Will upgrading Windows OS be worthwhile to run Sonar X1 Producer ?

 
Hi !
 
Will upgrading Windows Vista Home Premium SP2 to Windows 7 Home Premium make the running of Sonar X1 Producer better ?
 
I have a laptop with Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5 GHz and 4 Gb RAM running a 32-bit Windows Vista OS.
 
I did the Sonar X1 Producer web trial and it seemed quite ok in my current system of Windows Vista but I felt it should do better and be more smoother.
 
Will the upgrade to Windows 7 (32-bit) make the system better for DAW application or is Windows Vista SP2 good enough ?
 
I really need to know this before I go ahead to purchase the Sonar X1 Producer so that if OS upgrade is worthwhile, I would want to do it before installing Sonar X1 Producer.
 
Best Regards.

I had the same system-since upgrading to w7 stability was far better,no real major issues.Have had the occasoinal crash,about 4 in last year,but would get away from vista as soon as-good luck

I'm probably one of only a few people who would tell you stay with Vista SP2.

There's no doubt that Win 7 does perform a little better but if you are not going to go 64 biot OS then you might as well stay with Vista until WIOn 8 comes out and see what that brings to the table.

I just upgraded to Win 7 Pro x64 and LOVE IT!

Vista Ultimate x64 was locking up on a regular basis, and Win7 has yet to crash once (in over a month of tests, recording & mixing).

Windows 8 is reported to be optimized for "tablets and touch screens", but if you turn off the new Metro interface, it's mostly Windows 7...

The even core distribution is a nice plus, but research it first - plus verify all of the drivers you need are available.

But if you plan on staying 32-bit...
The work involved is a bit much for one step forward.
(De-authorizing software and plug-ins, upgrading the OS, re-installing and re-authorizing software and plugins...etc., etc.)

Hmmm....how do I say this without rekindling the great debate?
(32 vs 64 bit)
Here goes - 
...so if you have your heart set on upgrading OS', you might wish to consider going 64-bit.
(Just make sure all your required drivers are available as WinX/x64.)

Good Luck!
MG

Thanks a lot for all your valuable comments folks. I very much appreciate it.

Regarding deauthorising and reinstalling and reauthorising (mentioned by drummaman), I did see that I would have to do that only if I were to go for the custom installation option which would then enable me to shift from 32-bit to 64-bit. But if I stick to upgrading from Vista 32-bit to Win-7 32-bit, then I could go for the direct upgrade option which they say will keep all my installations, registrations, authorisations, settings, etc intact and only the OS gets upgraded. Now, that seems convenient though the flipside is not getting the 64-bit. I may only have to be careful about the driver compatibilities with Win-7. But then, as suggested by some of you, if retaining 32-bit, I rather retain Vista SP2 as well till a better upgrade option comes up.

Wonder if the SP2 of Vista sorted out some of the problems Vista had with audio related processes and functions which would make it much better than the basic Vista. Does anyone have some reliable info on whether this is the case ? Oh yes, I did read Mike's (mudgel) comments on the other thread. Any more feedback on such recent experiences will be appreciated in support of my retaining Vista SP2.

Thanks once again all.

ramscapri


On this topic of 32-bit and 64-bit, will all the 64-bit stuff run on 32-bit ?

I heard bit bridge is provided for running 32-bit plugins on a 64-bit system.

But if I were to retain a 32-bit system, I hope there would be no problem in running 64-bit plugins and tools in a 32-bit system.
Is that right or is there more to it ?

Putting it another way, can we say that the only advantage of a 64-bit system is the depth and the large RAM usage, otherwise in terms of compatibility, a 32-bit system is good enough to run the goodies ?
Or is it that some day down the road, I could realise that my 32-bit system just cant run stuff (not in terms of memory or quality, only compatibility) and upgrading to a 64-bit system becomes mandatory ?

You can't run 64 bit software on a 32 bit system. Usually there is a choice between loading or downloading a 32 or 64 bit version, or the program may read the system and load the correct version.
 
Grum.

grumbleweed4162

ramscapri


On this topic of 32-bit and 64-bit, will all the 64-bit stuff run on 32-bit ?

I heard bit bridge is provided for running 32-bit plugins on a 64-bit system.

But if I were to retain a 32-bit system, I hope there would be no problem in running 64-bit plugins and tools in a 32-bit system.
Is that right or is there more to it ?

Putting it another way, can we say that the only advantage of a 64-bit system is the depth and the large RAM usage, otherwise in terms of compatibility, a 32-bit system is good enough to run the goodies ?
Or is it that some day down the road, I could realise that my 32-bit system just cant run stuff (not in terms of memory or quality, only compatibility) and upgrading to a 64-bit system becomes mandatory ?

You can't run 64 bit software on a 32 bit system. Usually there is a choice between loading or downloading a 32 or 64 bit version, or the program may read the system and load the correct version.
 
Grum.

 
Now thats great as long as new stuff (effects, vsts, whatever...) are developed for ever as compatible for both 32 and 64-bit as they are currently. What happens if some day we have only 64-bit software releases ? Does that mean the millions who may be currently using 32-bit systems will be forced to upgrade ?

...Does that mean the millions who may be currently using 32-bit systems will be forced to upgrade ?...

Short answer... Yes.
We upgraded from 8 bit machines to 16 bit machines to 32 bit machines. So, the next step is 64-bit, and that will probably stay a while, as there is (currently - and in the near future) no benefit to going to 128 bit or more.

But, you will be forced to upgrade your system one day or the other too.. At that time, go 64-bit, you will not regret it...

I have read that w7 has better multicore management.

j

Jim Roseberry


For all intents/purposes, Win7 is Vista 2.0
You won't see a substantial enough performance difference to warrant the upgrade (it would mostly be a lateral move).
Yes, Win7 is stable... and yes it is a slight improvement on Vista.
That said, Vista SP2 runs pretty well.
 
Tweak your laptop for maximum audio performance under Vista SP2.
That's as good as you'll do with that hardware...
 
 
 

Thanks. I think thats a very good point. Whats the use of upgrading the OS and bit not considering the hardware limitations to actually utilise the potential of the OS and bit ?


So, I guess for me right now, for my current hardware setup, Vista SP2 32-bit should do fine. Going for Win7 64-bit would be better on a more powerful hardware system, say with Core i7 and maybe 8 or 16 gig of RAM which will have to be a completely new desktop or laptop. Ok then, thats for much later anyway.
Would appreciate some useful tips on tweaking my laptop for maximum audio performance. I have already done some things like not using aero, easing up on the user account control settings, etc. Maybe some tips on how to free up RAM would help too.


Now for the important question, if I do purchase Sonar X1 Producer now and install the 32-bit version on my current system, and then in the future if I go for a new 64-bit system, can I re-install my same license as a 64-bit version on the new computer ?


I know its a lot of questions from me and all of you guys have been of great help.
Thanks a lot all ! 

if I do purchase Sonar X1 Producer now and install the 32-bit version on my current system, and then in the future if I go for a new 64-bit system, can I re-install my same license as a 64-bit version on the new computer ?

Yes, the only limitation here is the EULA (which isn't that draconian)

I jumped right from Xp 32 bit to W7 64 bit.
My 32 bit projects worked 98% perfectly fine.Only a few warnings about plug ins that may sound different now. 

When you install Sonar you can choose which version you want. You can also install both 32 and 64  versions side by side.
-I have Sonar 7 32bit-/ Sonar 8.5 32 bit and 64 Bit and for a while I had the demo of X1 64 bit. This is one of the great features of Sonar.
 
So you can upgrade to a 64 bit OS and still have a 32 bit version of Sonar installed. 64 Bit lets you use all your RAM. Under 32 bit I think the max is shy of 3 GIGS used.