Kylotan

azslow3
At least in X2, the time line is the only graphical element which is drawn differently from everything else in SONAR (for whatever reason). I have not checked with X3 yet.

What do you mean by this?
 
I'm a games programmer and work with graphics daily, so when people suggest this is a video card problem rather than a Sonar problem, I am very sceptical. But perhaps there is something more to consider here, and you know a bit about it?

The video card is a favorite boogie man in the DAW world.  When people don't know the cause to the problems it's easy say "video card/driver".   I suspect that video cards/drivers are blamed for far more than they are guilty of.

vintagevibe
 
The video card is a favorite boogie man in the DAW world.  When people don't know the cause to the problems it's easy say "video card/driver".   I suspect that video cards/drivers are blamed for far more than they are guilty of.

Probably. But a no-frills workhorse videocard is still cheap, so it's a thing I would try if I had a rare persisting issue such as yours. 

vintagevibe
 
The video card is a favorite boogie man in the DAW world.  When people don't know the cause to the problems it's easy say "video card/driver".   I suspect that video cards/drivers are blamed for far more than they are guilty of.

Possibly, but I think the reason they get so much attention is because it seems counter-intuitive that a graphics card would affect the performance of software dedicated to audio.
 
I can only go by personal experience, which is that I've always used DAWs integrated by companies like PC Audio Labs and ADK, and had stable, reliable systems free of the various glitches that seem to plague others. Even X2a worked fine for me. However, when I did encounter problems, which admittedly wasn't often, the vast majority related to graphics cards and drivers. Some cards just didn't work with some software, not just Sonar but also particularly Sony Vegas, Pro Tools, and virtual instruments from M-Audio. Also, some driver "updates" (you know, the ones that give a 2.282% frame rate speed increase with "Call of Duty" V3.122a build 467) would cause issues. Many times I needed to roll back to a previous driver and everything would be fine again, and then another update would come along eventually and it would work okay.
 
The second biggest cause of problems has been hardware failures, but the number of those incidents have been tiny compared to graphics-related issues.

Anderton

vintagevibe
 
The video card is a favorite boogie man in the DAW world.  When people don't know the cause to the problems it's easy say "video card/driver".   I suspect that video cards/drivers are blamed for far more than they are guilty of.

Possibly, but I think the reason they get so much attention is because it seems counter-intuitive that a graphics card would affect the performance of software dedicated to audio.
 
I can only go by personal experience, which is that I've always used DAWs integrated by companies like PC Audio Labs and ADK, and had stable, reliable systems free of the various glitches that seem to plague others. Even X2a worked fine for me. However, when I did encounter problems, which admittedly wasn't often, the vast majority related to graphics cards and drivers. Some cards just didn't work with some software, not just Sonar but also particularly Sony Vegas, Pro Tools, and virtual instruments from M-Audio. Also, some driver "updates" (you know, the ones that give a 2.282% frame rate speed increase with "Call of Duty" V3.122a build 467) would cause issues. Many times I needed to roll back to a previous driver and everything would be fine again, and then another update would come along eventually and it would work okay.
 
The second biggest cause of problems has been hardware failures, but the number of those incidents have been tiny compared to graphics-related issues.

I've had maybe 2 DAW/video issues ever.  Maybe I'm lucky but changing out video cards and rolling back drivers is exactly the kind of rabbit hole I need to avoid.  Everything else works fine and the time/money spent would not be worth it even if it did get resolved.

vintagevibe
  Everything else works fine and the time/money spent would not be worth it even if it did get resolved.

What, $49.99 and twenty minutes work not worth it? I've certainly spent far more time and money resolving lesser issues than yours... Please tell me you're not just looking for an excuse to ditch SONAR!
 
 

Slightly off topic... 
 
Tech support is a difficult and frustrating job.  It's easy to get burned out and jaded.   Some people start off trying to solve problems but after a few years the only goal is to "get it off my desk".   When I did support I though I was pretty good at not doing that but I'm sure I was guilty occasionally.  Some people end up having that attitude most of the time.  Video cards are the easiest out when the problem is not understood.  That doesn't just go for DAWS either.  Sometimes, of course, they are the culprit but many times it means "I don't know what to try next".
 

SvenArne

vintagevibe
  Everything else works fine and the time/money spent would not be worth it even if it did get resolved.

What, $49.99 and twenty minutes work not worth it? I've certainly spent far more time and money resolving lesser issues than yours... Please tell me you're not just looking for an excuse to ditch SONAR!
 
 

@ SvenArne: I've already ditched Sonar for Cubase because of similar problems (and other reasons).  I still have, however, 100's of files from the MID '90s to last year, many of which I still need to work with.  I've supported Cakewalk probably for longer than anyone in this conversation and IMO I deserve a stable product.  If I have to do anymore troubleshooting with Sonar it's not worth the effort for me.  I'll just have to live with ridiculous things like the now time disappearing.  I don't think I should have to though.
 
Sonar is a fine product for many but not for everyone.

Well, if you ever put aside the 'pissed off bitterness' and want to take another stab at figuring out how to resolve this Now Time issue you have been experiencing, I will certainly try to help.
 
In any case, best of it all in whatever DAW you think is going to be your cure-all happy place, though every single one of them has their own quirks and issues.
 
I DO think that since this is not a widely-reported issue, that it may well be something local to your particular configuration, and therefor possibly fixable, given enough of a willingness to go through the methodical steps to ferret out why it is occurring.
 
Again, if you choose to ever go through that process, I would do my best to assist.  :)
 
Bob Bone

robert_e_bone
Well, if you ever put aside the 'pissed off bitterness' and want to take another stab at figuring out how to resolve this Now Time issue you have been experiencing, I will certainly try to help.
 
In any case, best of it all in whatever DAW you think is going to be your cure-all happy place, though every single one of them has their own quirks and issues.

 
However, VV prefers to work in a notation-oriented view. Sonar simply isn't designed to do that. So I highly doubt he'll take the time to find out why he continues to have stability issues others don't experience if all he uses Sonar for is project transfers. Of course it would have been helpful if he'd said that upfront so we wouldn't have spent time trying to find out the source of the problem and help him fix it, but that's life on the internet.
 
I think it's time to move on because due to his previously stated preference to work in notation, I don't think he would use Sonar even if the Now time moving across the screen created a religious experience
 
I sympathize with those who have stability issues, but all I know is that I go for weeks on end without hiccups, and I use Sonar virtually every day in one capacity or another...and work it very hard.

robert_e_bone
I DO think that since this is not a widely-reported issue, that it may well be something local to your particular configuration, and therefor possibly fixable, given enough of a willingness to go through the methodical steps to ferret out why it is occurring.

 
+1

vintagevibe
The video card is a favorite boogie man in the DAW world.  When people don't know the cause to the problems it's easy say "video card/driver".   I suspect that video cards/drivers are blamed for far more than they are guilty of.

 
So before you can even point to Sonar you need to confirm:
You have tried THIS driver (the latest)... I bothered to look it up for you so it is as easy as possible:
http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/desktop?os=Windows%208%20-%2064#amd-catalyst-packages
 
AND.. You need to tell us you have done exactly this!!!! :)
 
You also need to confirm you have windows update fully up to date, and installed most of the optional updates. I have asked several times maybe I missed it but I didn't get specific feedback.
 
Check the mouse up on driver is up to date as well and no mouse bloatware installed.

(I think I've been saying this several times now over and over again).
 
We really don't care who or what is at fault, that seems to be your problem. We want to find the SOLUTION or find some way of confirming this is a bug. A bug can be confirmed not by opinion but by PROOF, and the way to do that is to get somebody else to reproduce the bug.
 
It is not a blame game, if we thought like that we would never be able to fix anything, we simply want to rule things out before we ever continue.... That is a process. If you choose not to follow it then there is no way we can't help you. And what we write is a total waste of our time as well as yours.
 
Good luck...