Windows 8.1
i5 Processor 3.2gHz
Corsair Vengeance Blue 8 Gb (2x4) 1600mHz
 
I've been using Synths and Midi - about 8-10 tracks with different sounds.  I'm not running too many effects but there are a few on a couple of tracks and the Master bus.  I've been going into preferences and switching the ASIO settings from Rapid to Normal - I need low latency when recording a part, but not when editing.  Sometimes I forget, or I forget to mute all the effects.  Sometimes it doesn't matter but now and then the system crashes.  Basically - I hear a really loud noise.  Sonar still allows me to save most of the time and then close the program and reopen.  On one occasion - it did not and I lost some material.
 
The was a my first built computer - I have some basic hardware knowledge.  Do you think it's a processor or RAM or both that isn't keeping up?  Or something totally different?  I was hoping (fingers crossed) that adding another 8Gb RAM would do the trick and I would be fine...
 
What do you think?
 

Lots of folks find alternative effects to use when tracking, for effects that cause latency issues, and then when tracking is all done, they switch to the effects that are designed for use in mixing/mastering.
 
So, instead of using a CPU-intensive effect during tracking, or one that has look-ahead processing, they find some less demanding substitute to use, just while recording, then swap back to the actual desired effect for mixing and mastering.
 
Or, instead of muting effects, you can temporarily bypass them all, by hitting 'E' on your computer keyboard to bypass them, then hit 'E' again to again process using the effects.
 
Give the above some thought, and perhaps a try, and see if that helps.
 
Bob Bone
 

Thanks for the reply.  That's what I've been doing and it really helps!  When I said 'mute' the FX I meant that I hit the FX button at the top.  It's never crashed when that was engaged! 
 
With that said - I've forgotten to hit it a couple of times and been kicking myself when it crashed.  Do you think upping the RAM would help - because that's really easy and relatively inexpensive?  If I needed a new processor or something, I would just deal and try to remember every time. 

Is that i5 a quad core?
 
What is your interface?
 
A modern interface is required to do low latency.
 
I'm using 8.1 myself but win7pro is supposed to do more tracks and all that.
 
 
The lower the latency the harder the machine has to work so you have to find a compromise between workload and speed.
People who use a lot of processing do change their latency for the task they're doing.
 
 
 

That's interesting...  The i5 IS a quad core.  My interface is a M-Audio Quad.  I think it was only released last year so it's pretty 'cutting edge' - I didn't realize that when I bought it.  I'm flying with really low latency.  Even when I lower to Normal I have about 500 samples.  I'm talking like .2 milliseconds when I'm going at rapid! 
 
Perhaps changing latency depending on task is par for the course.  It's also only crashed when editing - never while recording.  Even at the 'rapid' level. 

An easy way to see what Sonar is taxing on your computer is the Performance Module. Right click the Control Bar (the bar at the top where the Transport and other modules are) and select Performance Module until it appears. This will likely replace one of the other modules so if you don't want to lose a necessary module while using the Perf Module do the Right Click/Select action on the module you need the least and that one should be the one replaced.
 
The Perf Module has four indicators. One for CPU, one for RAM, one for available disk space and one for the read/write capacity for the hard drive.
 
The CPU will have multiple lines representing your computer cores. If any of these hit max you are overtaxing the CPU and need to adjust you buffers or use some resource saving methods to get it into an acceptable range.
 
The RAM is just a plain bar meter. If it starts maxing out you are overloading the RAM. Freeze or bounce some synths or change your buffers.
 
The disk space stuff just shows how much space you have left. If it gets too full your computer in general will just start screwing up so you need to remove some data or buy another/bigger hard drive.
 
Then there is the HDD icon for read/write. This will change colors if you are moving to much data from the disk or vice versa too fast. Red is bad and will likely cause an engine stop/dropout. If this happens you go into Preferences and increase the Read/Write cache settings. This will give your hard drives a bit more time to catch up to Sonar. Only increase this as much as necessary. Make sure your hard drives are running at 7200RPM or more as that is the optimal HDD speed for audio. SSD drive are way faster.
 
Things you can do to minimize resource consumption.
 
Raise your buffers while mixing/editing. Latency does not matter when you do these things and they are generally more resource intensive. Only lower them to just above the point of problems (keep an eye on the perf module). Sometimes you just gotta deal with a little latency.
 
Freeze tracks/synths. This will temporarily bounce effects and synths to audio to take the load of the system. When you are done recording click the Freeze button again and they will return to their original state.
 
Bounce tracks. This is permanent but will free up resources like freeze does. Only do this if the track is complete and you no longer need to make any parameter changes.
 
Archive unnecessary tracks. This will take the tracks completely out of the mix. Use for anything you do not need to hear anymore like bed tracks. You can use this in conjunction with the following...
 
Create a stereo backing track of the project to record to and archive all other tracks while recording. Just bounce/mixdown all the tracks to a new track and archive the rest. Now your system is only processing that one track and whatever you are working on reducing resource consumption.
 
Lots of other stuff you can do but with all that you should be able to keep working.
 
There are system tweaks that can be done as well but maybe you've already done that so let us know.

Yeah... don't use the resource hogging mastering effects while tracking. Just get the tracks down and get fancy after the fact. Some people like to "mix" as they record but that's a little weird. If you are one of those definitely use Freeze or some of the other options I mentioned.
 

Awesome Beepster.  I'll check this stuff out and give an update.
 
Do you know how I check if my Hard Drive is running at 7200Rpm? 
 
It's a WD green 500 gb 64mb cache Sata III. 

Green? Replace it with a Caviar Black, Barracuda or even an SSD if you can afford it. Those "environmentally friendly" green drives are fine for regular computer stuff but suck for audio.
 
As far as checking the speed Bob or someone smarter than I would have to help you with that but I think we've found a potential culprit to your difficulties.
 
Cheers.

Oh and if you have the actual model number for the drive you should be able google it to find out the speed on sites like Tom's Hardware, New Egg or even Amazon in the product descriptions.
 
And as long as we are on the subject IF you choose to go the mechanical HDD route you might want to look at the 10,000rpm ones instead of the 7200rpm ones I mentioned earlier. I did not know when I built my system that they built ones that fast otherwise I would have bought those instead. Still 7200rpm is generally the accepted base line for DAW drives.
 
Full disclosure: I am not a computer tech.