craigb
Virtualization and server maintenance is my current job, so I am familiar.  Maybe that will be the way to go, not sure yet.  

I don't think that I would attempt running any audio programs within a guest VM, due to latency issues.  So the DAW would definitely be one standalone PC build, or 1/2 of a dual boot config.
 
I have a Windows XP VM that I set up to run old graphics programs (ancient Photoshop & CorelDraw) that will not install or run correctly on Windows 10.  Also got Doom 3 to run decently there.  So an XP VM comes in handy.  One foot in the past, one in the future.  No need to pay for upgrades to software I only use occasionally, but no need now to discard them.
 
If gaming is a consideration, that is probably another standalone PC build, or the other 1/2 of a dual boot.
 
Anything else you wish to mess with, such as old Windows builds, development IDE's, server builds, or Linux toys, etc. is easily put on VM's without risking your main host PC's configuration. 
 
There are even websites where you can download VM's with pre-installed OS guests to run in your host. 
 
Microsoft has released VirtualBox, VMWare, HyperV, and Parallels copies of Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10. Intended for web developers, these fully functional copies of Windows are available to anyone and everyone.
Direct your web browser here: https://developer.microso...rosoft-edge/tools/vms/
Please note that these virtual machines expire after 90 days. We recommend setting a snapshot when you first install the virtual machine which you can roll back to later.
 
For Linux guest VM's: 
https://virtualboxes.org/images/
https://www.turnkeylinux.org/lampstack
 
Personally, I never cared for dual booting.  I built my DAW PC to use for home office and most everything except gaming.  Since music is not a moneymaker for me, this works fine.  Also built a home theater PC, with a gaming graphics adapter for multimedia and playing around on.
 
If running a studio is the day job, or just for die-hard audio engineers, I can definitely understand the needs for a robust standalone studio machine.
 
Otherwise, multipurpose hardware use can save the hobbyist a few bucks.  Also by using a VM, you can experiment without crapping up the PC you rely on.  Just dying to look at some new freeware from a dodgy looking source? There you go! No sandboxing necessary :-)