hello there I was looking to upgrade from hs7 to sonar x3 studio but I am bit confuse with the  system requirement , I was planning to buy a new laptop do to live gigs that I do  , but I don't know what pc to buy , so I showed the x3 requirement to a computer store specialist and told me that this type of processor is available in gaming computer and they have to be built for it ....
what do you guys use to run the sonar? and how much will you spend for a laptop ?
I also was thinking to buy an older version the sonar x1 studio only because the requirement are lot less than x3 and easy to find a cheaper laptop for it ,
if you have to compare x1 with x3 studio what would you say? and if also will x1 studio run on window 10????
thank you in advance .................Tony 

Hey Tony.
In my experience any of the X series Sonars, as  well as Platinum, run equally well on the same computer (I had all 4 installed on my PC up until mid last year), so you would certainly be better off using the latest version you could (Sonar X3e). That said, I am not sure you can even buy it anymore, and you may want to take a look at the new Sonar.
 
As far as a laptop that will run Sonar,  obviously the faster the better, but I have a pretty standard HP i5 dual core and i7quad core (both running only intel shared graphics chips and 8gb ram) that I use for live gigs and they easily run Sonar as well as a PC based DMX lighting controller concurrently without any problem. 

hi Bruce  so you saying that a standard  dual core 2.6ghz i5 or i7  will run the sonar x3? keep in mind that I need to use multi synth tracks and vst's...
see my biggest fear is that my system is going to crap out when out on the gigs ,already happened with home studio 7  ,  years ago, I have bin off the wagon with my music for long time  and I really want to go back ,but I want to make sure that I don't get any unpleasant surprises.....thank you 

Hi Tony.
I run 32+ backing tracks with FX and Synth tracks in the studio on my i7 Quadcore, but I always bounce the synths to audio and disconnect VST Synths prior to gigs. I can always reconnect the synths should I need to edit anything later.
You still have separate audio tracks for all instruments and full control - the sound is identical - you just aren't pushing your luck on stage with VST synths.
This also cuts load times of songs during the show. If using a playlist,  it makes it much easier for Sonar to load the next song whilst the current one is playing.
 

tony2000
so you saying that a standard  dual core 2.6ghz i5 or i7  will run the sonar x3?

Don't get me wrong - If you've got the dollars and want to spend them on a full gaming laptop
you will have the luxury of more processing power, but yes, a dual core 2.6ghz i5 or i7 will run sonar just fine. Obviously a quad core is even better.
 

tony2000
keep in mind that I need to use multi synth tracks and vst's...
see my biggest fear is that my system is going to crap out when out on the gigs ,

To be honest I am not sure that I would trust any computer to run Multiple VST Synths during a live gig, but that could just mean I'm old school:)
If you intend to run VST tracks AND play VST instruments reliably live on stage, you are going to need some serious grunt as you do not even have the luxury of increasing buffers/latency to take the pressure off your CPU.
If you work smart however, and bounce your synths down to audio tracks (you can still have separate tracks), you can most certainly run a show with an i5 Dual Core machine. I've done about 400 shows with my current i5 without issue.
 
 

If I wanted a laptop computer for recording, I would check with these guys: 
 
http://www.adkproaudio.com/laptop3.asp

 
I run 32+ backing tracks with FX and Synth tracks in the studio on my i7 Quadcore,
 
 
 
well the good thing for me is that I don't run 32 plus tracks , 10 the must for me ,I can tell that you are a professional musician , for me is more like a second job ....I guess that bounce tracks is the must safe thing to do but for me the last resort is to do so , also I am not intend to run any light show , and just like you I am also an old school guy ,would you recommend any brand ?
 

All of my laptops are HP, but I have no real preference Tony.
 

tony2000
 
I guess that bounce tracks is the must safe thing to do but for me the last resort is to do so ,
 

Just to be clear, each synth track is bounced to its own audio track, so you lose nothing at all with regard to mixing flexibility upon playback or sound quality. The original synth stays in the synth rack - I just use the drop down menu to disconnect it so that it is not using any processing power, and I archive the midi tracks that were assigned to it. That way you can always come back and change parts later.
All you are doing is eliminating the risk and extra processr power of running vst synths live at the gig. You are not losing anything at all, and it will sound exactly the same.
 
Good luck with the show!