What would be the bare minimum needed ? And of course we're not talking about running 20 tracks with multiple vsts open, but maybe working on a midi drum track with a few frozen audio tracks or recording a piano midi track over an acoustic guitar audio track.
Here's one of the more powerful sticks available.
https://www.amazon.com/Azulle-1063-AAP- ... i+PC+Stick
Azulle A-1063-AAP-1 Access Plus, Fan less Mini PC Stick, Cherry Trail T3 Z8300, 4GB RAM+32GB storage
Powered with a 64-bit Intel Quad Core Processor, the access plus provides a smooth and seamless experience toggling between various programs.
Equipped with 4GB of DDR3L RAM, 32 GB of onboard storage. Micro SDXC card Slot providing up to 128GB of storage makes it ideal for watching content and surfing the web.