Thinking of Purchasing Sonar X3 - Appreciate your input - Windows 8.1

Hi Everyone,
 
I've recently built my first computer and was running Studio Ubuntu on it for awhile and did some recording with Ardour.  I got a little tired of the Ubuntu platform and there were some real limitations/stability issues with Ardour.  Plus, I bought an M-Audio M-Track Quad and it was not recognized by Linux...  Oops.
 
I've loaded up Windows 8.1 onto my computer and tried to install Pro Tools Express (came with the M-track) and I couldn't get it working.  After numerous attempts at gaining support, I tried downloading Pro Tools 11 trial - same problem, and they wouldn't support me.  That lead me to Sonar X2 trial.  Sonar seems to be working ok....  
 
So I'm looking for any input or experience you might be able to offer me.  I'd hate to buy something and have it not run on my system.  Do any of you run Sonar X3 on Windows 8.1?  Could there be something wrong with the hardware computer build?  M-Audio interfaces on Sonar?  Anything that you can see wrong with my set-up would be appreciated!  Or just your thoughts...
 
Intel i5
Asus Motherboard
8gb Ram
 
Thanks in advance.
 

Thanks Bob...  I'm already running windows 8.1 because that was all I could find at the local stores (and I didn't think much of it until I bought it and found that people were experiencing horror stories).  
 
I guess what I'm asking is, what should I be looking for while researching?  This is also a part of the prior research - trying to get others experiences with 8.1.  
 
The M-Audio Quad seems to work fine using Audacity...  Does that mean I'm ok there?  Beyond that - it's Sonar.  That's really the only two things that I need to work.  Right?  I'm a newbie on the digital home studio scene...  I'm going to be running mostly microphones on acoustic instruments.  Maybe down the road I might experiment with a midi controller of some sort - but that's not my primary purpose for this setup.
 
Let me know what you think.

Thanks Jim,
 
I understand learning the software will come with a bit of a headache.  I think my Linux debachal was a good intro to DAWs though... We'll see.  
 
You mentioned that I should go with the Producer Bundle...  Is it that much better than the Studio version?  It's quite a bit more expensive.  Seemed to me that it had most of the same features but also Addictive Drums and Lounge Lizard - which I probably won't use...  At least not for now.
 
There are more ProChannels - what are those?  Do you think I will need more than two?

Hmmm....  That's a good point.  I'm not sure I'd even use those though...  Or at least not initially.  I think I'd rather save the $300 up front and regret it later rather than the other way around.  Right now, I'm really just doing acoustic tracking and mastering.  Maybe trying to tackle micing a drummer for my band.
 
I was actually thinking about the bare bones x3, but I really wanted to try the Nomad plugins and the jump to Studio wasn't as big. 
 
Jim, what operating system are you using?
 
 

mikebeam
Hmmm....  That's a good point.  I'm not sure I'd even use those though...  Or at least not initially.  I think I'd rather save the $300 up front and regret it later rather than the other way around.  Right now, I'm really just doing acoustic tracking and mastering.  Maybe trying to tackle micing a drummer for my band.

The audio engine is the same between versions and you can always upgrade your version later on as well. Studio will probably fit your needs perfectly fine. Does the M-Audio have drivers specifically for 8.1? That is the only possible concern that comes to mind for hardware.

If your M-Audio interface is working well with Audacity there is a very good chance that it will work with Sonar. The issue with Win 8.1 is typically drivers, but that is an OS issue most often, and not application specific.
 
X3 Producer is a cheap way to buy a bundle of synths and effects. If you are not using synths or effects, it is probably not worth it to pay the higher price. If you are just trying to record, Audacity is pretty good for an unbeatable price. If you want to do heavy editing and massaging of your sound, then a more complete suite will show its value in time. The synths bundled with Producer are fantastic, but if you are just doing audio recording and editing, they are of no real value to you. The producer effects are good, but until you have some experience with using effects, the simpler ones in the lightweight versions will be good enough to start learning what they do and make some more than decent music. Starting simple and moving up when you actually have the need is a good way to get into the program. If you find you can't stand to use Sonar, it is less painful to write off a smaller investment, and if you find you love it, and learn to appreciate what you will get with Producer, you can justify more money on the next version.

Well, it all has to do w/ what you intend to do.  Recording - the $99 version will do.  However, if you plan on mixing, the Pro bundles a lot of good tools.  At some point you'll want an 1176 comp.  A comp to use on the bus.  Good EQ.  Good reverb.  SONAR Pro will give you all those at a good price.
 
If you are into synths, the cost/benefit relationship is even better w/ Pro.  Rapture, DimPro and Z3TA are all first class synths and will keep you busy for a long time.
 
So it all depends upon what you see yourself doing.  If you ain't sure, get SONAR X3 (the $99 version) and see what you end up doing.  It would be cheaper to get the Pro version if you start mixing, but even w/ the cheaper versions Cake lets up upgrade inexpensively.
 
@

I also want to upgrade to producer just for the extra synths, but I'll wait until I am proficient at using them. I also have some old PC hardware lying around that still needs to be ebayed that can cover the final upgrade cost, so I'll start trying to do that.

I started with MC6 for £35, then the base X3 upgrade was just £39.99, so that was £10 less than buying it as a new customer. Then I had the £10 voucher that got me X3 studio down to £64.99, but finally producer costs a huge £239, so buying that this year instead of more computer upgrades is the plan. And I didn't want to miss out on the Melodyne editor offer either, that was another £125.

Still a lot less than Pro Tools though, and X3 looks fantastic and has a very modern UI.

I learnt that just trying to record onto audio tracks didn't work well for me, it took me too many takes and there were too many inaccuracies, and I wanted midi editing and accuracy, and the synths are really good, but just take a while to learn.

Windows 8 was on my laptop when I purchased it. I updated to 8.1 yesterday and everything is better than fine! Seems like 8.1 is a bit snappier. The only issue I had was after the update my XLN products, Addictive Drums and Addictive Keys snapped back into demo mode and had to be re-registered. I just went to the XLN site and removed the laptop in my account that just upgraded, re-ran the XLN installer and re-registered the new computer number and I was good to go.
I made absolutely sure that all my interface drivers and updates were current before the update. So far, this has been the least painful Windows update so far.

It means you have 2 of the 8 ProChannel modules that are available from Cakewalk. You can use the ProChannel on every track of a project.

To buy the modules separately would cost nearly as much as the upgrade to X3Producer.

According to this chart - http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR/ the three Pro Channel related things you're missing in X3 Studio are:
 
Tape Emulator
Console Emulator
QuadCurve EQ Zoom and Analyzer
 
 
And yes, that last one is a very nice feature.  
 

Awesome Mettelus - I'm totally going to check it out. 
 
@stevec - I have the Console Emulator...  Seems they have some misinformation on their site.  Quadcurve works, but I can't zoom in and don't have the spectrum analyzer.