Perhaps but that's why I'm here inquiring.. My main budget for a computer is $500-$700. Based on the computers I've seen on CL I can get an i7, SDD, and 1 or 2tb hdd with 8-16gb of ram for $400-500. I've got a big Apple monitor already and Klipsch 2.1 monitors I've used in a pinch. The soundcard and midi controller are gonna be a separate budget as is software. All in all I'm probably looking at $1500 total to work with but am gonna piece meal it so I can start working sooner than later. 

deepsessions
...a PC with a budget of around $300-$500...

Running Sonar doesn't require cutting-edge technology. It can work well on a PC that is a few years old, provided that it is free of bloatware (and running Windows 7). If you are on a tight budget, then I suggest considering buying a used PC.

Ah I bumped up the budget this morning. Should have said that! 
 
The main thing I want to stress is I want the lowest latency possible. I know it's a combination of DAW and soundcard but I don't have $1k to spend on a soundcard. 

I stil wouldn't spend the money on the SSD. You can get good latency with a decent interface and good drivers. If I understand correctly, USB2, if it is configured to do so (I say that because I don't know if it always is) will go straight to the PCie card/slot giving you the same speed as Apple's Thunderbolt. You can get a good 2x4 interface for pretty cheap and have the latency you want but it is the noise level and sound of the interface's mic pres that you want to think about. If I were you I would also research into the preamps (as well as the latency). Latency really does not seem to be the problem that it used to be, especially with direct monitoring.. with DM, it is no concern at all.
Actually, I'd run it all by Jim Roseberry who has been building audio computers for 20 years and does not mind helping you, he is a good guy. He will tell you the truth even though you aren't at present a potential customer.
So, if you are doing mostly audio recording, use direct monitoring and don't sweat latency. If you're planning to record live using realtime effects then latency will be a concern and cost you more.
I think you'll be fine, you can do most anything with 1k if you think it through... Good luck to you!
 
Julien

I went back and re-read the OP and the SSD might do you more good than I thought. As prices fall you can always add another but you should be able to add whatever VSTs or samples to the SSD if you're using it for projects and be fine.
 
Julien

There is no extra (midi to audio) latency when using Maschine without an SSD. It just takes slightly longer to browse/load new kits. It has no impact on performance.

Maschine is a bit of a hassle to set up if you're used to linear recording (you can, and it works well, it's just more effort than it's worth for my purposes). I love the sounds, the easy browsing and sound mangling and the loop/beat building is nice too. Generally I will build a beat in there, then drag it as audio into my project and mute the VSTi (so that I can go back and edit if necessary). Usually I solo the instruments (kick, snare, etc) and export them separately.

Thanks Jbow I'll reach out and touch a few people that you mentioned. Been browsing some DAW systems and they're out of my price range. Impressive though...
 
Sander what kind of music do you make? What do you mean linear recording? Would it be easy to build say 10-20 kits/templates and then scroll through them as need be? Any thoughts on Maschine Studio or Mikro and the differences? 

I make varied stuff but I find Maschine mostly useful for its core purpose - electronic or "produced sounding" drums.
It's definitely easy enough to build and save your own kits, that's part of why I like it in fact. You can browse by category (snares) and subcategory (acoustic, electronic, vinyl) directly from the controller and map them to the pads very quickly. It also comes with a ton of pre-built kits.

What I mean by linear recording is if you're planning to record a drumpart from intro all the way to the ending it's not really built for that. You can, but Maschine's built-in functions are aimed at pattern building (so, loops), not recording a song where the drumbeat is (or could be) different every bar. It's possible, just not very convenient. I don't know if you've ever used an MPC but it takes a lot of cues from that. So my personal workflow consists mostly of browsing sounds to compile a kit, hammering out loops or specific breaks, and dragging them from the Maschine sequencer window into Sonar to fit them into my song.

I would say if you do mainly rock or "band" songs, you would be better off with something like Addictive Drums, though I enjoy having both.

I haven't really looked into Maschine Studio much, but I bought the regular one over Mikro mainly for the extra screen - I prefer treating it mostly as a piece of hardware and that really helps.

Here's a great resource I bookmarked when I was considering an SSD: http://www.thessdreview.com/featured/ssd-throughput-latency-iopsexplained/
Read the whole thing before ordering your SSD; it'll be time well-spent.
 
After researching it, I elected to just add another conventional HDD. My computer's I/O throughput is less than an SSD's theoretical bandwidth, so an SSD wouldn't be performing to advertised specs anyway. And the price difference between SSDs and HDDs, while narrowing, is still significant. I could get 2 conventional hard drives for half the price of one SSD.

Do not get a Haswell chip computer. Well, I guess Intel had to do something with it because it has been wrong somehow. The rest is a little strange, perhaps with all -in-one computers which I will not buy. So a computer that is a desktop that works. I bought a demo so it did not cost that much because I wanted Windows 7, not 8 or 8.1 or whatever Microsoft is doing these days. The computer is 64 bit (although there are a lot of 32 bit programs on my computer and it is fast enough I suppose, but then I do more audio then soft synths. And things like second generation while the newer ones are third generation chips in the computer or whatever which does make them different and better (if not faster also and they also cost more).
 
USB 2 - USB 3 audio/interface and if USB 3, it has to work with the port in the computer. I heard there are differences, not sure what they are like brown colored USB port inside or blue color. I don't know much about that, since I have a USB 2 interface (which is also needed on the computer and 2 hubs so other things - mouse - keyboard have power also besides the audio/interface).
 
http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/computer-audio/audio_interfaces/
 
and there are other on-line stores or your local store to get an audio/interface. Which one, well, I have an RME Babyface, probably spent too much on it, but you will have to compare all the different ones they sell.
 
Do a search on the Internet for audio/interface, to find other places that sell the equipment and all that is sold I guess.