Help with building a new PC

Hello everybody,
        I will admit I'm not a cakewalk user.  I am a computer tech for a luggage company, and I had a friend approach me today asking me about a computer he wants to use for production.  I know computers, but I dont know this software.  He wants to use x3 producer.  He currently uses Sonar Studio 7.  I need to know, based on what you guys have encountered, what he needs to be able to max out this program.  I want to make sure he can do whatever he wants without worrying about topping it out.  With what he used before it died he said when he did heavy mixing, about 4 minuets into it it would freeze causing him to have to start over.  I want to avoid that being an issue.
 
Does he need more then a quad core i7?  I was thinking the e-series 6 core, but that is twice as much so if it isn't needed i won't do that.  Also will more then 16gb of ram be needed?  I already have plans for an ssd drive, but would two be needed?
 
Thanks for any advice guys!

tell your friend he needs to seek advice from those who know audio systems.
building for audio is NOT slapping a gaming box together.. or a server even. even if I gave you a complete list of parts
it goes way beyond that. (bios setting, windows tweaks etc)

An audio computer does not demand much, but wi-fi usually interferes if even hooked up for say an Internet connection.
If it can pass the latency monitor type testing then that will be the best that can be done until a faster processor or better technology comes out.
 
http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml
 
There is suppose to be a better program but I don't think it is free and I think it is called "LatencyMon"
but have not used it.
http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon
 
If it hangs up because of computer calls (Deferred Procedure Calls), then it something in the computer that needs to be dealt with, besides tweaking Windows for running audio, which usually just means, taking off all the automatic stuff Microsoft puts on using it as a general purpose computer, and dealing with that kind of tweaking in the computer.
 
Ah besides what the other posters mentioned, that is all I can think of at the moment.
 
And do not mind the forum here, it just is not working quite correctly lately.
We still use it though.
 
 

 forget it

Although perhaps it could have been phrased a bit more "polite", Scott is correct.  I remember back in the day trying to do audio with a coupld of Dell generic boxes.  I had nothing but trouble, a key program crashing, etc.  Some parts simply don't play nice with others, and the needs for audio are very different than the needs for gaming.  That isn't to say it can't be done, but it is less straight forward than one might think.
 
As far as what your friend needs, more information would be helpful.  What he wishes to accomplish will largely dictate what would work best for him.  Particularly if he uses lots of VST's with heavy disk streaming, coupled with lots of effects, or something like MIR Pro, than as powerful a machine as you can put together would be wise.  For heavy VSL use somethin like a 4930k, 32 gigs of ram, and most samples placed on SSD's would be helpful. 
 
What sort of soundcard will he be using?  How many parts does he wish to record at once?  Is he recording just himself one part at a time, or is he recording an entire group?  Or, is he doing everything ITB?  If ITB, or only recording himself, a soundcard with fewer inputs will be enough, while if he is recording an entire band, a more sophisticated card will be helpful.  Also solid drivers, and the ability to track at low latency will help.  As far as soundcards go, RME is as good as it gets, unless one spends much more, and their drivers are a known good thing.  Having a great computer coupled with a poor consumer grade type of soundcard rather defeats the purpose.
 
What sort of speakers is he mixing on?  Is the room he is working in treated or untreated?  What are the dimensions of the room?
 
It might be that spending a bit less on the computer, and budgeting a bit of money for other areas might be helpful.

When I built my DAW both Scott and Jim were extremely helpful.
They answered questions about my component's and gave tips on how to go about setting everything up to play nicely.
PC is rock solid and has had zero issues since the first time I fired it up.
 
So yeah, this is a great place to come for advice.
And I strongly agree with Scott's post above.
 
Mike