Computer under 1000 for music recording

Okay, so I've tried and tried, but when I record, my computer goes putt putt putt when it comes to anything multimedia (editing videos, music recording, etc). I'm looking to upgrade in the not too near and not too distant future. What specs should I get for music recording/editing/mixing/mastering? I was really looking at the mini imacs, but am a bit wary on the 5400 rpm. Plus, theres no optical drives. I know it's possible to hook up an external one... is it worth it? Or should I stick to a pc? I'm looking for something under 1000. Something that can handle the rigors of music creation. This pc seems to (not respond) to much at all. If I record a few tracks in reaper, it works fine. However, after three or four different tracks, everything goes downhill and it becomes impossible to record without everything going very slow and choppy.

Mac Mini 

I went through this exercise a few months ago and ended up with a Mac Mini and an external Glyph 7200 rpm super quiet drive, and it works very nicely. I added 16gig of memory and went for the 2.6mhz i7 processor. I have the media on the external drive and the software etc on the internal. FYI I also got a Focusrite Pro40 interface to make use of the FireWire port. I am not a Mac fanboi by the way, I'm much more comfortable with PCs, but I did a lot of research and I just think for audio they seem more stable unless you like getting into the system engineering, chipsets etc which I don't. I come from a dedicated DAW (Akai DPS16) which has zero latency and never crashes, so the whole setup seems shaky to me, though obviously with much more flexibility. So far I'm happy with the decision anyway.

One of the advantages of the desktop PC is the modular nature of the hardware. So if your current PC is underpowered, you can upgrade for the cost of a motherboard and a processor. If you're not tech natured you can pay a local PC technician a few shekles to do it for you. Of course sometimes the symptoms you describe have nothing to do with processor power and have more to do with the state of the hard disk. Audio and video editing put a big strain on hard disks because of the data streaming. Does it need defragged? Do you have a separate one for audio/video? In your case though, seeing as you have a HP Pavilion p6204y, you definitely want an upgrade that involves a new(ish) processor in any case because you can see from that your processor, which is most like the E5300, is way down the bottom of the league. Bear the info about hard disks in mind though (and also that SSDs are the way forward). If you can push your budget a bit you can buy a custom built audio PC which will rock your socks out of the box. Unlike a Mac Mini, when it comes to upgrade time it doesn't become a door stop because you only need to upgrade the components that need upgrading. PC is a much more environmentally friendly way to do computing. :D

Don't disagree 

I also have a custom build music PC (by Red Sub in the UK ) which is still fine and running windows 98! But I tell you, it is very customised - no windows bloatware, and very tuned - I wouldn't want to local Herbert at the PC shop messing with it because the first thing they do is a generic reinstall of the OS which really ****s it up. I agree though, you get a lot more flexibility with a PC. Also you don't have to put up with irritating Appple software. But I don't want to deal with the techy crap, I have enough of that at work.

Yup, I wouldn't be the first to send off a working install off to get a component upgraded without backing up and giving specific instructions first. There's almost no chance of anything going wrong with getting anybody with half a brain a box to change a motherboard and processor these days with unlimited YouTube etc instructions out there though, let alone someone who does that kind of thing for a living. As you say, it's time and gumption rationing that are the limiting factors with any kind of DIY. Post Windows Vista installs work out of the box these days so there isn't the same worry that there was in the past. Certainly not from the perspective of who you get to do your install. The custom audio PC gives peace of mind from a hardware selection point of view and also for support for non techies. Which will be more relevant to audio guys than any other generic manufacturer support would be too.

I'm a PC guy as well, although only where computers are concerned. I run Win7 x64 on a machine that I built myself 2 years ago. The rig is still VERY fast and clean and I haven't re-installed the OS once. For me, that's unprecedented. I used to do fresh installs every 6 months, but Win7 is incredibly stable if you're careful with what you install. If you do go with a PC don't skimp on the video card. Many people think that if they're not playing games or doing video editing that they can cheap out here. Don't be that guy. The video card can be a resource bottleneck. Also, you didn't mention what type of audio interface you're using. If you're using the on-board audio and drivers then you'll never get good results. Regardless of which rout you take, make sure you have a dedicated interface using ASIO drivers.

As a person who is currently on a 2.66Ghz core 2 duo, I have begun to consider upgrading soon as well... I'd get the quad core i7 mac mini and upgrade the drive to a SSD if you have or plan to use external drives or the fusion drive of you want a lot of native storage. That brings the total to $999 if you have a monitor/mouse/keyboard. If you want a mac-centric keyboard there are nice aluminum bluetooth wireless ones on amazon for $12 ( ). I have one myself and it works great. an i7 with 4GB of Ram is plenty of power. I'd do that and maybe a while down the road upgrade the ram to 8gb or more. aftermarket ram is way cheaper than upgrading at the checkout. Solid state drives are not. You could also find a cheap 7200rpm drive and chuck the stock one. My other consideration would be a Microsoft surface pro for the extreme portability. I prefer apple for the amount of quality apps and not having to worry about spyware/viruses/adware as much. That being said, I love the idea of an ultra mobile surface pro setup. I could fit an ample amount of recording gear in a messenger bag with that setup.

The thing you have to bear in mind with a Mac Mini is that it is a laptop that sits on a desk. There is a mobile version of an i5/i7 or whatever inside it. Which means it is way underpowered compared to the desktop equivalent. To compare apples with, erm, Apples this means that you compare the laptop i7 in a Mac Mini with something with equivalent benchmarks, which in this case is something like an AMD FX-6300.