The following video provides a great comparison between the performance capabilities of different amounts of RAM. With some extra RAM in your pocket, you won't have to worry about a RAM upgrade until years down the road. For example, if you want to run Discord, Spotify, Ableton, and YouTube at the same time, without your computer slowing down in a noticeable way, you should invest in RAM.Īs a future-proof option, you may want to bite the bullet and go for 64GB of RAM software developers tend to create increasingly taxing software over time. 128GB of RAM and up is a bit excessive you likely don't need that much.įor music production, you can scrape by with 16GB of RAM, but I truly believe it's worth holding off on building a PC and scrounging up the extra cash for 32GB of RAM you'll experience significantly better multi-tasking performance. Common amounts of RAM include 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB.

Generally, you want to buy as much RAM as you can afford without your wife finding out. CPUs tend to provide diminishing returns as you start looking at pricier options.

Comparatively, you can pick up an AMD Ryzen 9 3900X, that’s still going to perform exceptionally well, for close to $500. Buying a super expensive CPU like an AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X will deliver amazing results, but it costs almost $4,000. When it comes to choosing a CPU, you need to weigh performance against cost. CPU-heavy DAW sessions will run smoothly and you'll be able to run multiple programs at once. These two components work hand in hand to create a fast and responsive user experience. Ideally, you want a computer with a fast CPU and lots of RAM. A bigger trunk (more RAM) will allow you to move more stuff to point B each trip, further cutting down on the time it takes you to move all this stuff. Upgrading the engine (CPU) will get you to point B faster, but you'll still need to make multiple trips. If you're trying to move a bunch of stuff from point A to point B, you want a car with a fast engine and a big trunk.Ī car with a slow engine and small trunk will require you to make many trips to move all your stuff from point A to point B, and you're not going to get there too quickly either. Your PC’s central processing unit (CPU) is like a car's engine, while its random access memory (RAM) is like the trunk of a car.

Building a home studio computer