore, it’s the best budget laptop for music production available to purchase at the moment.

#3, Lenovo Yoga Book

To get a music author, this could be fantastic, not too much to get a producer. The Lenovo Yoga Book is a tablet with a built-in touchpad keyboard, which in itself may double up as a graphic tablet with a stylus.

Running Android OS will not have the ability to run the vast majority of heavy production applications which generally takes a Windows or Apple operating system. However, on the upside, there’s a huge assortment of programs you can use to get down a few tracks.

It is the miniature size and restricted capacities make this only a fantastic alternative for songwriting through musical apps and penning those melodic thoughts on the move. It will, nevertheless, have a surprising number of internal storage to get a tablet product, together with 64 GB and growth accessible to boot.

Pros

• Impressive Android OS alternative.
• exceptionally competitive pricing.
• lighter and shinier.
• Good storage.

#4, Acer Aspire E 15

Acer is a very excellent brand with a few dependable, fast computers. The Aspire E 15 is outfitted with an 8th generation Intel Core i5 3.4GHz processor, an Nvidia GeForce MX150 graphics card using 2GB of GDDR5 VRAM, a 1920 x 1080 widescreen screen, 8GB of memory (dual slots)plus a 256GB solid-state drive, a rewritable DVD dual-layer drive, a webcam, and it runs Windows 10 Home Edition.

The battery will remain charged for as many as ten hours. The Aspire E 15 also has Bluetooth so that you can connect your own Bluetooth-compatible MIDI instruments and other devices to the computer.

Having a solid-state drive (SSD) greatly increases the rate of this laptop. Solid-state drives do not have any moving parts, so accessing files is a lot quicker than if you’ve got a typical hard disk (HDD). A good deal of laptops suffer from slowing down after they get filled with documents and programs, therefore a good state drive can help to protect against this.

The Intel Core i5 processor is just one of the quicker ones on the market thus navigating and using your DAW and plugins are going to be a breeze. Together with dual-slot memory, the solid-state drive as well as also the memory of this laptop are upgradeable.

Pros

• Solid-state drive.
• Intel Core i5 processor.
• As much as 15 hours of battery life.
• Great value for the money.

#5, 2020 Dell Inspiron 15 3580

Dell is possibly the largest of the big titles or tied together with HP. The Dell Inspiron 15 3580 is your organization’s latest budget version, and it might only be the best laptop for audio production under $500.

Ironically, at 14.96 x 10.09 x 0.89 inches it is a little bulkier than other audio production laptops. However, while there are certainly lighter and thinner choices available, the Inspiron’s features are well worth the additional bags.

To start with, let us tackle the 1TB hard disk. Even though this is a large quantity of storage for a 429 laptop, it is not a good state drive, therefore be ready to await things to load. But, it’s possible to update it to an SSD yourself in the future.
Secondly, the 15.6″ HD screen is LED backlit and constructed to defy the glare. A display that clear and large is ideal for seeing all your applications in settings in your house studio to onstage in your next gig.

To keep things quick, the Inspiron is constructed using four Intel processors to provide a 1.80GHz base computing rate. In addition to the 8GB of all DDR4 RAM will keep your audio software running for extended stretches of time without overheating.

When you are ready to plug in the pump and hardware out of your songs, the 3580 has everything you want. This laptop is packed with interfaces and includes 3 USB ports, an SD Card Reader, an HDMI interface, an RJ45, and a headset & mic audio jack.

Obviously, if you would rather wireless headphones, then this laptop is Bluetooth ready.
Having an insane quantity of storage and a lot of superior features, the Dell Inspiron 15 3580 is well worth the very low price. Producers looking to make a whole library worth of audio will be pleased with this inexpensive device.

#6, ASUS VivoBook X541UA Touch HD Laptop

Created for users who require portability in multimedia, the ASUS VivoBook is a strong laptop which you could utilize to perform high-end music recording and production. It’s powerfully driven with a 7th Gen i5 Intel Core processor and 8GB RAM memory. Together with the ASUS Sonic Master sound system which integrates ICE sound engineering, this alluring Vivo Book provides outstanding visual and sound music production functionality and expertise.

The ASUS VivoBook is contemporary in design, giving it a fashionable look and texture. Its full-size and striking chiclet keyboard provides users with a great typing experience. It features a sound audio system that combines state-of-the-art audio technology to ease crystal-clear noise processing and delivery. In addition, VivoBook features high-tech 3W speakers integrated using a 24cc sound room and exceptional transmission line to supply rich, bass, and discrete vocals.

This laptop also boasts a wide range of connectivity interfaces including USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and USB 3.1. Plus, the features VGA, HDMI, and an SD card reader to allow compatibility with several devices and peripherals supporting lighting fast data transfers. It is going to certainly work extremely well for almost any audio production jobs.

#7, HP ENVY x360

The HP ENVY x360 is quite a good and very inexpensive alternative for a music production laptop.
It might not have exactly the identical power a gaming laptop or even the Surface Pro 2 has its technical specs readily meet the prerequisites that you want to produce songs.

This laptop also features a tablet-style touch display that’s compatible with a wise stylus.
It does not separate from the body such as the Surface Pro two, but the display folds a complete 360 degrees so that you are able to use the laptop and touch display in an assortment of ways.

Using its 8GB of ram and i5 processor, you are able to comfortably create music in your DAW too.
In case you’re looking for an inexpensive music production laptop that is definitely one to get in your listing.

#8, HP Pavilion 15

Primarily, this notebook just looks excellent. Music production is all about fashion. Because of this, it just makes sense if you receive a gadget that looks pleasing to the eyes too.

But, the appearances are a secondary aspect in regards to performance.
The best part concerning this laptop is located underneath the hood. It delivers a fantastic Intel Core i5-8250U processor for under $500. That is an 8th generation Quad-Core processor that’s among the best values in the marketplace.
So far as the performance goes, Core i5 in the 8th generation has become the most capable processor in this budget range. In contrast to the identical degree processor of the former production i.e Core i5-7200U, this is a lot more superior.

Formerly, all’U’ designated Core i5 processors for laptops have been dual-core with 4 threads. This creation changed the game around. Therefore, the Core i5-8250U is a quad-core processor with 4 threads.

Consequently, this processor is roughly 30% faster than its previous generation kinsman and it’s not only on paper but also on benchmarks.

In addition to this, this laptop also supplies an ample 8 GB of RAM and 1 TB of HDD. While 8 GB might not have been adequate if you’re a movie editor, for audio production it ought to be quite adequate.

You always have the option to update the RAM in addition to the HDD in the future if you want to. But as it stands, the from the box specifications are more than ample to beginner-level music production.

Apart from that, in addition, it supplies a stunning screen. It provides a 15.6″ IPS Touchscreen using FHD resolution.
The IPS panel provides exceptional colors and viewing angles when compared with conventional TN panel displays. Even though a display will not have an immediate effect on your audio production, it may indirectly assist by uplifting your working experience.

This laptop also supplies the USB Type-C interface for interfacing with the newest gadgets on the market. Thus, this is a fairly future proof machine to be needed.

All in all, we find it to be among the best laptops for audio production under $500 because of the general performance/dollar value.

#9, Microsoft Surface Pro 7

The Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is a super-thin two-in-one hybrid laptop. As a device geared towards portability using a completely equipped edition, it includes an Intel i7 processor and 16GB of RAM. The Surface Pro 7 is a high-level laptop that will manage music production including everything else you can throw at it. This really is a cost-effective and strong addition to any music producer’s studio.

Pros

• Aesthetically breathtaking and signature variations of desktop programs

Cons

• Not a great deal of spec for the cost and performance drops over the years as a result of fanless design.

#10, Lenovo 2019 IdeaPad 330 15.6″

This Lenovo Ideapad is just another high-performance laptop you will be blessed to get your hands on. It is among the quickest and most powerful instruments I have used on this particular budget. To get a version that is clearly new in the current market, I would say there are lots of things that I enjoy about this gadget. My friend Mike possesses it, but I have used it a couple of times for mixing and audio production. It’s all of the baseline requirements which you would look for in a good laptop and also the IdeaPad series is well known for its strong devices.

You can readily utilize it for editing, recording, and rendering your favorite tracks. The lighting quickly processor makings the process easier. It’s possible to upgrade the RAM with the apparatus to fit your requirements and the LED-backlit screen is worth raving about. As a result of this card, it is also possible to use it for a few casual gaming if you are into that also.

It’s a 5-hour battery-powered life, that’s adequate enough for getting most of your job done. It includes Windows 10 Home and 2 1.5W speakers combined with Dolby Audio processing. Additionally, it will come with a stylus so you really can enjoy the tablet-style and get some work done when you are working on the sofa or idle in bed.
Should you get the product from Amazon, you’re going to find a 1-year manufacturer that I would say isn’t bad for the purchase price.

How to Choose a Music Production Laptop

If you are only getting started with a home studio you truly don’t need anything super fancy or expensive.
There are lots of cheap computers that could deal with the demands of that a DAW places in their own systems.
There is plenty to consider when picking a music production computer.
However, in general, watch for these four variables.
Processing rate
RAM
Solid State Drive distance
Monitor dimensions

Processing rate
The processing speed of your CPU remains among the most essential factors for processing sound.
Watch for computers that arrive with much more processing cores and faster clock rates over the 2.0Ghz range.

RAM
Adequate RAM means having sufficient working memory for plugins, monitors, presets, and recordings to perform their thing easily in your DAW.
For audio production jobs, we propose having at least 8GB of RAM. You may want more, however, it is not always essential.

Solid State Drive
Hard disk drives are a little thing of the past. Now it is all about the Strong State Drive or SSD.
If your DAW and plugins have been installed onto your SSD they will load considerably quicker and be much more responsive.
You need at 512GB value of storage space, but that can get taken up fairly fast.
The secret is to be more organized with the way you save your information.

Tip: In the past, hardware manuals advised that you monitor your music files on a different volume in the drive which stores your OS and DAW.
That is less of a concern with all modern computers, however, using a fast external drive to your session documents may still help you to get the most out of your system. Consider using an external drive for tracking.

Monitor Size
A more compact screen makes your installation much more portable, but in addition, it means more scrolling and wasted time in your own workflow.
If you don’t mind using a bigger machine, the excess screen real estate can allow you to see what you are working on more obviously.

Conclusion

With quick technological innovations for both hardware and software in today’s world now, the economies are packed with many PCs and laptops offering a vast assortment of alternatives for consumers.

Well, we’ve researched and discussed that the best cheap laptop for audio production which may enable you to attain your music production objectives. All of these possess a minimum and much more of the specifications which are advocated to get a music production laptop. Together with the listing, you can have the ability to inspect all of your basic specs prerequisites and pick a laptop that can encourage high-level music production functionality.