Seeking New Computer Advice

I just purchased Sonar 8.5 Producer and am thinking of getting a new computer.  My old recording rig (running Sonar XL) is a P4 and is in no way up to handling 8.5.  I have a laptop I can use for now (1.79 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core  w/ 1 gig RAM), but my plan is to have a dedicated Desktop used exclusively for music production.  I have found a Dell that meets Cakewalk's recommended specifications for Sonar, but wanted to know what experienced users thought of it before making any purchases.  The machine is a Dell Vostro, with Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 and 4 gigs of RAM, dunning Windows 7 Pro. 64-bit.  More info. here: http://www.dell.com/us/en/business/desktops/vostro-230mt/pd.aspx?refid=vostro-230mt&s=bsd&cs=04&~oid=us~en~4~vostro-230mt-anav2~~.  Cost is roughly $650.  So any opinions?

Also, this is my first post here so be kind.

Timidi,

To answer your questions, in reverse order:

3.  Comfortable salary (but I have three kids in private school and a wife who "tolerates" but doesn't understand my hobbies, so the less I spend the better).

2.  I just turned 40 (it still hurts to say it).

1.  I want to record original compositions (most in the pop/rock genre, get my system working and then record other people's stuff).  

Maybe a little background would help.  I was a music minor in college and took as many recording classes as possible.  This is when I first started using Cakewalk (simple midi sequence stuff).  I mostly worked with analog tape and got a lot of great experience, but didn't record any of my own material at the time.  After finishing my post-grad work, I put together a modest home studio (the aforementioned Pentium 4 being the heart of it).  Using Cakewalk Pro 8 and then Sonar, put together a handful of decent sounding recordings.  But even then, I wasn't taking full advantage of the software and basically used Sonar as multi-track tape machine.  Then the kids arrived and I didn't do anything.  Last winter, I started playing a band with friends and remembered how much I love this music stuff.  Now I want to record again, but in all honesty, the newest technology has me a little intimidated so I want to be cautious.

Although I'm a guitarist, I can play keys well enough and plan on using synths.  I have a Roland Fantom X8 that I'll use both as a tone generator and midi controller.  I have a small desktop mixer with  a 4 aux bus, that will run into an audio interface (leaning towards a Delta 44).  I will record my guitars both directly (Lin6 Spider 150 & Pod) and via microphone where appropriate.  Drums will be handled through session drummer or the X8, and then obviously mic for vocals.  So recording wise, nothing at all complicated or sophisticated.  The main reason I upgraded to 8.5 producer is for the vocal processing.  The biggest problem I had with my earlier recordings was getting professional sounding vocals (that and I'm an awful singer).

As for your concern about the Vostro, you're right.  There's not much room to upgrade.  I can  upgrade the processor and I'm checking on whether I can eventually add more RAM.  I plan on adding a second hard drive (based on what I've read on the forum, it just seems like the right thing to do).  But I recognize that the computer will still get dated fast.  I built a PC ten years ago, but in all honesty I wasn't all that comfortable doing it and only did so because I had no money.  

I'm been reading through the forums here for a while now, and it seems like many are getting great results with systems less powerful than the Vostro.  There are also plenty having major issues with far more powerful PCs.  I was just hoping to run the machine specs and see if any of you experienced users saw an obvious problems or had other recommendations.  There are ton of wise people here.

No that you have a little more information, any and all recommendations and suggestions are appreciated. 

I'm heading over there now.  Thank you for the link. 

Checked out the site, very impressive machines.  A little bit more than I want to spend right now.  I'm going to give Jim a call tomorrow and see if he has something closer to my price range.  I already own Windows 7 software, so maybe I can save some cash doing the install myself.  I've searched the forums and seen that Jim is very generous with his time and knowledge, if nothing else maybe he can keep from from doing something foolish and wasting my money.  I'm installing Sonar 8.5 on my laptop tonight and, if I can get something working, I might wait and buy a system from Jim rather than take a chance.  Timidi and tarsier, I really appreciate you guys taking the time to offer advice.  In the upcoming weeks and months, I know I'm going to be asking a lot of questions and I hope I don't annoy too many of you.  I'll update my profile with a sig line listing my setup so that you all will some insight into what I'm running.  Thanks again.

Sent e-mail to Jim, hopefully all will be well.

Also, I just re-read my earlier posts.  I apologize to all of you for the awful syntax and grammatical errors.  I submit my posts without proofreading.

I know I'm going to be asking a lot of questions and I hope I don't annoy too many of you.

Don't worry about it, that's what we're here for. We were all newbies once, and I for one am grateful for all the help I've gotten over the years. I'm just trying to give a bit back.

But you might get some snide, goofy, bizzare, rude, off-base, hilarious replies somewhere down the line. That's what makes this place so... interesting...

tarsier

But you might get some snide, goofy, bizzare, rude, off-base, hilarious replies somewhere down the line. That's what makes this place so... interesting... 

Agreed!  Every forum I've ever frequented has its own interesting dynamic.  So far, I haven't really seen any troll action here which is very nice.  On my end, I'll try not to be the annoying newbie who posts the same question in multiple places or who hijacks threads. And, as I'm sure most of you will appreciate, I will read the manual.  In fact, I'm printing out the entire reference guide today, tabbing it, and putting it in a couple of binders.  Now that doesn't mean I'll understand it, but I'll have read it before I ask questions.


FYI--Install went well last night.  Goal for tonight, actually have sound coming in/out of my audio device.  Piece of cake, right?

Oh yeah!  I'm a Texas grad so I can't wait for the Horn's first game.

BTW--Thanks again for your input Jim.  Everyone here who says you're generous with your time is 100% right.  Hopefully I can convince Mrs. Dogfish to loosen the purse strings.  How quick from order to delivery in a typical case? 

Thanks for the advice sandnman.  Checking out the link now.

I'm now seriously considering putting together a system on my own.  I'm doing my research now, trying to figure out how much of my current desktop can be recycled into the new machine and what are the best components for the new computer. The Intel i7 price drop has me intrigued.  

As for the Vostro, it is a business computer so it is not built for running sonar or any DAW. If you are set on buying an offf-the -shelf computer the only Dell that is really good is the Studio XPS, I wouldn't get a Vostro or a Inspiron even if you paid me. So the moral of the story is; You get what you pay for... 

Agreed Stuart.  I got enough negative feedback here and from my computer literate friends on the Vostro to rule it out.  The ideal situation would be to buy a custom built computer from Jim, see his link above.  Almost everyone here has high praise for his work, but I really can't swing the cost right now.  But I need to do something in the short term (year or so) so I can start learning how to use 8.5.  The XL and Pro 8 I used years ago didn't prepare me for all the new features.  I'm considering starting with an AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz based kit from Newegg.  It's failry inexpensive and much better than anything I've got now and the upgrading next summer to an Intel i7 based system.  I know I'll have to change MBs and all, but at least it'll get me going right now. 

My other option would be not to do anything now and wait until next summer and then spend the money on one of Jim's custom built PCs.  While I know that's a smart move, I want to work on stuff now.  I just don't know what to do.

In any event, I'll continue to update this thread as I learn more.  Any and all comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.  I know enough to know that I really don't know what I need.  So many of you have already been through this and can offer some great advice. 

Guitarhacker,

Do you mind in providing spec details on your DAW?  I'm really interested in what others here are doing.  I'm thinking of reusing my case, power supply, and CD & DVD ROM drives.  I may also keep my current video card if the new MB I end up getting doesn't have on board video that supports two monitors.  Ever since I started using 2 monitors I've been hooked.  I think it'll be particularly helpful with Sonar.

BTW--Listened to one of your songs this morning (found link in thread about normalizing v. gain, very nice work).

tarsier

  And then I realized how much time I was spending on the research, the ordering, the assembling, the testing... and the frustration.

Thats whats great about simply following a 'recipe' like the one from Noel I listed above.  The guy in in charge of coding Sonar and Cakewalk.  Simply order those parts,  snap them together,  install your os,  drivers and programs,  and voila! Great DAW for a few hundred bucks. 

Ult-LSP750 power  750 w supply

Ult-LSP750 power  750 w supply

That's a big power supply.  This may seem like a dumb question, but do you need that many watts for a dedicated DAW?

New to this.  But I amlooking to upgrade to Producer 8.5 also.  I currently have a dedicated DAW, but it's only a Dual core  but with 8GB ram.  I currently use Sonar 7 Home XL, and the DAW woorks great with that, the CPU rarley gets past 20% with 12 tracks.
 
I would really liek to use the new drum "stuff" and use about 8-10 tracks just for the drums.  I can see where I would go up to 24 tracks easy.
 
My question is has nayone used Producer 8.5 on a dual core with good results?