I have a Pentium 4 computer with XP and if you think a 64-bit computer is going to be faster, then you may want to think again. I also have 32-bit programs that came with this 64-bit computer, but as far as I am concerned, and I am only using Sonar 7, if only thinking all will be better, it probably will not be. My new computer is faster for an I3 second generation, but if not buying something even faster than the Pentium 3.0GHz I had with XP, or the new I3 which is 3.3GHz Intel second generation, I would wait now, until I had a faster computer to run X3.
And I would not now say that Windows 7 is better than XP, in that it is more annoying because you have to turn off all the automatic stuff it will do on its own, from Microsoft, thinking that most people do not know anything about computers and with the people who do know something, you have to re-structure Windows 7 in the sense of finding everything and turning it off. For one thing Windows 7 keeps old drivers for about everything, like graphics cards and sound interfaces (soundcards) and you have to un-install the units if you ever want to delete all of what Windows 7 keeps as backup drivers if you want to get it all out of the system, especially graphics cards drivers and audio/interface drivers, which may mean that you have to delete the drivers (just not uninstall them) several times before all of it is clear out, and then Windows 7 will put in its own drivers when you re-start the computer until you install the drivers (one driver) that you wanted to really install, if you are not careful and un-install everything and even if you do, it may keep putting in drivers until it can not find any, which in some cases means with the audio/interface and getting the graphics drivers back to standard VGA drivers of Windows.
It is a pack rat with Windows 7 and sometimes like in the computer game XCOM: Enemy Unknown, you want to toss the computer out the darn window and never see it again. Not that Windows 7 is bad, it can be good with startup configuration - as long as other programs are not telling it once again to start up their darn program.
Between all of it, sometimes like said - you may want to toss the computer out the window.
Why these programs all think that they are the only ones that are used on a computer is beyond me, but since Microsoft started up these little start-up programs to make the computer seem like it was faster, and I do use my computer for music as well as anything else, you need a computer that has none of these programs on them, and then it still takes a while to really get the computer all the way started. In fact because of anti-virus programs that run on startup, it can take sometimes up to 12 minutes ( yes really) to get them ran from checking the computer and not being actually able to stop them from starting up, as well as all the updates they like to keep running at startup also, like Adobe Acrobat Reader or other programs like that. Without going through all the programs, and turning off all of that, as well as telling Windows not to run scheduled defrags, Windows Update, and anything else, you can get Notifications bubble text pop-ups unless you turn everything off. You can do that for the most part, unless sometimes you want to be reminded, but unlike XP where you were the Administrator of the computer, you are not the Administrator (you are but not) with Windows 7. Windows 7 OS is the Administrator, because Microsoft assumes that people do not know anything (and a lot of people do not) and the OS is really the Administrator, and you are more subject to the computer with the OS being the boss of the computer than you are as the Administrator. It is annoying and can be if not following through and finding out all the crap that happens with Windows 7.
So the question then becomes, does the newer computer actually run faster than my old 32-bit computer - well it should and maybe can but not as fast for a 64-bit computer as you think it might. It just does not.
So the question becomes, do you have a more dedicated computer that is only running Sonar on it, or a useful all purpose computer that most people have, and put up with annoyance, as well as in my opinion, things that were never fixed up completely in Windows 7. And the difference in the Sound part of the computer now also with Windows 7 changed since Vista from XP where you had control with the Sound Interface. I swear that after getting Windows Updates, it decides to change my default sound option in Windows, or something is doing it. As well as not being able to adjust the volume of my audio/interface from the standard audio volume that Windows 7 now does compared to XP where I could (with the same sound drivers) go up or down in volume, in Windows 7 you can not, yet after visiting some websites or somehow, the sound which reads 50% total volume (which is the max with Windows 7 compared to XP which actually could be set at 100% or 50% or whatever) the sound is set up to read 67% which does nothing. It just reads to be 67% loudness when it is actually still only 50% because of what they did since Vista to change that programming. Does it make that much of a difference - no unless you wanted to control the loudness of your audio/interface like XP would let you do, because with Windows 7 you can not, it just reads that way, because I guess some programmers think it still runs like XP OS when it does not, or else perhaps websites are changing it for XP computer, who really knows, but with Windows 7, Microsoft decided it knows anything better except running their sounds like on startup of the OS at 100% which about knocks your speakers and you for a loop until you turn off all OS sounds on a Windows 7 computer or want to toss the computer out the windows into the trash can and never see it again.
Microsoft unfortunately to me is a waste of brain-space in the reality of Space-Time of the Universe.
But good luck, Windows 7 will work, I guess maybe for sound, but actually having used both, I rather thinking about going back to my old computer with XP on it, and how to upgrade to anything newer may just involve more thinking, and like RME states with their audio/interfaces - microsoft is not listening to them, so I doubt they are listening to Cakewalk, and anyone else either.
It all may want to change your opinion of OSs and computer and toss the computer - out the window and into the dumpster.
But it all is not a joke either.