This thread has a lot of golden nuggets dropped in it. One reason why I gravitated to CW in the first place, was I was learning programming back in the day and resource management was key. SONAR as a host has to have efficient programming or it cannot work, and it is even more impressive to have it work on older/less capable machines (HUGE kudos to the bakers for this). The advancement of technology and RAM availability has made some programmers very sloppy as they "can" and is a lazy shortcut to making code "clean and efficient."
 
(Unfortunately,) a DAW creates an environment that allows for omission of the rehearsal phase. As mentioned above, using a bad take and tweaking the crap out of it or slapping on a ton of effects adds resource loading to any machine, and not all VSTs are created equal. It would be nice to have resource usage inside of SONAR to see "resource usage by plugin." The added time overhead/extra resources required to tweak a bad take definitely supports rehearsal/retakes as a better alternative. I personally try to minimize plug-ins just for this reason alone.
 
Tweaking things can cause more problems than not, as people see "one thing" with tweaks, and not the overall system effect of them. Brundlefly's post is a good one on simple, effective tweaks, and I agree that getting carried away with them can cause more harm than good.
 
This machine is almost 3 years old now, and back when I built it I had only one focus - streamlining data flow through the box. I went with 8GB of RAM initially just to stress test it, and ironically have never had "need" to upgrade it. Even editing video (which is cached to a magnetic HDD), I have worked on 12GB files without issues. The graphics load of SONAR is not big at all, so a "hard core" graphics card is not a "must," but as Mystic38 pointed out, the additional resources available (and less CPU usage) by a dedicated high-end card does benefit the system.
 
As far as "fan noise," I think this is another plug to have noise reduction inside SONAR as a feature request. I happen to own Audition, and for anything consistent, it is very slick to remove that noise. It is so good, in fact, that I have come to abuse this feature... I know the Z3TA+2 video I made had a fan-driven ionic air purifier running the whole time about 4' from the mic - definitely NOT quiet, yet consistent, so noise reduction worked great. Audition's noise reduction is slick and powerful, and it would be nice for SONAR to have this right inside the host.
 
I will get in these stints to purposefully try to crash things "just for fun," and I have proven that the "dedicated DAW" is not necessary if the machine has the resources available. I run the onboard sound card all the time, and the ASIO aggregation of the Focusrite Saffire has added to my "brazenness" of running multiple programs simultaneously (through both sound interfaces now because of this feature). I actually do this quite often.
 
Interesting aside to the above... a couple weeks ago I decided to record 15 hours of tapes that I wanted to preserve. Simple stereo recordings, one track at a time. I needed to listen to them as I went, so I could take notes on sections to split out the tracks later on. That specific part made the evolution become as boring as watching paint dry, so I began tasking the system more and more to try to get a system crash... I saved the project between tracks, but started small... simple programs, then bigger and bigger until the last few tracks I was editing video, and playing games (some pretty intense ones running full screen mode that required me to alt-tab back to SONAR to get time stamps of transitions). Yada, yada... bottom line... 15 hours later, after opening/closing programs galore, never rebooting the machine, and tracking/listening to these tapes, I failed to crash the machine

I back up all my audio files to an external hard drive. My ADK PC is getting on in years and the inevitable C: HD crash was making me lose sleep. So I opened it up and got the make and model of the drive and bought another one. I plugged it into the system and used Paragon backup software to clone the C drive to the backup drive. After I'm done I reboot with the copied drive to make sure it's working right. Then put it on the shelf in case of emergency. I do another backup if I make any significant changes to it.

I have had plenty of help from geo over the years. From studiotrax forum. Cheers geo!
 
I got a big online PC builder stationed locally where I can pick it up and upgraded the case and RAM.
 
(I'd recommend this over buying from a big electrical store as their computers are often brand named but have older components and way more expensive. Get the latest from an online builder. If you want them to upgrade to super quiet probably better from a specialized audio PC builder.)
 
Been happy with it. That Sonar performs so well on off the shelf PCs nowadays is a testimonial to how stable it is. So long as you keep abreast of  comparability issues like in the past some MB or other peripherals might clash.
 
But as Craig points out, when it is the choice between a specialized gamer machine or a music designed PC around the same cost.   

BJN
 
At least every 6 months detach the CPU fan. This can be the heatsink on modern PCs and physically remove the dust. (check manual  but either screws or clips. If you are uncertain, get your local computer store to do it.) 
 
 
 

This seems a bit extreme to me, though YMMV. I've built quite a few PCs for my audio use over the years and, while dust buildup is occasionally an issue, I've found that the computer becomes obsolete long before the dust becomes problematic.

Somebody with more in-depth technical knowledge/experience may correct me, but routinely removing the heatsink seems a bit dangerous to me; the paste interfacing the heatsink and the CPU forms a nice, tight seal over time, encouraging efficient thermal connectivity to allow optimal cooling. I'd think removing the heatsink would disrupt this process. Seems like a pretty tight space for dust to be getting into, anyhow.

Maybe I've just been fortunate enough to live in a pretty dustless environment. Not too dusty here in Philadelphia. :]

I've built quite a few boxes in my time, fixed countless others. Dust on the CPU fan, and the power supply is the first thing I look for. In older homes down here in the south dust is bad. So it's not out the ordinary. However, I rarely remove the fan unless I have to.
 
 

Vacuum attachment sounds like more fun, though.

BJN
DO NOT CLEAN OFF THE CONDUCTIVE PASTE. and you'll be right.

The thermal paste dries slowly over time; so if that interface is EVER broken, it actually should be cleaned off and have new thermal paste applied. That paste is inexpensive, and when it begins to dry it does not create the same seal as it did when it was first done.

how do you know when it's your RAM getting taxed rather than your CPU?
 
 
 
anyways....my noob recipe for success (that I am learning the hard way):
 
-Take the time to understand the optimal file/folder structure before installing your DAW and other plugins.  things will run smoother and your workflow will improve when everything is in the proper place.  this is an area where you really HAVE to get it right the first time - or else you will likely deal with permanent misplacements that can only be corrected by reinstalling (which can be a pain depending on your arsenal)
 
 

Kev999
 
Or, if you can't afford a separate PC or don't have the space to put it, then dual-boot is a good alternative.

I've been using a HD swap tray for years.  A stripped down install of Win7 with all network and non essential windows stuff shut off.
 
Paul

Always create a restore point before installing any new hardware drivers. Many of the install processes will create a partial restore point. A manual one will be complete and will show in the restore list.   And a manual restore point before any big windows updates.
 
This is especially true for video drivers.
 
About monthly, and fur shur BEFORE AND AFTER big installs, create an image. I most often use an internal and copy to external. Much faster with an internal disk. Don't currently have a SATA port for external.  
 
Always create an image before any OS changes: 8, 8.1, 8.11,...
 
I will use the disk clean tool to get most of the debris. Then will open the user and windows temp folders and delete the remnants. Then move any downloaded files to be kept to the correct disk/folder.
 
I will stop the swap/page file, and hibernate function, reboot and verify the files are gone.
Some times I will defrag the disk. I use auslogics in optimize mode.
 
Create the image, and start the hibernate and swap functions.
 
And then, after the update is installed and working I will create a new image.