Here's the truth ...  You don't NEED an i7 to run Sonar.
 
What???
Blasphemy!!!
It all depends on how you intend to use your DAW.  The CPU is least likely to bottleneck your audio nowadays unless you really like to load up the plugins.  Then you may need to spend some cash ... but for a hobbyist, the i7 is overkill, IMHO...
 

abacab
Here's the truth ...  You don't NEED an i7 to run Sonar. 

I should have mentioned that I use this machine for video editing, too. Video rendering is processor-intensive. I didn't buy a fancy video card, which I think ends up putting more stress on the CPU.

abacab
Here's the truth ...  You don't NEED an i7 to run Sonar.
 
What???
Blasphemy!!!
It all depends on how you intend to use your DAW.  The CPU is least likely to bottleneck your audio nowadays unless you really like to load up the plugins.  Then you may need to spend some cash ... but for a hobbyist, the i7 is overkill, IMHO...

I'm a believer...Look at my Sig!  Yes, I am a hobbyist here and do not do much in the way of instrument tracks or loops so no real need for that type of horse power.
 
However, If I were Video Editing, I WOULD have an i7 with a BUNCH more RAM!

patm300e

abacab
Here's the truth ...  You don't NEED an i7 to run Sonar.
 
What???
Blasphemy!!!
It all depends on how you intend to use your DAW.  The CPU is least likely to bottleneck your audio nowadays unless you really like to load up the plugins.  Then you may need to spend some cash ... but for a hobbyist, the i7 is overkill, IMHO...

I'm a believer...Look at my Sig!  Yes, I am a hobbyist here and do not do much in the way of instrument tracks or loops so no real need for that type of horse power.
 
However, If I were Video Editing, I WOULD have an i7 with a BUNCH more RAM!

Yep!
 
When I built my current system, I just wanted to be able to layer a bunch of soft synth instrument tracks.  My old Pentium 4 with Sonar 8.5 could run a couple VSTi's, but the CPU choked up 100% when adding effects plugins.
 
So I decided that if I could start out with a fast i3, then I would have an upgrade path to i5 or i7 with the same gen socket, if needed.
 
So far, I have rarely seen my i3 CPU spike over 50-60% under the conditions that I use Sonar.
 
Replacing my system and program drive (C:) with an SSD gave a crazy boost to both boot speed and launching programs.
 
I think maybe the next upgrade will be to add RAM, or replace my 7200RPM data drive (Cakewalk Content) with another SSD.  Those are the only potential bottlenecks for me right now.  The Intel HD integrated GPU is great with dual monitors, no gaming here, so a discrete GPU is not a consideration.
 
So my bottom line thoughts are that the choice of motherboard is probably most important.  Make sure you get one with enough slots and ports for your needs now, and maybe later.  Pay attention to the CPU socket, type of RAM supported, plus the rev of the SATA, USB, PCIe, etc.  If I could do one thing over, my board would support the SATA 6GB/s spec, instead of the 3GB/s, to get the full throughput of my SATA 6GB/s drives ... but 3GB/s still gets it done for me.
 
LatencyMon is all green, ASIO buffer size 128, ASIO reported latency total roundtrip 9.8 msec 
 
Just for grins, I loaded up the Sonar_AudioDemo.cwb in the Platinum tutorials folder, to see what my CPU could do.  It has 9 audio tracks (5 guitars/bass, 4 drums) with EQ on Rhythm Guitar, Bass, and Toms, as well as FX bus EQ for lead guitar.
 
The project ran at an average of 10% CPU (based on Windows Task Mgr).  Then I decided to see what happened if I added an effect to every track? So I tested with Breverb added to every audio track, and with the Master Pro Channel QuadCurve EQ enabled.  I managed to get the CPU up to 25%
 
Not gonna track a 100 piece live orchestra with this rig, but that's not my goal either ...

abacab
Bob, I'm gonna go shopping with you next time I need parts 
 
A 3.9 GHz quad core CPU, integrated Radeon graphics, with a mobo for the cost of an Intel Core i3 CPU?  SMH ...
 
Just think, what if you already own a case, power supply, and drives that you are happy with?
 
You can get a cool system upgrade with a great combo deal on CPU & mobo, + memory.  That comes to $179.99 total, Gatorade not included ...

Well - I get almost all of my computer parts from a national chain store called Micro Center.  I think they have like 30-40 stores around the country.  Chicago has 3, DC has 3-4, etc.  They are also at: www.microcenter.com
 
Brand new mouse or keyboard for less than $5.  32" HDTV for $130. (last week's sale included a 55" HDTV for $299)
 
The AMD CPU/Motherboard bundle deals run all the time there, and it makes going AMD versus Intel a no brainer, as far as cost is concerned.  It's hard to beat a CPU with 12 cores (4 C, 8 G), 3.9 GHz, and built-in Radeon graphics, and a really nice motherboard (USB 3.1 and supports 64 GB RAM) for $150 (includes a 2 year warranty for the motherboard - so they will service right on premises instead of sending back to manufacturer).
 
Love that store.
 
Bob Bone
 

robert_e_bone
 
Well - I get almost all of my computer parts from a national chain store called Micro Center.  I think they have like 30-40 stores around the country.  Chicago has 3, DC has 3-4, etc.  They are also at: www.microcenter.com
 

Looked at a few great AMD bundles in their web store.  The motherboard is almost free in many cases. 
 
It's a shame that there isn't a store near me, because the CPU's are in-store pickup only ...
 
Oh wait! Maybe that's a good thing

I wonder what the longevity of a sub $500 built system would be? My goal would be to have something that would last for sometime.
 
 I'm currently helping my nephew build a gaming machine, but his budget is $2k. He's also planning on using it for video editing/general usage when he goes to college next year.....so, it's got to last at least 5-7 years (even more if he takes care of it).
 
The interesting part about doing a sub $500 machine (DAW) is it might work out really well as a starter kit for someone who doesn't have the funds to go all out.

Mesh
I wonder what the longevity of a sub $500 built system would be? My goal would be to have something that would last for sometime.
 
 I'm currently helping my nephew build a gaming machine, but his budget is $2k. He's also planning on using it for video editing/general usage when he goes to college next year.....so, it's got to last at least 5-7 years (even more if he takes care of it).
 
The interesting part about doing a sub $500 machine (DAW) is it might work out really well as a starter kit for someone who doesn't have the funds to go all out.

 
The longevity of a home built $500 PC with wisely selected parts, stands a greater chance than a store bought $500 PC with inferior components.
 
I would imagine that with a $2000 gaming machine budget, there are no rules, LOL!  Have fun!!!
 
But regarding the starter budget, and based on many comments here on the forum from folks that didn't have the cash laying around to upgrade to Sonar 4life this summer, money doesn't grow on trees for many musicians either. 

I've still got a couple of Pentium 4's running running Windows 7 that I built 10 years ago as Win XP systems.  One is running 24/7 as a print server at my sister's house, and the other is in my living room running a home theater/HDTV PVR setup.  I dismantled a 3rd that was still running to upgrade the CPU/mobo in my DAW a couple of years ago.
 
I used the Intel brand desktop boards and quality power supplies.  I believe that they all fell under the sub $500/machine budget.  Intel is getting out of the motherboard business, so you will need to seek a quality mobo builder.  I used Asus boards with Intel chipsets for my last two builds, and they seem very stable.
 
My upgrade to a 3rd gen Intel Core system cost me around $280 for an Asus mobo, i3 CPU, & DDR3 RAM, and a PCIe Firewire card. Reused the case, drives, and power supply.
 
So you can get a lot of mileage out of quality components.  Use surge suppressors or UPS to prevent power spikes, and keep the fans clean and spinning.  And overclocking probably shortens the life of components.
 
My latest Asus boards have solid polymer capacitors for long life.  I recently replaced the mobo in a friends HP media center PC, that had burst capacitors, swollen, and leaking.  Never saw that on any of my stuff ...

If you're looking for longevity... spend the little extra and get a fast Intel CPU.
When factored over the life of the machine (say 5 years), the cost difference is insignificant.
The difference in DSP processing power is significant.

Jim Roseberry
If you're looking for longevity... spend the little extra and get a fast Intel CPU.
When factored over the life of the machine (say 5 years), the cost difference is insignificant.
The difference in DSP processing power is significant.

Confucius say: Good things no cheap, cheap things no good