Hi, I am getting a new computer put together and was wondering what the thoughts are for:
1. sound card
2. video card
3. I am leaning heavily to win7, but am open to win 8. (OEM or not?)
 
So far I have:
I7 4770
ASUS Z87 Extreme4
32G G-skill 1600
Coolermaster M2 620 bronze PS
Coolermaster 120M water cooler (best deal of this, $24 after sale and rebate)
Samsung 840 128G SSD
WD black 1tb sata3 HDD
ASUS cd/dvd burner
Fractal Design R4
 
On the video card, I don't game, so I really don't need the latest and greatest
 
I am not sure which way to go on the sound card though.
 
The inputs are: Roland Quad capture, Roland GAIA and VR09, Novation Impulse 25.
 
I currently have winXP, and am having issues with the Impulse/VSTs and Sonar talking to each other. I decided since Cakewalk doesn't support XP, that I would build a new computer and reload everything. (I am not gonna waste time and give myself headaches trying to get these issues worked out on this current computer.)
 
Thanks in advance
 
Doug
 

Any graphics card will do, as long as it's passive! You DON'T want any more fans in your system making noise.
 
Many people are eschewing dedicated cards altogether these days & using the onboard graphics of their MOBO
 
This will save you money which you can put towards a better interface, although its difficult to recommend anything without an idea of your budget.

I initially used the internal video in my i7 3770 CPU.  It was OK as I don't use the system for gaming or much video.  The internal DVI video output failed (I don't know if it was a problem in the CPU or the motherboard, although I've seen other internet reports of problems with the CPU causing the problem) and I added a separate video card.  Both worked OK in Sonar but the WEI scores jumped up from around 5 to almost 8 for the video parameters by going to a separate video card. 
 
I have an AMD Radeon HD7770 video card with fans but the little bit of fan noise is not a problem in my installation.
 
 

I recently built my sys and had a similar dilema (Win 7 or 8). I read somewhere that Win 8 is basically an "updated" version of Win 7, and if all your hardware works well in Win 7 (updated drivers etc...), it should be fine with 8. The only thing I didn't care for is the Tile based UI. I solved this by using Classic_Shell, and have the UI options of Classic, XP, or Win7.
 
I figured that at some point in time (when prices go down), I'll be getting Touch Screens and Win 8 fully supports that.
 
I also considered a water cooling system.......AND.......my mobo comes with built in pipes + a dehumidifier specifically for this, but I didn't want to mess/hassle with the added maintennance of liquids around my components.........YMMV.  
 
Do a lot of research on your PSU and choose this wisely.........it'll save you a lot of headaches/money down the line.
 
Good luck with your build!!

I have a dual boot system, Win 7 Home 64 bit and Win 8 Pro 64 bit (on separate drives).  I have Sonar installed on both and it works the same on both Win 7 and Win 8. 
Once you get by the tiles and have an add on that takes you directly to the desktop (I have "Start8") it basically works just like Win 7 but as "Win 7 improved".   All my hardware device drivers for Win 7 work with Win 8, including my Octa-Capture and MAudio Fastrack Ultra 8R.  My Behringer BCF2000  was auto detected and "plug and play".  I did have to install my Frontier Tranzport in a Vista compatibility mode (Win 7 may have worked but didn't try it) but that was the only driver problem I ran across.

Thanks all,
I decided to get win 8 and ordered it today.
 
Still up in the air about a sound card. Thats next payday...
 
Doug

One step at a time.  Windows 8.1 will be out (public release) on Oct 17.  You can install Win 8 and whatever you want, as 8.1 is just an update (and many say what Win 8 should have been to start). 

Well, the computer is finally together. I had a bad dvd reader/burner (asus) that was giving me fits trying to install windows. I got a new one (LG GH24) and windows just finished loading. Now to get the wifi working..(took from old computer and plug in on this one)
 
Then, since I had sonar on this computer (32bit XP) I am wondering if I should just redownload. I don't want to have issues going from 32bit to 64 bit. I don't think it should matter, But Cakewalk said that they can enable the downloads again.
 
Almost forgot, have to get the program to put the start button back in.

You put a WiFi card into  a DAW?, Most of us struggle to disable WiFi as it is a notorious source for DPC latency problems.

Windows 8.1 has the start button returned, and also the option to boot straight to the desktop.
Read up on other posts regarding other Win8 installs, there are some good suggestions.
With regards the soundcard, are you looking for an internal card or an external option?
There are far too many options to give much meaningful advice without knowing your requirements, expectations and budget. If you want to list some of these, I'm sure you'll get lots of post from people here regarding what they have experience with.