Advice on building a PC for Sonar X3

Hi,
 
I ran Sonar X1&X2 on an old (2009ish) Dell laptop with a Celeron processor and never had any major problems, However it was getting a bit long in the tooth so I decided to "upgrade" to a Dell 17R with Intel I7 processor thinking it would be bulletproof but to cut a long story short it is a piece of **** so I have sold it on and I am going to build a PC for Sonar X3.
 
I am not in any way expert in computers but I have built one or two minimum spec. units for family.
Here is a list of the components I have penciled in for the build, Does anyone know of any reason I should not use any of the components listed or offer any advice before I spend my cash.
 
Asus Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 Motherboard (AMD 990FX, 4x DDR3 RAM, SATA 6GB/s, ATX, USB 3.0, MemOK!, Network iControl, Multi-GPU Support, Socket AM3+)
 
AMD FX8350 Black Edition 8 Core Processor (4.0/4.2GHz, 8MB Level 3 Cache, 8MB Level 2 Cache, Socket AM3+, 125W, Retail Boxed) - AMD
 
Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 Mhz CL9 XMP Performance Desktop Memory Kit Black - Corsair
 
Kingston Technology 240GB Solid State Drive 2.5-inch V300 SATA 3 - 
 
Western Digital 1TB internal Hard Drive - Caviar Blue (3.5 inch) - Western 
 
Asus ATI Radeon HD 5450 Silent Graphics Card (1GB, DDR3, PCI-Express) - Asus
 
Corsair Builder Series CX 600 Watt ATX/EPS 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supply Unit - Corsair
 
Thanks for any advice from any of you who are in the know 
 
Also I was planning on going with Windows 7 as I really didn't like Windows 8 on the "upgraded" laptop.
Any reason why I should persist with Windows 8? Does the version matter (home edition, Windows pro etc)?
 

I am not familiar with AMD or Radeon, but definitely endorse ASUS MB and ASUS-built graphics cards. I do not see any glaring issues with the items you have there.
 
Here is a nice benchmarking site that is often useful to price shop, as the current price point is listed down the right margin. They have tabs for CPUs, video, etc. that comes in handy.
 
 

I have used both AMD and Intel systems, and both work fine - if built and loaded properly.
 
I do suggest you search the forum for Sabertooth issues - I saw it pop up in the last couple of days in a couple of different threads.  
 
I have to run out the door, or I would do the search for you:
 
Google terms: site:cakewalk.com forum sabertooth
 
The above should find what I mentioned.
 
Bob Bone
 

Famous brands preferred for all components of stable system. From motherboard to power supply unit. I prefer Gigabyte for motherboard and videocard, Intell i5 or i7 CPU, Chieftec for Power Supply, Samsung RAM, Seagate HDD. 

Thanks for all your input guys,
 
I have done some more research and can go the Intel route for not much more expense using an I7 4770K and gigabyte D3H MOBO. 

Sanderxpander
If you're considering ever flipping in another hard disk and booting hackintosh, Intel, Gigabyte and NVidia are safer bets too.

This is one of the reasons I might go with Intel as I was interested in the whole Hackintosh thing a while back but since dropped it, Have you done this yourself?
 

hockeyjx
 
All of the other components look solid for a DAW. Oh, are you getting a silent/dampened case?

 
I hadn't given much thought to the case but have since opted for a coolermaster dampened case, cheers.
 
Thanks again everyone, Anyone any thoughts on windows 7 vs 8 debacle, I really dislike the feel of Windows 8 but I'm guessing the new way of working with Windows is not gonna go away.
 
 
 
 

mondaydave
Thanks for all your input guys,
 
I have done some more research and can go the Intel route for not much more expense using an I7 4770K and gigabyte D3H MOBO. 

Sanderxpander
If you're considering ever flipping in another hard disk and booting hackintosh, Intel, Gigabyte and NVidia are safer bets too.

This is one of the reasons I might go with Intel as I was interested in the whole Hackintosh thing a while back but since dropped it, Have you done this yourself?
 

hockeyjx
 
All of the other components look solid for a DAW. Oh, are you getting a silent/dampened case?

 
I hadn't given much thought to the case but have since opted for a coolermaster dampened case, cheers.
 
Thanks again everyone, Anyone any thoughts on windows 7 vs 8 debacle, I really dislike the feel of Windows 8 but I'm guessing the new way of working with Windows is not gonna go away.
 
 
 
 

For whatever the worth, I have Windows 8 on my main DAW, and have the Desktop 'tile' as the first one in the upper left when it boots up.  So, all I have to do is click on that to get into my normal look and feel Desktop view.
 
I then built a handful of little shortcuts to do things like: Restart, Shutdown, and Lock.  Additionally, I went through a eon-time exercise of making sure the applications I want quick access to were either pinned to the left-most side of the tile screen, OR were pinned to the Task Bar.
 
This makes it really quick and easy to lunch applications, and to restart/shutdown etc.
 
I DO like Windows 8, and will stay with it - am getting ready to up it to Windows 8.1, which will be soon.
 
If you or anyone wants the shortcuts I built for restart/shutdown/lock just PM me and I will send them.
 
Bob Bone
 

Others disagree, but in my experience building a custom DAW machine is the only way to go. I highly recommend an i7 along with a MOBO that can handle multiple SATA III drives and over 32GB Ram in case you need to upgrade later on. I personally love Gigabyte boards, as they have never given me grief. Good choice on the power supply, 600w is the minimum I would consider.
 
What are you going to use for a sound card or interface?
 
Regarding Windows, I still use Win 7 Pro so I can't speak for Win 8. If I were to build a new machine, I would go with Win 8 because I've read a lot of good reviews about stability, etc. If you go Win 7, get the pro version, as it will recognize more than 4GB Ram. 

Why would you say 600W is minimum? The largest drain on a PSU is traditionally the videocard and if you don't go with a high end one you really shouldn't have any trouble. Hard disks and SSDs don't really draw that much.

I like Intel as they tend to have less problems with DAW software than AMD does.
The cost difference is just not worth it IMHO.
Gigabyte UD boards are built like tanks (pick one up and feel how heavy it is).
Nvidia for graphics. Don't go crazy. Pick a low to mid level card. You do not need a gamer card.
Quality brand power supply. It's more important to get a supply that can actually deliver it's specs without breaking a sweat than one which is running on the hairy edge all the time.
Quality CPU cooler.
 
I would suggest heading over to DUC and look at the builds those guys use for PT.
They are proven and known to work together combinations of parts.
 
http://duc.avid.com/
 
Have fun!
 
 

Maarkr
Pretty good choices... depends on your experience.  Built many systems since the 486... I had an intel system that had the proc fail and couldn't get a refund, so i built amd for years, but it just seems to me that Intel is a tiny-bit more stable, so my latest build last year was the i5-3570... 
oh, and the Pro OS seems more stable, but you need a 64 bit OS to use more RAM.   Pro doesn't have anything to do with RAM usage.

I mentioned Win 7 Pro because it DOES affect Ram usage. The Home version only supports up to 16GB. Home Premium might, but I don't think it does.

DAW Benchmarks 2013 – What gives you the best performance for audio applications? 
Here's the link:
http://www.scanproaudio.info/?p=2290
 
Unfortunately, amd is bottom of the barrel...I wish it weren't so

Thanks for all the input guys, Your advice has been much appreciated :o)
 

Vastman
DAW Benchmarks 2013 – What gives you the best performance for audio applications? 
Here's the link:
http://www.scanproaudio.info/?p=2290
 
Unfortunately, amd is bottom of the barrel...I wish it weren't so

After viewing this I decided against the AMD route, I have gone with an I7 4770K which actually only came in at EUR40.00 more than the AMDFX8350 but well out performs it according to the benchmark links provided.
 

jscomposer
 
What are you going to use for a sound card or interface?
 
Regarding Windows, I still use Win 7 Pro so I can't speak for Win 8. If I were to build a new machine, I would go with Win 8 because I've read a lot of good reviews about stability, etc. If you go Win 7, get the pro version, as it will recognize more than 4GB Ram. 

I have a cheap and cheerful M Audio Fast Track that I will use for now with the intention of upgrading later in the year.
I wasn't aware of this RAM limitation so thanks for the heads up on that.
 
I now await my parts so fun times ahead!
 

I installed Windows 8.1 on my newest build simply because they pulled Windows 7 off the shelves and I figured I would give it a go.  I actually kind of like it.  I have Sonar right on the start screen so I always just click on that right away and it fires right up... 
 
Sounds like you are going to have a pretty awesome set-up.

How well any computer handles a DAW is primarily about your OS install and OS peripheral driver setup. All the basic necessities (mobos, CPUs, GPUs, RAM, etc) today are basically equal aside from their running speed. As long as you have *enough* CPU, enough RAM, and a clean data path (properly installed fixed discs, proper North/South bridge chipset drivers for mobo) - then any CPU, GPU and RAM brand will work.
 
I personally use an AMD-based laptop for SONAR X3d (an aging Sony Vaio), but did run X2 (and X1) on an AMD-based desktop. Both ran fine - no hardware issues were observed whatsoever. I have no problems with Intel CPUs other than their pricing - which is why I've built AMD systems more often than not for my personal use since the early 1990s. But I do occasionally buy a pre-built Intel box from Sam's Club (usually an HP) when I need one at one of my company's offices for a new hire or whatnot. Those also work fine. And would likely run a DAW like a champ too if someone so chose to try. But I buy those for the sake of time - I learn that I need a computer at 10AM and can have one up an running by 11AM by just buying a pre-made box from the local Sam's or CompUSA/Tiger Direct store...but when I set to building myself a system, I spend at least some time finding all the "right" parts, and the best places to buy them from - and usually I get a lot more "bang for the buck" in the CPU department from AMD. Of which I've never had a single one fail or cause any issues with an OS or programs (even ran OS/2 back in the day and will still occasionally boot various flavors of Linux to them to this day).
 
So get what you want and can afford in so far as capacity, speed, etc - as the actual brands are of little consequence today.

I enjoy building computers, so it is worth my time. These days, I'd worry more about an interface.