Can I run Sonar X2 on this Laptop?

Hello

I have Sonar Producer 7. Naturally with Sonar X2 spec demands have increased.

Can I run Sonar X2 on this Laptop. I know my hard drive is ok but screen resolution?

I think I can get away with the core i5 2.5g processor. Thanks!

Chassis & Display Enigma IV: 15.6" Glossy HD LED Backlit Widescreen (1366x768) Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-3210M (2.50GHz) 3MB Memory (RAM) 8GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB) Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M - 2.0GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11 2^nd Graphics Card NONE Memory - 1^st Hard Disk 250GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD2500BEKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm) 2^nd Hard Disk NONE 1^st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW) Memory Card Reader Integrated 3 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC, MS) Sound Card SRS 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack Network Facilities ENIGMA SERIES GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 3.0 USB Options 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD Battery Enigma Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAH) Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 90W AC Adaptor Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Please tell me the manufacturer and the model number.  I just want to look up a couple of things.

At first glance, the memory may be a bit light.  An i5 processor should be fine.  You will want an external audio interface of some kind.  You can look at a pretty sampling of what is available for those by going to www.guitarcenter.com and looking at recording audio interfaces.  These can be Fire Wire or USB, and range from around $100 to way more than that.  A reasonable basic one can run around $150.  Since you are using a laptop, I suggest a USB one, rather than a Fire Wire, due to a potential for hardware issues with some Fire Wire chip sets and devices, and you cannot easily remedy that with a laptop.

Anyways - whatever audio interfaces you are looking at, you MUST make sure they have drivers for Windows 7 64-bit operating systems.

I was going to just look up memory expansion potential for your laptop, once you told me what it is - more memory is better for you here.  Memory strips for laptops are pretty cheap these days, and are most of the time as simple as unscrewing a panel on the bottom and sticking a new strip into an open slot.  

Anyways, the above is a good starting point.

You can also download and install the X2 free trial to see if it would work for your computer.  It gives you 30 days (I think) to play around with it - but for sure you would want an audio interface first.

Bob Bone

Hi Bob.

Thanks for your info. The laptop was built as a mid ranger for me by Pc specialist. Initially I didn't even plan it for DAW work but then I thought I would spec it at least to potentially do some light to medium Daw work. I was on a tight budget. That's why I got the 7200 rpm hard drive and at least eight gigs of Ram. I thought the core i5 at 2.50 gigahertz could be just enough to do some DAW work.

Yes there was no way I was going to use FireWire. It's faster of course but more chance of issues. I would get a cheap USB interface. I am a solo home recordist so this is not studio work or anything too demanding.

That's roughly my position.

Sonar x2 screen resolution minimum 1280x800. Mine is 1366x768. How is Skylight going to work out on that? Last time around pre Skylight screen resolution didnt come into my reckoning. I am coming from the old Sonar Producer 7 single screen view by way of experience.

robert_e_bone


I am so sorry - I thought it said 3 GB of memory - by all means 8 GB of memory is fine.  I have crappy eyes anymore and the font was a bit tiny when I first read your post.

As far as your screen - you can always plug in a display monitor instead of using the teeny tiny screen you get with a laptop.

You can buy a 32+ HDTV for less than $200 these days, and just use that for a display for the laptop.  And you can do it in stages, if your budget is a problem.  Get the interface first, because that is a definite need.  Add the external display when money permits.

Bob Bone

 
Your eyes are not so crappy-There is a 3 MB  memory "something" before the 8gb ram. I saw and thought that also, at first

Guess he menat 3 MB cache for the processor?

That's an awesome laptop and will serve you well. A 7200RPM disk is better in terms of space then a SSD at the moment... So it should be awesome. 8GB ram is great too. It will serve you well.

One piece of advice.. Take a single piece of audio and rename that piece of audio for each track. And copy that and load a project with that, put the fader a -20 at least. Then play it back. Now repeat that untill it drops out. Now you know exactly how far you can go, trackwize. Take 2/3 off that and you're at the safe side of things. I reckon you could easily get 30 tracks 24bit 48khz. The laptop is probably with USB3. So audio can be on an external disk. And that would mean you could go up to 60/80 tracks...

I like to mix down when I reach 40 tracks. Simplifying things is creative... I've noticed.

Make sure you run that latencymon application. It will tell you if the system is stable and if things like wifi needs to be turned off or not... But I guess you'll be fine..

Stevethesearcher

From what I have heard I should be ok. I just wanted to be sure before purchasing the upgrade. I reckon the screen resolution will probably be my greatest issue. However I will just have to work with that at present. 

You can always connect an external monitor for when you're not on the road with the laptop.


Scott

--
Scott R. Garrigus - http://garrigus.com
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar and Sony Sound Forge Power book series: http://garrigus.com/?PowerBooks
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar ProAudioTutor video tutorial series: http://garrigus.com/?ProAudioTutor
* Publisher of the DigiFreq free music technology newsletter: http://digifreq.com/?DigiFreq
* Publisher of the NewTechReview free consumer technology newsletter: http://newtechreview.com/?NewTechReview

Hi Steve,

Yep, that laptop will run X2. Have fun!

And be on the lookout for my SONAR X2 Power book... 


Thanks!
Scott

--
Scott R. Garrigus - http://garrigus.com
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar and Sony Sound Forge Power book series: http://garrigus.com/?PowerBooks
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar ProAudioTutor video tutorial series: http://garrigus.com/?ProAudioTutor
* Publisher of the DigiFreq free music technology newsletter: http://digifreq.com/?DigiFreq
* Publisher of the NewTechReview free consumer technology newsletter: http://newtechreview.com/?NewTechReview