When I first decided to try computer recording I only had a Compaq machine at the time. A single core at that. Never had a problem recording with it. Sonar ran like a dream on that machine. Yeah. It was limited in some areas due to not having a lot of power under the hood but I made some nice recordings with it. I now have a custom build but the Compaq is still running strong. It's gotta be at least 8+ years old and is our dedicated internet PC. I agree that a custom build is best for audio recording but the new computers today will certainly get the job done too. 

timed suggestion-expired.

The fact that my $350 Dell Dimension 2400 is getting about 8-9 yrs old nowadays, running XP, SonarPE7.02, Superior Drummer, works great with my Layla 3G and a Matrox dual head for my twin 27" Viewsonics, and has yet to crash with Adobe Audition or CD architect, makes me read these threads with HUGE interest.  I look at pricing for custom builds that would be current and go, "Holy ___!" 
 
Yes I paid $3k back in the 90's for a killer SCSI, Plextor, etc...setup... which is why I decided to try a bottom feeder computer.
 
If Sonar X won't run on a mid priced Dell nowadays, isn't that more a Cakewalk issue than the computer?  I can't think Cakewalk is expecting everyone to go get a killer tweaked computer.  YES, if you're maxing out a session... but it ought to run X3 and all of Cake's plugs just fine (and my Toontrack too!). 

mixmkr
If Sonar X won't run on a mid priced Dell nowadays, isn't that more a Cakewalk issue than the computer?  I can't think Cakewalk is expecting everyone to go get a killer tweaked computer.  YES, if you're maxing out a session... but it ought to run X3 and all of Cake's plugs just fine (and my Toontrack too!). 

I image that Sonar will run quite well on a lower-end business class Dell (Optiplex) with something like an i5 and onboard graphics.  The 3010 (i5, 4gb, 500gb, Win7Pro) was on sale yesterday for under 600$ without a monitor, but you'd probably want to add some more memory.
 

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-660/pd?oc=fddnrx508cm&model_id=inspiron-660
 
wouldn't this run X3 just fine and for $500.  12 gig memory, Win8 and 1 tb hard drive ?
 
It's certainly not a "screamer" machine, but $1500 less than one that is and should handle the "average joe"...if that makes sense.
To be clear, heavy users I can see would certainly benefit from a nice machine, but if you're just running Sonar....?

mixmkr
http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-660/pd?oc=fddnrx508cm&model_id=inspiron-660
 
wouldn't this run X3 just fine and for $500.  12 gig memory, Win8 and 1 tb hard drive ?
 
It's certainly not a "screamer" machine, but $1500 less than one that is and should handle the "average joe"...if that makes sense.
To be clear, heavy users I can see would certainly benefit from a nice machine, but if you're just running Sonar....?

 
Looking on studiocat.com site - I see much more reasonable prices than the $3k you referenced. However, with that said the dell would do in a pinch. 

 




 
Looking on studiocat.com site - I see much more reasonable prices than the $3k you referenced. However, with that said the dell would do in a pinch. 




Yes, I look at that site quite a bit and there's some good stuff.  The $3k I referenced was back in the early 90's, which I imagine would be an amount more in today's dollars.  It was right around the time when burning CDs was coming out for the home person and I wanted a great computer back then as well.  

I've recently gone to using laptops over desktops.  The power in most high end laptops is good enough for most everything I do, and add the portability, I need for working on other people's projects.  I've had good luck with HP and Samsung, as I find their products are easily upgradeable and repairable.  My HP Envy touch smart has one panel that I can access to swap out memory, the hard drive and even add a min SSD cache.
 
I've done the home built systems before, and you can definitely extend your dollar by doing that.  I'm a little unimpressed with some of the cases that are available.  I feel many of them are way too big and clunky, even some of the mid tower stuff.  But you can get some great deals on New Egg and other places and really customize your system for what you need, and leaving out all the fluff.

dunno what the fuss is all about, I've never changed for years.. and zero fan noise.. the PSU also doubles as a foot warmer in the cold winters
 

 
my problem with using laptops is drive space.. lack of.. so I can't see myself solely using a laptop for years. I do use a laptop for music, but it doesn't have everything on it without the dvd tray being replaced with a drive caddy
 
 

LOL! Thank you for that picture Fog!! That is so funny... I am getting old enough now that many will look at that and say "What IS that???"
 
When the "Pentium" hit the streets, I remember a rumor of a guy who daisy-chained C-64's together and exceeded Pentium speeds, but have never found a viable reference to what this guy did (or who he was). Does anyone know?