Hi All,
 
I'm building myself a new DAW machine (i7 4790 on an MSI Z97 Gaming 3 Mobo with 250 GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD for OS/Apps and a 500 GB whatever HD for data - will use external SSD via USB3 for a dedicated audio drive - or perhaps build one in later), and I'm about to install Sonar X3 Producer on it.  I would like to plan ahead and separate executable files and other "system" files onto the SSD, and put any samples or template files or "data" type or files onto the HD.  Any suggestions, guidance or advice would be appreciated.
 
In the past I've just let the installer put things to default locations, and it seems like I've just ended up with a confusing (dis)organization of places to find things.  Perhaps part of that is because I've installed on my older system with older versions of Sonar or ProAudio still on the system.  This time I'm installing on a brand new system.
 
For example, I like to create template files for projects with different bands that I work with (one setup for a duet I work with, another for a larger band with 3 singers and several musicians), but I find myself always searching for where I need to save such template files so that they show up in the list of selectable templates when I start a project.
 
I guess my primary goal is that I want the C: drive to be relatively stable (things that don't change much so that there isn't a lot of rewriting files onto the SSD), and that I can make a backup of just the C: drive and come up with a functional system if I have to do a restoration, and have the volatile data on the HD which would generally be backed up separately according to what I'm working on on any given day.
 
Thanks for reading, and for any ideas,
--
Greg Y.
 

No solution but inquiring minds would like to know!..  I'm in the same boat,  use my SSD for OS and anything that has a need for speed and keep all my programs and general files on a 2nd Hard Drive.  ( makes a noticeable  difference in start-up )
 
The update did not let me decide where it installed Sonar.  ( so it makes me wonder if I installed it on C drive after all?   thinking it would need the speed.  I also put all my VST's on the C Drive.
 
 

 
Sonar and a bunch of stuff is hardwired to the C drive.
You can symbolic link them somewhere else, but the links would have to be remade after a system restore.
 
You can put content like loops and DimPro samples elsewhere during installation.
 

The thing is, that most of what you mean by executables are not running from the disk, they are loading into memory and running there. Hence the common observation that Windows starts up really fast from an SSD (particularly true of Win8, because it doesn't usually start from scratch but reads a special hibernation type file saved at the last "shutdown"), but the programs do not necessarily run any faster just because they were "installed" on the SSD. You are sort of looking at two contradictory factors. The SSD speed is really only beneficial when there is a lot of read (especially sequential reads of large amounts) or writing going on. But you want to preserve your C: drive as a relatively static, easy to image operating system museum which does a minimum of read/write activity. If you could place the frequently altered files for each program on the SSD you could optimize the speed of the machine if you knew what those were, and if the installer would let you choose. The pagefile, would qualify, as would a lot of temp files created by running applications. But those files also tend to eat a lot of real estate on the drive, and there is always the wear issue with SSD's. You can optimize the speed of loading samples on the fly by putting them on the SSD for those programs that actually stream samples from the drive on demand, but that is true only for some high demand samplers with mega libraries. You could save money, and improve actually useful performance by running everything from three hard drives. Using one drive to load the OS and hold the applications, partitioned into a small enough size to image efficiently, and that would give your your up and running fast again backup. A second drive for audio data (Sonar project folders) to stream real time audio, and a third for samples. If you want to use an external drive, it makes more sense to use it for audio data or project backups than as the primary audio data drive. The cable and external controller or power supply are just more potential sources of loss for possibly irretrievable critical recording data.
 
If it is worth the big bucks to see Windows load before you get your second sip of coffee, then go SSD for C:
 
 

I already have the system up and running Win7, and it does start up pretty quickly and run smoothly.  I know what you are saying about an application such as Sonar (or Word or IE or ??) loading off the disk and into memory and then running from the RAM for the most part.  The gain is when you first click on the Sonar icon (or whatever program) and the program is loaded and ready for you to use rather faster.  As you are manipulating audio data or such, the computer is spending 99% of its time waiting for you to do whatever it is that you are going to do next (click the mouse, drag a selection, open a menu, select an operation...), and it is the operator that is the bottleneck.  The SSD doesn't help there :-)
 
What I'm wanting to achieve is to get the C: disk (the SSD) with the OS and the application files on it, and have all the content (templates, samples, loops, whatever else) on the HD.  There are probably some things that fall into a grey area without being a clear member of OS/App or content.
 
I guess my naive concept (which may not be necessarily important, or even completely attainable) is that the OS/App disk would be relatively self contained such that if disaster struck and recovery was required, that if I recovered the SSD that at least I could boot and start applications such as Sonar, maybe coming up without the benefit of a template to provide some minimal starting track(s), but if I wanted to access a project template or then load a soft synth or VST effect or whatever I would need the HD (either still working after the "disaster", or perhaps similarly reloaded).
 
To that end I suppose there are two areas of information I'm hoping for guidance with.  First, what would be appropriate divisions (specifically regarding a Sonar X3 Producer install) of things for the SSD and the HD targets?  I assume there might be some variance of opinion about aspects of this, and so a bit of justification for your suggestions would be enlightening.
 
Second would be related to how to go about achieving the appropriate installation.  As I had said initially, it has been a while since I've loaded up a clean machine with a brand new version of Sonar, and previously I've not made any attempt to influence whatever it wanted to do in that process, and the result was the relative mess I have now.  Plus I assume the process of installation has been refined over the past few years.  So now that I've built a brand new and reasonably modern system to be my DAW for the next several years (presumably), it seems like an ideal time to avoid my typical "jump in and let it fly" tactic and do some sort of planning this time.  Your advice and ideas will be appreciated.
 
Thanks,
--
Greg Y.
 

If I was in your shoes, I'd adopt this:
 
SSD - OS & Programs
HDD1 (Internal) - Sonar Projects (using per project folders)
HDD2 (Internal) - Sample Libraries
HDD3 (External) - Backups
 
Also, if you want to make use of certain plugins not available with X3 and you have the original install discs/downloads, install them sequentially, but you don't need to install the program, just the plugs (use Advanced install)
 
I would also install both 32 & 64 bit versions of X3 as you never know when you're going to need it

I am also in the process of upgrading to a new PC build similar to your specs (see my sig). I'm using a Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD and a WD Red 1TB HDD. My old PC had installations of Sonar 5, 8.5, and X1,2,3.
 
The fresh install of X3 went very smoothly. No plans to add other Sonar versions. Updates went fast without any issues.
 
The one key advice I would give is to select your SSD for the sonar install and your HDD for the Cakewalk content. Then, your projects, along with your project templates, track templates, ProChannel presets, etc will be on the HDD. This will help with the template organization for various projects/bands you mentioned in your OP.
 
You may be aware of this, but make sure you are using per-project audio folders in preferences (shortcut P -> File -> Audio Data). You can organize the folders with folder locations in preferences (shortcut P -> File -> Folder Locations) or move them to new locations at a later date based on your desired folder structure.
 
You mentioned you wanted the OS drive to be stable (don't we all!) and the HDD to be more volatile. I would suggest just the opposite for activity with the drives. Your OS drive (SSD) will have most of the IO activity. This works great for an SSD. The projects stored on the HDD will not see as much activity, but that's fine. The main thing is you have all your projects and templates in a place that's easy to back up and with tons of space to expand. I installed all my extra apps (DimPro, Ozone, Reaktor, Addictive Drums, ARC2) on my SSD and it is still only occupying about 25% of the drive. I will transfer my projects from my old PC to my HDD and keep them backed up on an external drive.
 
Congrats on the new build. You will love the extra performance and space!

First - to Bristol_Jonesey - That is basically what I am shooting for.  OS/Apps on internal SSD and data on the internal hard drive.  I haven't done much with sample players so I'm not sure I need a whole disk dedicated for that - figured it would be fine on the data drive.  Perhaps I should consider that further.  Backups on external drive is my typical solution there, I didn't bother to mention it, I just was looking for installation guidance.
 
What I was mostly looking for was how to accomplish the separation of various items during the installation process.  What types of files would belong on the HD and which would be considered app files destined for the SSD, and what it took to instruct the installer to put the files in the appropriate locations.  I assume the Dimension Pro is a sample player (I've dabbled with it on my current setup, but the latency is so long that it is difficult for me to play - I'm a guitarist anyway with minimal keyboard capabilities), so is there an "application" part (the player) and the data part (the samples of all the instruments) that can be placed on the SSD and data HD respectively?  I would think that drum kits and project templates (and track templates) would go on the data drive.  I guess some of the other MIDI synths may not have any samples and just use basic waveforms (sawtooth/sine/square waves) to generate patches.
 
Which brings me to DPete's advice to install Sonar to the SSD (along with OS) and Cakewalk content to the HD.  So, does the installation process offer this as an explicit option, or do you have to guide it somehow to put certain things in one location or the other?  My question was more about how to do it, but also what bits to put where.  Any deeper detail in this regard would be appreciated.  It has been a while since I've done an install (X1 was the last - I upgraded to X2 and downloaded it, but by the time I got my new system brewing X3 was already available, so X2 is just sitting on my Linux hard drive untransferred to my DAW nor installed), and previously I didn't try to influence it - just let it do whatever it defaulted to.  I'm hoping to do better with this install.
 
Thanks,
--
Greg Y.
 

Greg, the X3 installation process does allow you to store the Cakewalk content on a separate drive. By default, everything will be stored on your OS drive but you do have option to change the default.
Prior to my latest install, I have always let the installer store everything on my OS drive (C:). Then, at a later date, I would move the various CW folders to my data drive (D:) and go into Sonar Preferences and change my folders to their new locations. This was time consuming and I had to be careful to keep everything mapped properly.
This time, I changed the Cakewalk Content (I think that was the name of the term in the installer) to be located on my data drive. This created the folders on my data drive and all the folders were properly mapped in Preferences. This was a much simpler task than what I had done with previous versions.
Regardless of which path you take, you will always be able to move folders around and map the new locations in Preferences.