Doktor Avalanche
Almost anything can run a DAW nowadays... Just go for the fastest CPU, RAM of at least 16GB (keep slots free for later expansions if you can), and the fastest/largest hard drive you can afford. Don't forget to look at the support options.

Depends on what your definition of "run a DAW" is...
ie: If the motherboard doesn't expose certain BIOS parameters, you will not achieve lowest possible DPC Latency.
If the motherboard doesn't expose all parameters necessary to control CPU throttling, you won't achieve maximum performance.
 
Off-the-shelf (general-purpose) machines are built for a completely different target market.
They're not built/configured specifically for sustained maximum thru-put... but rather users running office apps, Facebook, surfing the net, watching YouTube, etc.
A general-purpose user isn't going to notice a 2ms hiccup in data flow (from high DPC Latency).
For someone running heavy loads at a 32-sample or 64-sample ASIO buffer size, that 2ms hiccup in data flow results in a glitch or drop-out.  
 
For any high-performance application (racing, computing, etc), a custom solution is always the best option.
You get exactly what you want/need... and nothing more/less
 
Regarding online store "reviews":
I'd make sure to read them carefully.
If you have a fair bit of experience, you'll see a LOT of "pilot-error" in many of the reviews.
Also, folks tend to dislike the make/model that failed them...  (Can't blame them)
But that doesn't necessarily mean the whole product range is bad.
 
 

TerraSin
Dump the Seagate, get a WD Black drive.
RAM is cheap now. Go with at least 32GIG
You will probably not need an aftermarket cooler. If you're trying to save money, the stock one will work fine. All my machines use stock coolers.
Also, take a look at ASRock motherboards. I've been using them pretty exclusively for the past 6 to 8 years and they have been great.

+1 on ASRock MB's....the one I have has been excellent and offered much more than what ASUS & Gigabyte offered for the same price.
Not sure how good the stock coolers are now, but when I got my i7 2 yrs. ago, many folks here recommended getting an aftermarket cooler (and I did :)). Couldn't be happier with my whole build!!

Jim Roseberry

Doktor Avalanche
Almost anything can run a DAW nowadays... Just go for the fastest CPU, RAM of at least 16GB (keep slots free for later expansions if you can), and the fastest/largest hard drive you can afford. Don't forget to look at the support options.

Depends on what your definition of "run a DAW" is...
ie: If the motherboard doesn't expose certain BIOS parameters, you will not achieve lowest possible DPC Latency.
If the motherboard doesn't expose all parameters necessary to control CPU throttling, you won't achieve maximum performance.
 
Off-the-shelf (general-purpose) machines are built for a completely different target market.
They're not built/configured specifically for sustained maximum thru-put... but rather users running office apps, Facebook, surfing the net, watching YouTube, etc.
A general-purpose user isn't going to notice a 2ms hiccup in data flow (from high DPC Latency).
For someone running heavy loads at a 32-sample or 64-sample ASIO buffer size, that 2ms hiccup in data flow results in a glitch or drop-out.  
 
For any high-performance application (racing, computing, etc), a custom solution is always the best option.
You get exactly what you want/need... and nothing more/less
 
Regarding online store "reviews":
I'd make sure to read them carefully.
If you have a fair bit of experience, you'll see a LOT of "pilot-error" in many of the reviews.
Also, folks tend to dislike the make/model that failed them...  (Can't blame them)
But that doesn't necessarily mean the whole product range is bad.
 
 

We shall just have to disagree on that one. A computer is a computer in my book. Of course the more money you can up your specs in whatever areas you desire will make your DAW perform better, as well as optomizing your windows.

The obsession that DAW's must have maximum performance with custom built hardware I don't agree with. Like I say DAW's will run fine on most reasonable spec'd PC's, you might want to customize the fan noise though. And it's always a good idea to optimize Windows which really isn't too hard. DAW's don't need top notch performance unless the engineer is recording shed loads of tracks and six orchestras. That is a custom requirement.

Sonar min specs really haven't changed very much over several years but hardware has got cheaper and much faster so it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that equation. You may end up buying a power house but only end up using 40% of it which is a waste of money.

People who build custom rigs and go for maximum performance either have some sort of massive custom requirement or are mistaking DAW installations for gamers rigs IMHO. Or perhaps have too much money... Otherwise off the shelf PC's can do the job perfectly fine if you keep specs reasonable.

BIOS settings I'm referring to are *paramount* to achieving lowest possible DPC Latency.
Low/consistent DPC Latency is critical if you're wanting to work (effectively) at a 64-sample ASIO buffer size.
(ie: To allow effective realtime monitoring thru software based EFX/processing)
Off-the-shelf BIOS also don't expose parameters that allow complete control over CPU throttling.
The harder you're pushing low-latency performance, the more important the above settings
 
The beauty of a custom system is that it's *exactly* what's wanted/needed.
There's no guess-work... or lessening expectations because of a "dumbed down" BIOS.
 
 
For any high-performance application (doesn't matter what field or what type machine), a general-purpose solution will never match a fully customized solution.
 
Composers making heavy use of Vi's are a good example of "pushing the limits" at low-latency audio settings.
Message any of these folks... and ask them if they use off-the-shelf machines.
Evan Jolly (composer) had us ship a machine to the U.K.
The shipping was costly... but Evan knew exactly what he needed to work effectively.
He got the fastest Rack-mount machine that could be built.
Something not possible with any off-the-shelf machine... and a build (at that time) not offered by any other custom builder.
 
@OP:  If high-performance at smallest ASIO buffer sizes is important to you, you're best with a custom build.
Doesn't matter if you're talking self-build, ADK, Studio Cat, etc... (as long as the person building/configuring makes good choices).
 
 

Yup but then that;s the beauty of running anything within a reasonable spec (as long as it's configured correctly) is it just works as well. My Dell is four years old and still works great... I've got a Platinum project with about 40 NI plugins running, quite complex, and about 15 audio tracks - CPU at around 60%. Go figure! 
 
Most of us don't need a formula one car to run a DAW. 10 years ago it might have been a different story but the horse power is on the shelf now with mass production PC's. There are millions of cheap branded PC's I'm sure running DAW's on any old BIOS that just works.
 
For those who want power houses and think DAW's should be run on gamer PC's fair enough (but why?). And for those doing huge projects - fine. But otherwise sorry nope - sorry but I disagree...
 
As far as having great latency with ASIO etc that's really about the interface itself, the operating system it is running on, how well it is optimized within the OS, and how well written the driver is. I don't really have any trouble with four year old technology myself so I can't really see how a state of art custom built thing is going to make it any better.
 
Maybe in future the software will end up using a lot more CPU/memory, or interfaces will demand a lot more than what is offered off the shelf at present (like what it used to be in the past)... but we still await that day to come back.. Apart from maybe gaming (which is a bottomless pit) or scientific applications/development.... cheap hardware with reasonable specs generally is at least double the spec than what is actually required.

Yes, the audio interface (buffers) has to allow low round-trip latency...
BUT... if you plan to sustain heavy loads at that 32-sample or 64-sample ASIO buffer size, the parameters to which I refer are paramount.  No off the shelf machine is going to match that level of performance.
It's not voodoo... it's simply a matter of not providing the necessary parameters.
200-300uSec DPC Latency is not good enough.
 
Things like running multiple convolution reverbs bring a four year old quad-core CPU to its knees.
Not so with a 4790k at 4.4GHz (no CPU throttling and extremely low DPC Latency)
You can run them... and sustain them at super low latency settings.
 
Be happy with your off-the shelf machine...  
I'm glad it works well for you.
Ever try editing/rendering video with said machine?
As I said before, some folks are fine playing Squier or Epiphone guitars.
Others prefer higher performance instruments.
A custom DAW is no different than any other higher-end piece of music gear.
A low to mid level guitar will never be the equal of a fine crafted PRS or Gibson.
Does that mean everyone is going to run out and order a Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul?  No.
But to act like such a piece of gear has no advantage/value is a bit short-sighted.

Well I repeat again if you want to build a formula one car then fine. Not arguing that if you build a power house you will get a power house.
 
> No off the shelf machine is going to match that level of performance.
 
Pretty much any off the shelf PC will perform perfectly well for a DAW. Hardware performance has caught up with software this isn't 2005. The idea that no off the shelf PC cannot be optimized for good latency performance is ludicrous. It might not match your custom build PC but then most people don't need that sort of power.
 
> BUT... if you plan to sustain heavy loads at that 32-sample or 64-sample ASIO buffer size, the parameters to which I refer are paramount.
 
If I was going to use 100's of tracks and 100's of plugins on a project I would agree with your point. Most people don't need that requirement but I acknowledge that some people might. I would argue they are very much in the minority however.
 
> Ever try editing/rendering video with said machine?

Yup use Adobe Premier regularly. CPU whilst rendering is the main bottleneck here. If custom built PC's use custom built CPU's please let me know ;)
 
> A custom DAW is no different than any other higher-end piece of music gear.
A low to mid level guitar will never be the equal of a fine crafted PRS or Gibson.
Does that mean everyone is going to run out and order a Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul? No.
But to act like such a piece of gear has no advantage/value is a bit short-sighted.
 
As I was saying it's down to requirements. I've already stated requirements for a custom built DAW. I've also stated most off the shelf PC's with reasonable specs will perform with DAW's just fine... not only that.. well!
 
I also think the analogy to a custom Gibson is a distraction. You are assembling mass produced parts. You are simply assembling parts from China just like Dell or whoever does on their product lines. The difference is that with a custom built PC you can react quicker than they do when faster technology becomes available (although the latest tech does not it's the most reliable, that's a factor missing in this conversation. And I again argue most people don't need gamers performance) and you can throw in quieter fans and cooling systems (which you can replace yourself anyway on an off the shelf PC). Also you are paying somebody (hopefully) to optimize your operating system rather than do it yourself (not a very hard job IMHO but if people want to pay for it so they can bypass it who am I to judge). That's the service being offered if it is needed.

As a hobbyist recording a pair at a time, I'm perfectly happy with the performance of my off the shelf machine.  Sometimes I need to freeze/bounce as a project grows, but that's OK for me.
 
OTOH, if I was a Pro doing BIG projects day in and day out?  Roseberry would be supplying my machine and his number would be in my speed dial.  For some people super high performance and reliability aren't just luxuries.
 

If you use Premier regularly, then you have to know a 4-year old CPU processes/renders HD video slow as molasses.
 
At the risk of repeating myself:
Off-the-shelf motherboards can not be optimized to the level of a quality/selected motherboard.
Why?  Because the BIOS has been dumbed down.
A 4-year old quad-core Dell may be all you want/need, but I assure you that's not the case for many.
The advantage of a custom machine is that you can put in exactly what functions best for a DAW.

• No compromises on any component
• No compromises on the configuration

And this translates to no compromises on performance
The funny thing in all this, it's really not that expensive...
 
I'm not talking running a 100 tracks... and doing so at high ASIO buffer sizes.
Set your audio interface to a 64-sample ASIO buffer size/44.1k (for lowest possible round-trip latency).
Set up a 24 track project (24 contiguous 24Bit/44.1k tracks of audio).
Apply quality 3rd-party dynamics and 4 bands of EQ to each track.
Set up three convolution reverbs via sends (one for the drum kit, one for vocals, and one for leads).
Bus each track to one of the reverbs.
Now try recording a 25th track using software based input monitoring.  
You can do this with a well-configured current generation machine.
The only way you'll do this on a 4-year old off-the-shelf machine is to crank the ASIO buffer size thru the roof.
 
I haven't even brought up heavy hitting virtual-instruments like Diva.
Put Diva in "divine" mode... and play some sounds with 16 voices of polyphony.
Many composers want to be able to play these types of instruments at very small ASIO buffer sizes for tight feel/response.
 
All depends on your wants/needs/expectations...
High performance always means a custom solution (doesn't matter what field).
No "distraction" necessary.  
We've been in business 20 years.  That speaks for itself.
 
 
 
 
 

BobF
As a hobbyist recording a pair at a time, I'm perfectly happy with the performance of my off the shelf machine.  Sometimes I need to freeze/bounce as a project grows, but that's OK for me.
 
OTOH, if I was a Pro doing BIG projects day in and day out?  Roseberry would be supplying my machine and his number would be in my speed dial.  For some people super high performance and reliability aren't just luxuries.

Level headed response Bob.
In a couple of sentences... you've summed it up well.