Hi, looking to make a desktop with $500 budget.
The pc will be used primarily for music recording and some editing.
I won't be playing any games on it but will be surfing internet, using word/ppt/excel...
Already have a monitor to use so I won't need that.
I'm thinking of using Windows 8.1/10 as my OS and would like wireless connection.
I was using macbook and over 5-6 years of making music, the raw files for the music took about 10gb. Do you think 2tb is overkill? Again, won't be installing any games and will have only a few programs to record and edit.

Can someone point me in the right direction? Thanks in advance!

pending your monitor adapter, you could likely get away with the graphics card integrated on the mobo.
it seems like the only thing you need is a decent speed on your HDD.
does this have to be a build or would you consider buying a cheap pc?

2tb would be overkill, unless you plan to store finished projects.

I plan on using hdmi cable to hook it up to a tv. I’d prefer that I have a build instead of buying a prebuilt if possible.

I think I could be okay with a 1tb hdd. Maybe 2tb would be overkill since there are no games or videos that would be stored

But for the $15 increase in price, it can be nice to have in the long run.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/MFG3mq
I included options for both 1tb and 2tb HDD, but IMO just get the 2tb for double the storage down the road. If you start getting more serious, the files can start to get bigger fast. I've recorded almost a gig in raw files in a day at my friends studio.

go with the 2tb. programs and developers are increasingly releasing larger programs and updates. you might as well have the space instead of needing to upgrade later.