I need to buy a new graphics card.  Are there any that work better than others with Sonar?  Are there any that I should avoid?
 
Thanx in advance for your time and expertise.
 

My observation is that Radeon HD series seem solid and nVidia are hit and miss.

The Geforce cards are great.  They are made by many various manufacturers, however they run smooth. If you can cough up the money, get a GTX model.  The higher the number the newer the card.
 
Peace
 
 
 

^^ Be aware that NVIDIA is not a manufacturer, so the "identical card" from two different companies may perform differently. Be sure to research thoroughly.
 
Quick question for the OP... are you only using your machine with SONAR? Reason I ask is that SONAR is not graphics intensive, so many cards are fine. 3D and truckloads of onboard memory are for gaming needs. The other aspect is how many monitors are you intending to use, as the ports available will determine choice (i.e., monitor(s) you have now need to plug into it).

mettelus
^^ Be aware that NVIDIA is not a manufacturer, so the "identical card" from two different companies may perform differently. Be sure to research thoroughly.
 
Quick question for the OP... are you only using your machine with SONAR? Reason I ask is that SONAR is not graphics intensive, so many cards are fine. 3D and truckloads of onboard memory are for gaming needs. The other aspect is how many monitors are you intending to use, as the ports available will determine choice (i.e., monitor(s) you have now need to plug into it).

Good questions.  This will be for my off-line computer that only has Sonar/music software and my photography software and pictures.  My current graphics card is for one monitor and I want to upgrade to two monitors.
 
I know that I do not need a gaming graphics card but being on a fixed income I want to make sure that I get something that is totally compatible with Sonar.
 
Thanx for bringing this up.

Any reasonably priced card will do.
 
Your biggest concern is (or should be) noise, so get one which is passively cooled, i.e. no fans

Good question MarioD.  I have chosen the "silent" graphic card option on my last two DAW computers.  These use passive cooling (heat sinks) instead of fans so they tend to have only moderate specs but are not too expensive.  Really high end cards tend to have loud fans.  Their specs suit me since Sonar is not graphics intensive.  Most recent cards handle two monitors but I suggest that you need to assess this based upon what specific interfaces and plug types your monitors have.
 
 
 
 

You only need a high-end card if you're gaming.  Even seemingly graphics-oriented work like Photoshop or video editing are more CPU-intensive than graphics-intensive.  Bottom line, get yourself an entry-level card with a heatsink and you'll be good to go.  FWIW, I use the onboard video on my 4-year-old PC, and use it for Sonar, Photoshop, and video editing without a glitch.

Also, check graphics card compatibility with your CPU.  I'm not 100% on this, but I read somewhere that if you have a Intel CPU that they work best with Nvidia graphics cards, and AMD work best with Radeon cards.  You will also need to ensure your power supply unit can cope with the graphics card you choose.
 
As I said, I'm no expert but these things are worth checking out.

Any graphics card will do, pretty much.