Hi all,
I really want to explore Sonar X3, as I've been in the Sonar 7 and 8 versions for years, and have never bumped up to the X-versions.  I don't want to upgrade my PC if I don't have to, although it's about 7 years old but still running strong.  Sonar 8.5 runs great with what I currently have:  Intel Quad-Core Q6600 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 500GB C (OS):, 500GB D:(Audio), 1TB E: (Samples).  I write orchestral pieces with EastWest Play 4.0 engine and lots of sample libraries.  Would X3d hammer my system's memory and CPU?

On a totally different note, being out of the forums for quite some time, I noticed that Brandon and Seth have moved onto different areas or ventures.  Who's gonna come to San Diego's guitar centers and demonstrate the latest Cakewalk products now?  :) 

You haven't mentioned whether you are running 32 or 64 bit, but if 64 I would maybe add some RAM, but as far as the minimum specs go you're alright as you are......
 
http://cakewalk.com/Produ...-Producer/default.aspx
 
Expect a bit of learning curve though and some things in pre-X would have been better left alone IMHO, but there's goodness too. You could always try the X2 demo beforehand to get some idea.
 
 

Ahh, yes, thanks for reminding me.  It's 64bit (Windows 8 Professional). 

FWIW I'm running X3 on a Q9300 (2.5 GHz) w/ 8GB RAM with no issues.  Obviously there's a resource ceiling with an older system, but I'm able to run X3 with multiple VSTi's and a good number of FX plugins.  This is with a Focusrite 18i6 so latency is decent as well.
 
 

I have a core2quad 9400 w/4gb of RAM running Win8.1 Pro with a Layla 3G PCI sound card, multiple 7200RPM drives (1 for OS, 1 for VST and such, and 1 for projects) and I'm still OK with my performance.  I don't have huge demands, but I can still run at pretty low latency and can run a respectable number of tracks with fx, softsynths, etc.  I'd like to add some RAM, but can't justify the cost at the moment - RAM is on the high side right now.  Would love a new soundcard or at least for Echo to update the drivers for the Layla 3G, but I'm still pretty happy with my setup.
 
Hope that helps.

Awesome, thanks for your input.  I'm going to give this a shot!