In the last few blog posts, we have read about the best audio interfaces, microphones, DAWs, and other equipment required to set up home studios. Let’s discuss the 6 best computers and laptops for home studios in 2025.
I have divided this post into two parts:
- Desktop vs Laptop for home studios
- Mac vs Windows for home studios.
After discussing these two important points we’ll discuss the 6 best laptops and computers for home recording studios.
So, without wasting any more time, let’s start this out.
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First off,
Desktop Vs Laptop Which is Best For Home Recording
We’ll get two formats when choosing audio recording computers: desktops and laptops.
Desktop computers and laptops are both built for different tasks. Where laptops and convenient to carry on the go, desktops are highly customizable and feature-rich.
However, when deciding between a laptop and a desktop computer for home studio recording, I prefer the desktop computer.
Why?
Because it’s highly customizable, feature-rich, and user-friendly.
Moreover, desktops provide faster configuration at a low price compared to laptops.
Laptops, especially Windows laptops are not built for time-intensive tasks. In the home studios, we work non-stop for hours. Here the efficiency of the computer plays an important role.
Obviously with high cooling capacity and CPU efficiency desktop beats a laptop when working for long hours.
Also, with a separate keyboard, mouse, and display monitor desktops are more user-friendly than laptops.
So, I always suggest a desktop computer for home recording studio purposes. Well, it all depends on your needs and priorities.
Mac vs Windows Which is Best For Home Recording
Now that we have discussed desktops and laptops, it’s time to choose the right operating system.
After all, you are going invest your hard money on these studio equipment.
When it comes to flexibility in your recording workflow, the Mac operating system is better than Windows, but they are 1.5 times more costly compared to Windows systems.
There is another disadvantage of the Mac operating system is some software and plug-ins are not compatible with this.
Well, if you go with professional DAWs like Logic Pro X, Cubase, etc then you will get their Mac versions, but some DAWs do not support Mac operating systems.
The best thing about Mac systems for audio recording is it has a robust audio engine that when blended with a high-quality audio interface, delivers highly professional output.
However some VST plug-ins and instruments do not support Mac systems, so you are limited to Mac, supported plug-ins, and software.
On the other hand, Windows supports, most of the DAWs and plug-ins. But I personally do not like its audio engine (ASIO) in comparison to Mac’s audio engine.
well if I had to choose between them, I would definitely go with Mac systems.
Best Laptops For Home Studios
Now, let’s explore the 6 Best laptops and desktops for Home Studios.
First off,
Apple MacBook Pro M4
Apple when combined with Logic Pro X (DAW) delivers high-quality audio recording from your home studio.
Logic Pro X was started as a Windows-compatible DAW, but in 2007 Apple acquired Logic Pro X and tweaked this door for their platform.
They added a whole new audio engine to this and made it a highly professional one. Today, Logic Pro X is considered one of the best DAWs in the audio recording world.
But it is only compatible with Apple systems.
Before 2020, Apple ran on Intel processors, but in 2020, Apple introduced its M series processors in their laptops and desktops.
Started with M1 processor chips now they introduced M4 processors. These processors are very fast, compared to Windows-compatible Intel processors.
Recently, Apple launched its latest MacBook Pro M4, one of the fastest laptops in the world.
You can get it for around $3000.
I know it is more costly than other alternatives. But I have listed it in the first few days just because of its speed. If you want to record at high sample rates, then this one is the best laptop for your recording needs.
Well, laptops have small screen sizes, you have to buy a separate display monitor and a set of keyboard and mouse. Because you are going to sit for long hours sessions in your home studio.
If you don’t want to invest $3000 then there is another great and budget option available in Mac OS.
Dell XPS 17
Dell XPS 17 is a high-end laptop for by Dell that costs around $4000 in the USA.
I haven’t listed any low-end laptops in this list because they are just crap in audio and video production. You need high-end, laptops and desktops for these tasks.
Dell XPS 17 comes with 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i9 processor, NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4070, 8 GB GDDR6 graphics card, 32 GB RAM, and 1 TB PCIe NVMe SSD which is one of the highest configurations in Windows laptops.
So you can imagine how fast it can perform. Benchmarks show us it is one of the fastest laptops in professional category systems.
If you don’t want to be bound by the Mac operating system and yet want a fast laptop, then Dell XPS 17 is ideal for you.
If you have used VST instruments, you have faced a glitch problem when running this software in your DAW.
With Dell XPS 17 you will definitely never face these types of problems.
Its ultra-fast processor allows it to handle a high sample rate. Audio file formats in multiple tracks recording.
So for Windows users, I have listed this laptop in the first position.
If you can afford its pricing, it is the ideal Windows system for your home studio.
Remember, you need a separate display, monitor, and keyboard-mouse combo to make your recording workflow seamless and user-friendly.
Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition
Razor Blade 15 Studio Edition Laptop is specially built for audio and video production. That’s why it grabbed space in this list.
Razor Blade 15 Studio Edition comes with a robust configuration of Intel i7 8-Core processor, NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 display graphics card, 15.6” 4K OLED Touch screen, 32GB RAM, and 1TB SSD.
This configuration makes it one of the fastest laptops in the world.
Combined with Windows 10 operating system and liquid cooling feature it powers up your home studio with ultra-fast speed.
You can use different Windows-supported DAWs such as Cubase, Studio One, Pro Tools, etc smoothly on this laptop.
However, you need an extra display and mouse keyboard to make your workflow more smooth.
If you are a Windows user and want to continue with it in your home studio then this laptop is one of the great hardware for you.
You can easily operate high-end VST instruments like Kontakt very smoothly on this laptop.
With a price range of below $2000, it’s a great pick for every home studio owner.
Best Desktops For Home Studios
While, laptops are capable of delivering smooth performance in audio recording and production, when it comes to faster workflow, desktop systems are more convenient than laptops.
They are highly customizable and come with separate display monitors, mouse, keyboard, and other hardware that’s why they are easy to use compared to laptops.
Even I personally feel my Windows desktop is much better than my MacBook when it comes to workflow.
So, let’s talk about the best desktops for Home Studios.
Let’s start with the Mac system.
Mac Mini M4
Mac Mini M4 is my favorite when it comes to audio recording desktop computers.
Equipped with the same M4 processor, and a sleek and small design, it can deliver the combination of versatility, and speed look to your home studio.
I love this Mac Mini computer as it can be connected to most of the display monitors, and supports almost all the hardware whether it’s an audio interface or an external HDD.
However, the lack of connectivity options holds you back without the HUB because it has only USB C and Firewire connectivity options. You need to buy a USB-C hub that should have USB, and other connectivity options as it does not have many USB ports.
The new Mac Mini M4 is 40% smaller compared to its previous version.
Dell Optiplex 9020 Desktop Computer
When it comes to Windows systems, Dell is my favorite brand. Dell has many desktop computers, but the Dell Optiplex 9020 is one of the market’s cheapest yet powerful desktop systems.
Of course, you can use it to produce music in your home studio.
It has an Intel Core i5 processor and 8GB DDR3 RAM. I know it is a very basic configuration but some of you might not have the budget to get the expansive alternatives listed in this article.
If you are not going huge multiple track counts and not using sophisticated VST instruments then it’s okay to get this desktop PC.
You can easily record basic audio projects with this PC.
The starting price of Dell Optiplex 9020 is $300 in the USA.
Dell XPS Desktop
Another great desktop PC for audio recording in home studios is Dell XPS. In the USA it comes to around $650.
This PC is equipped with a Core i9 14900K processor along with 16GB RAM which can be extended up to 64GB.
The 1TB of HDD can be extended up to 4TB.
It has a graphics card (GeForce RTX™ 4070 Ti SUPER) that supports extensive VST plugins and graphics cards.
With this configuration and the low price point, it can be one of the best budget computers for home studios.
Conclusion
When it comes to choosing recording studio computers and laptops it can be confusing if you don’t know your needs.
You have to decide whether you want VST instruments or only audio tracks, or you want to record in high-definition audio file formats such as 92kHz and 192kHz.
The basic need is to go with a fast computer or laptop for audio recording.
Another important factor is choosing between Mac and Windows. As I am familiar with Mac OS I would go with it. If you are familiar with Windows you can choose that.
MacBook M4 and Mac Mini are my favorite on this list. What’s your’s let me know in the comments.
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