If you were going to buy a new desktop for tracking what OS would you use for X3?
 
And why...as I do not plan to use touchscreen.
 
I guess all I care about is stability and being able to eliminate the unneeded bloatware with ease.
 
I would also like to have some control over what is creating interrupts as well, I guess what I mean is that I would like to be able to optimize the desktop for a DAW and will one OS make it easier for this than another?
 
Thanks

I have Win 8.1.1 running on both my desktop and laptop with no problems. I seem to be in the minority of Win 8 over Win 7, but I get the concept and prefer it. There is some housekeeping to do (as with any new box) to turn off "features" such as live updates, power management, etc. I discard most of the tiles and re-size the rest to set up a clean UI for production. I would imagine there is some benefit to staying current with the OS as I imagine CW does the same. 
 
just my experience. 

I really like Windows 8.1 pro. Its faster in boot up. Its faster overall. It has the tools to keep it optimized. Its as stable an OS as I have ever had. Darn near bullet proof. Sonar X3 e seems to love it too. 
 
One huge thing to do before taking the plunge is be sure there are drivers for all of your gear that is 8.1 compatible. I believe this to be very important for trouble free usage.
 
It will take some time to get use to but its a very good OS and worth the initial learning curve. 
 
 

I have win 7 pro with a new computer that has SSD hard drives and lots of ram.  bootup is in seconds and no issues with sonar x3 pro at all - or my protools, Cubase, FL Studio, Live or Reason everything is stable.
 
it's a personal preference at this point if you want win 7 or win 8.
 
I bought a computer with win 8.0 before 8.1 came out and started setting up the computer for about 30 minutes.  after crying and frustration using win 8.0 I packed the computer up and returned it for a computer with win 7 pro on it.  I could not stand win 8.  your mileage might differ.

Win 8.1 with Classic Shell!  Works fine.  See my sig for hardware.  The Focusrite driver is up to date which helps.

windows 8.1 pro, solid here!!

8.1.

I've used Windows 8.0 and 8.1 since they came out. I would only use it with the Classic Shell, however - I have no need of tiled apps.
 
I think the Windows 8 kernel runs multithreaded applications more smoothly across cores.
 
Here is an example of 20 instances of Maschine 2 running 20 independent Maschine projects. Notice the smooth spread in the performance of the CPU's.
 

 
 

8.1 handles a lot of under the hood stuff a lot better than it did in 7. Better resource management, better multi-core/hyperthreading support, no Aero, better resource monitoring, native USB 3.0 support, better security.

I believe Windows 8.1 is their greatest OS to date, and I'd previously thought that about Windows 7. Some of the whining I've read about it borders on the ridiculous. There's a couple of things you have to get used to (i.e. learn) but after a couple of days of use everything's fine and dandy. Wouldn't hesitate to put it on a new rig. Plus if the rumors are true, Windows 8 users will be getting a free update to Windows 10.