Derpanieux

I have been using a 360 controller, since the XBONE controller feels too fat in my hands for me. Really just personal preference though.

I think a small RAM upgrade and an SSD should make it a perfectly capable web browsing machine. Browsers are infamously ram hungry and DDR3 can be had pretty cheap nowadays so I think it would be prudent to buy some more (or download, cheaper that way)

I haven't been on iOS is quite a while, but I remember there used to be a way to use the volume slider in the menu with a bunch of different buttons that I forget the name of, I think you access it by swiping down on the battery life icon. The slider gives you access to many more steps than the side button does, although I don't know that it will get quiet enough for your needs. Its also quite finicky to do it that way