Thanks again for the best forum, with the best posters, in the world of DAW.
 
I'm running Platinum on my HP Envy laptop. It has an i7, 16 gb. and 2.6 ghz  Everything runs fine, but I know my processor speed is barely adequate by the specs. I'm curious to know if many of the Platinum users here run them on a laptop, and if there is a list of laptops that have proven to run Platinum good anywhere on the Cakewalk site.
 
Or, maybe some of you are having good results with your laptop and Platinum and would like to give the brand, model, and specs here.
 
Thanks!
DS

I haven't used a laptop for Sonar really, since 8.5.3 quite a while back.
 
That said, I certainly have seen and read many many threads regarding using Sonar on laptops, and have participated in some of those threads.
 
I think that once you get above whatever the threshold for laptop requirements, it will largely come down to memory and an ability to have a 2nd hard drive in the laptop. 
 
Having a 2-drive laptop allows for comfortable and not too pricey use of a solid-state drive for the primary, while splitting sample libraries and projects off onto a 2nd internal 7,200 HDD.
 
LOTS of folks have Sonar loaded onto a laptop, and use it for everything from capturing rehearsals on up to capturing a live performance in multi-track fashion.
 
Just make sure you look at inherent DPC Latency of the laptop in question - evaluating things like determining if the WiFi adapters being enabled causes streaming audio performance issues or not.
 
Bob Bone

I run Sonar Platinum on my Dell Laptop which is similar to your setup except I have 8 gigs of ram.  It runs totally fine.  Of course, I only use a handful of VST instruments and effects in a session, so I'm not putting a huge load on it.  The important thing is that you have an external soundcard or interface that has an ASIO driver. . . I found that using the integrated soundcards on laptops does not work well at all with Sonar.  I have a Focusrite 18i8 that works great.
 
Make sure that whenever you're running Sonar, that you have your PC in "High Performance" power mode of course.

I run SPlat on my Dell laptop perfectly well.  I've never come close to maxing out my system, and other than setting my buffer rates for minimal latency i haven't customized anything.  
Dell Latitude, i5 processor, Windows 8, 16Gb RAM.

I used a laptop and still do for mobile applications. (intel I5 / 8 GB ram)
however when all possible, I prefer a desktop to any laptop out there for a few reasons.
cooling is one, expansion is another. power consumption doesn't seem to be spared on desktops as much as laptops.
 
Ive also found Intel's naming nomenclature leaves a lot to be desired when comparing desktop to mobile CPUs.  Looking at Haswell CPUs:

Desktop i3 = 2 cores, 3-4 MB cache, hyperthreading, no turbo boost
Desktop i5 = 4 cores (mostly), 6 MB cache, no hyperthreading, turbo boost
Desktop i7 = 4 cores, 8 MB cache, hyperthreading, turbo boost

Mobile i3 = 2 cores, 3 MB cache, hyperthreading, no turbo boost
Mobile i5 = 2 cores, 3 MB cache, hyperthreading, turbo boost
Mobile i7 = 2 cores/4 MB cache, or 4 cores/6-8 MB cache, hyperthreading, turbo boost

There are slight differences in features too, but the above are the major performance enhancements.  The other thing you can't see in the above is that the desktop processors tend to be clocked higher (and have higher power consumption as a consequence).
 
over all, Expansion.
you can expand so much more on a desktop than a laptop.
I wont even get in to repairs. just putting it lightly...Desktops are much easier to work with upgrade.
 

Thanks guys for a good range of info. Earlier in the summer I decided to try X2 on my laptop, and it worked. That got my interest going again, so later I did the Platinum demo. I was even more surprised to see that it worked on the same laptop just fine. That's when I got very interested in the latest in SONAR.
 
I notice that Dell is mentioned several times. Right or wrong, I know some computers have the reputation of working good with certain recording software. I'm on an HP Envy. I don't particularly like HP Envy's (this is my second HP in a row) every time I do the specs and prices, HP seems to win out. I will probably get another laptop in a few months and I'm mainly just looking ahead to what has a good reputation of working well with SONAR. Seems like if a system has Win 10, i7, 2.6 or more of processor, 16 or more gigs of ram, that it should work fine, regardless of brand, but I've also seen brand play a part. I'm seeing some powerful ones on ebay with 3.10 and more processors and the big 17.3 inch screens that I love. I take it from what I've read here so far that SONAR doesn't have a specific brand that it seems to work best with. It the system requirements are met or exceeded, the machine should run SONAR fine, regardless of brand. Correct?
 
Concerning a desktop, that is my other machine. I bought a really good desk top from Jim Roseberry at Purfect Audio about three or maybe four years ago. I just sent it to him for some upgrades and to bring it all up to speed for me again, so that will be the main one I use. I just wanted to be able to carry my studio around on my laptop when I travel, or even just to take it to a friends house for collaborations or anything else that I might need a mobile unit for. I feel sure that the desk top that Jim's rigging up for me now will be the main studio machine.
 
Thanks for all the great answers and info!
DS

JustGotPaid
 I bought a really good desk top from Jim Roseberry at Purfect Audio

Not only does Jim do great work, he's also a very nice guy.
always helping people troubleshoot their problems.

Absolutely right. Jim is a good citizen of the world.

This looks like a good one, and it's a Dell. My only concern is when you learn more, it's a 2.10 ghz but is 3.10 with the turbo boost. What kind of difference does that make? Does the turbo boost stay on the whole time when the computer needs the extra power?
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-DELL-17-3-i7-3612QM-3-10GHz-QUAD-CORE-16GB-1TB-SSD-WINDOWS-10-PRO-OFFICE-/252300779295?hash=item3abe4c5f1f:m:mEz1r0hmkBR25ldqtfe7g0w

Look for a laptop with a PCIe SSD drive. They are noticeably faster than standard SSD's.