Brand new super bad system settings questions

Did you update the RX580's drivers yet (Not the disc that came with the card) but on MSI website ?
Here's the downloads page for the 4G:
https://us.msi.com/Graphics-card/support/Radeon-RX-580-GAMING-X-4G#down-driver&Win10%2064
 I could be wrong but I also believe net framework 4.0 is required for this card. Windows update or go to the source(MS).
 
I would start there. If that doesn't work, make sure you have the latest Focusrite driver. I thought someone mentioned a beta was released a few months back. Im still using the original one (for the 18I8) but im using windows 8.1.

Run Latency Monitor too: 
http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon
 
But sounds like a graphic issue. 
And always a good idea when you have interup issues to disable your internet while troubleshooting. 
One thing a lot found was causing trouble is HD Audio driver. I think it drives the speakers built in monitors over HDMI , disable in device manager. 

Where and how do you find and change this Game Mode setting?

rodreb
Where and how do you find and change this Game Mode setting?

 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Windows-10-Creators-Update-Your-DAW-is-not-a-Game-m3589217.aspx
or this
http://blog.cakewalk.com/windows-10-creators-update-your-daw-is-not-a-game/

rodreb
Where and how do you find and change this Game Mode setting?

Be warned that the latest Creators Edition Update (1709) no longer includes the option to disable 'game mode', it now runs in automatic mode. However, it is possible to disable it via the registry.

Okay,
I found out I needed specific drivers from Samsung for the M.2 drive. Got those and the Magician SSD optimization app as well. Seems to be working great.
Used the clean instal tool from AMD and reinstalled the graphics driver.

There IS a newer BIOS release available from MSI, but not sure if that is necessary.
I put it into what I think is the lowest Overclocking mode ( they make it so simple now) and enabled XMP mode. Big difference in overall system performance, yet when using Raptor Pro on certain patches, if I play an arpeggio slowly, then increase the speed of the notes, the audio begins to break up horribly as the sustain of the notes begin to overlap.

Been playing with the disc buffer settings, both lower and higher, but I still get breakup. The CPU Meter stays low (I have Load Balancing enabled) but one bar will jump high and the sound distorts. I seem to hear slight distortion even when no cpu bars go high.

To be clear, the playback and recording of Sonar seems to be working good, it's the soft synth plugin, real time sound synthesis part that's totally uncool. Ya know?

Yes, I started out with all stock settings.

Go into Sonar preferences and disable the 64 bit double precision engine. It used to cause me issues and since disabling it I never have crashes. IT's worth a shot. Also be sure to go into device manager and shut down all those AMD audio drivers. It's just a case of finding that needle in the haystack of drivers, hardware and preferences.

Bass Rocket,
Something else you might want to verify (if you have a 1st gen unit) is make sure your plugging in to a USB 2 port. The first gen will work in a USB 3 port but not consistently, it will bog down and cut out and cause issues.
I cant recall if the 2cnd gens support USB 3 or not. So that's something to examine.
Also check cables from the 18I8 ( I had a bad USB cable that literally tortured me for weeks).
 
I also agree with Johnny, when problems like this arise, more often than not Latency mon  can be a good friend.
If you have any problems trying to figure out how it works, post here and we will walk you through it.

Thanks everyone!
I'm trying not to get too down about all this. I just literally spent a fortune on this "box" and my keyboardist (who is an avid Mac guy by the way) is making jokes about how much I've spent and still have problems.
I really appreciate the help!
 
Another big possibility?
I might have made a huge mistake in the way I saved my projects from the old PC! It was really bugging out and I thought I might not even be able to save the stuff to the external drives. So I just copied the Cakewalk Projects folder only to the external WD Passport drive I have. Then I re-installed Win 10 on the new machine and new M.2 SSD, re-formatting the old SSD and the 1TB WD HDD in the process.
Then I later read that you're supposed to use a .CWB file for backing up? and there's another type of save file you can use as well??? But, after transferring them back to the new M.2 drive, Sonar project icons loaded the songs up fine, minus the missing plugins and such. I think I've got them all reinstalled now.
So could it be my songs are just screwed up in general? I'm probably guilty of making many mistakes during their creation, ya know? All my track bouncing issues and Melodyne non-rendered business, lol. Maybe the songs are just messed up and that's what's giving me issues?
Dam.
 
 
 
 

Wow, thanks allot, Cactus Music! I was super worried about having saved the songs incorrectly!
So, if they are corrupt, they were corrupt before I saved them.
Peace

Hello...What midi playback method/device path are you using in sonar?

Chuck : Good to see you doing pro support system setup is key to a smooth running system ...
          : Thanks for the ongoing updates  Big Fish Samples Rock
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It is true the best way to troubleshoot is by the process of elimination. Pretty hard to do with our DAW setups as this involves trying a different computer, different DAW and a different audio interface. 
Well the computer I can do as I have 4 or so kicking around, most people might not have that option.
The DAW, well it's never the DAW so forget it..
I have 4 different audio interfaces kicking around which help me figure stuff out pretty quickly.. It will answer the question of where to place the blame.
So that is something you might want to try.  Is there a music store you can go to. Most will happily let you try gear for a few days.