Best PC configuration for SonarX1 and Windows7 ?

How is this configuration, I had worked it out over a year back, not sure if itss outdated by now -

A)  CPU CORE I7 / 2600 & MOTHER BOARD DH67BL INTEL B)  8 GB DDR3 RAM   C)  HARD DISK 2x1 TB SEAGATE  D)  ATI RADEON HD 5450 / 1 GB DDR2 - 64 BIT

There is no doubt that you should go x64.  The performance bump is huge. You just need to make sure your hardware drivers support 64 bit (which most of them do). For legacy 32 bit plugins, SONAR has an internal bit bridge that allows you to use these olders VSTs/VSTi's (there is also an aftermarket bridge called "jbridge" that is like $15 and worth it in case you run into issues with a VST and bit bridge).

There is really only one major player ALTIVERB that will not run on an x64 platform correctly.. it eventually crashes the system.  

The good news here is that most of the major players now have x64 versions of their plugs or will very shortly.

On the hardware side, I think it wise not to spend top dollar for minimal performance gain.  I am waiting for the thunderbolt PC MB to upgrade on my end to go along with a shiny NEW APOLLO.

Jim

Do a search in this forum on the list of 32 bit plugs or something like that... it has been discussed ad infinitum here.

Jim

Neole


Thanks John and jkleban. 

Will Virtual Guitarist run on windows 64? Its the only old vst that I tend to use on many of my projects for a quick mockup.

Yes! no problem!
 
 
I have Virtual Guitarist 2 and it works perfect with SONAR X1 x64 or SONAR 8.5 x64. No worries!
It works both in SONAR bitbridge or JBridge. I would recommend JBridge. The performance are even better with JBridge.
 
As you are about to discover 90 % of all plugins are in x64bit already-
Even if not and the plugin you are still using are in x32bit only, you will see that 99.8% will work in bitbridge.
All your 32bit VST plugins and x32 programs will work in x64 without any problem.
It will perform even better and greater in Windows 7 x64bit then on any other platform you have used before. Even old XP programs that are x32bit only works perfect in Windows 7 x64. Runs better and smoother than in Xp 32 Bit.
 

SSD for OS + audio software would be just great ;)

get ddr3 ram (not ddr2)

Pwal,

On memory you just look up the board's qualified list of memory providers and get that. Depends what generation of board is bought... though I though anything new was DDR3.

i think it is worthwhile having a dual boot system and never using the Windows that Sonar is installed on for anything but audio (video) production.

all my web surfing / word processing / game playing etc is done in a separate Linux partition and the Windows partition is never allowed on the web.

this means i don't need any firewall / virus protection etc. and the system runs much better because of this.  this is very easy to setup and the Linux environment is very good at recovering crashed Windows installations and recovering 'lost' files.

if you can't handle Linux you could of course have two windows installations on the one machine.

i mention this because it might decide how many hard drives you buy.

I would call the folks at ADK (Google ADK Pro Audio) and talk to them about what you need.  They are honest, incredibly helpful, and will build a custom PC to suit your needs (without goldplating it, i.e., pushing you to buy stuff you don't need) at a very reasonable price, without all of the garbageware included in most off the rack systems.


And lifetime tech support is truly amazing.

Hi
the %use of cpu indicator in Sonar x1 is far from accurate. My "late" pc worked hard with Sonar x1, the indicator went to the top and stood there, but the pc collapsed rarely. With my new pc the indicator shows ca 15%, but win7 tells me only 4 to 5 % with 22 audiotracs loaded with heavy plugins.
I'm now running a cpu from Intel called Intel i7 980 six core 12 thread 3,33 Ghz. As far as I can see, a nice piece of recording equipment!
Ruso

"Neole"

A) CPU CORE I7 / 2600 & MOTHER BOARD DH67BL INTEL B) 8 GB DDR3 RAM C) HARD DISK 2x1 TB SEAGATE D) ATI RADEON HD 5450 / 1 GB DDR2 - 64 BIT

A] Intel Core i7 2600K
B] ?
C] 16 GBs (4 x 4 or preferably 2 x 8 from motherboard qualified vendor list)
D] 1 x 60 to 120GBs SSD (OS Drive) and 2 x 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black (64MB cache) for samples and audio (on separate drives)
E] ATI Radeon HD 5450 (good choice but may not be needed as the 2600K onboard Intel HD graphics 3000 is sufficient for a dedicated DAW)
F] Noctua cooling solution

The motherboard is going to be a very important choice and although Intel has a good reputation for reliability/longevity (just like their SSDs), they are more expensive for less features (as a rule). Asus or Gigabyte, preferably business-class (just like the pros) is what I would recommend, without committing myself to a particular board model.

The most important variable you left out is your budget. And I strongly recommend an SSD for the OS drive. Small capacity SSDs are reasonably priced and really do give you great OS performance (another important factor amongst many in the context of a dedicated DAW).

Also, the recommendation to consult with Jim Roseberry is a good one, but keep in mind that you will pay a premium for his services (as you should for the expertise), unless you're the type of user who loves to "geek" around with computer parts and such and all other numerous tasks related to building your own. Furthermore, I do agree wholeheartedly (if you're not into building your own) that the after sale service and expertise you will have access to when dealing with Jim is worth its weight in gold.

Good luck with it!
jc

Neole


I am buying a new system to run SonarX1 and windows 7.  I tend use a lot of vstis and effects realtime without freezing.

Could someone advise on the best system, without splurging too much for minor performance gains. I mean I dont want to pay 50% extra for a 5-10% performance gain, but otherwise I need the best functioning system. I would like to know which motherboard, cpu, ram, graphics card combination. (For audio I will use my existing audiophile 2496 and yamaha hs80 speakers and edirol controller. I also have two 22 inch monitors for dual monitor setup.)

Also should I go 64bit or 32bit with windows7.

I, too, am looking to upgrade my 5 year old XP 32 core 2 duo dedicated Daw-definitely looking for that price/performance sweet spot. The questions you ask here are the same questions I am asking myself. 

As I see it, the i7 costs far too much to be considered good bang for the buck. IME -an i7 purchase automatically puts a person beyond any price/performance sweet spot. I'm thinking the sweet spot is an i5. After sniffing around here, at TomsHardware and at Gearsluts I've come up up with this..

http://www.newegg.com/Pro...?ItemList=Combo.908578

I'm thinking.. for about $500 I can have a kick butt i5 based daw versus marginally better i7 performance at a cost beyond $1000?

 I'm looking to get 5 solid years service out of this build. Good luck in your pursuit.

Intel core i7 processor. Is your sound card firewire? Then on board firewire port (on the motherboard) too. HP has both. No muss. No fuss.