Which guy said that?
Personally, I'm starting to think your biggest obstacle isn't your gear.
I used Cakewalk to mix projects recorded on an Tascam 2488 before I learned to record in the computer itself. It worked fine on a 32 Bit OS (for me that was back in the Windows XP days - I went x64 with Vista (and John... remember them days, John?)).
Smiles.
So, you can do it... plus... since you aren't capturing the waves with Sonar, why not give it a try? And since you seem to have no experience with any Daw at all, you can try them all with equal talent. :-) See what works for you before you make a big time investment.
Trust me, the time investment is way more costly than the software itself.