Bob, you are very helpful, thank you.

Computer I am looking at (on sell) is http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Fang_III_-_Rattler/  Fang III Rattle. This is if I go with 4 cores Intell 3770K Ive Bridge. 

Questions: How many cores would make Sonar Happy? Do I need the 6 core processor? (I know, I do not, but I want to- not that I can affort to have it- lol.)

If I go with 6 cores, I would go with http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/CyberPower_Black_Pearl/ 

Intel® Core™ i7-3970X Extreme Edition Six-Core 3.50 GHz 15MB Intel Smart Cache would be great, but I have read reviews and heard that it consumes a lot of power with little benefit. And it is still Sandy Bridge- older technology. Also it brings the bill up to 2k.

I am planning on 2 SSD of 240 GB Intel 520 Series SATA-III 6.0Gb/s - 550 MB/s Read & 520 MB/s Write. I would like 3 drives but there is no option for 3 drives.

What I do not understand is why they offer DDR3/2133MHz Quad Channel Memory. According to Intell, current processors support up to 1600 Mhz, so is there any point to pay for 1866 or 2133 Mhz?

I know nothing about motherboards. One question- do I need support for the Thunderbolt?

Thanks.

edited as overtaken by events :-)

The one I have now, I built myself. I've built a lot of computers, but I think I'm about done with that. Take a look at ADK Pro Audio computers. However, Jim Roseberry posts here a lot and the next time I upgrade, I'm going to seriously take a look at what he has to offer.

Vlad, To my knowledge, Jim doesn't overclock DAWs as a routine thing. I think he will overclock machines at the customer's request, particularly if video editing or other extreme performance needs turn out to be the case..... However, the best thing to do would be to discuss with him directly, via phone or email, what you're thinking about. I would not consider calling him, however, if you're trying to pinch pennies, or get guidance on what parts to buy for your own build-up. John

TLW, your specs almost match my dream configuration. How does it work for ya? Who it made by?

I have bought my last three machines from Jim at www.studiocat.com.    I have been extremely pleased and recommend him as often as possible.   Great guy and knows his stuff.   I would imagine he wouldn't be adopting Win 8 this early but that's his business.   Win 7 is a great platform for X2 depending on your needs..

Good luck!

Another +1 for Jim. Great guy that will go to the end of the earth to help you with issues should they come up. I actually still build my own at times but used the one I bought from Jim as my template. I must confess, it was the best money I ever spent and it beats sitting here messing with things for hours. He even installed Sonar for me with my serial numbers and modded my machine to my own specs. I hear ADK is awesome too, but I don't know anyone there. I've known Jim since we had this forum as a newsgroup in our email client years ago. :)

-Danny

if the salesman is a know-nothing, then think how their customer service is....
 
if you're going to build, build it yourself. you can build a really hot PC for $700. and even less if you already have system OS disks and harddrives you can pull from your current PC. otherwise buy from a large company like Dell or someplace.

I had that same belief to buy from Dell. I have 4 Dell computers. But their specs not so good lately. No Win 8 for business computers yet, everything is behind. What is ADK? Is there a web address, please? I will give Jim a call- I just do not have confidence in it. Build myself- and then be my own tech support? I am not that good.

Danny,
 
I talked to the owner of ADK once. They build PC's quite often for Universal Audio. According to him they do a bit of "horse trading" with PC's and UA stuff. As I said in my previous post, I built my own as you have, but that's quite a task as I'm sure you know.
 
One thing I would like to state to anyone looking to invest in a new DAW PC, if not building your own. If possible, do yourself a favor and invest in a StudioCat, ADK, or at least some company that does builds specifically for DAW's. Most importantly they will use tried and proven components and do all of the tweaks to make it the best it can be and even load your software, as you said. It may cost a little more but its well worth it. And their support is generally much better as well.
 
By the way, I don't come here very often but I have over the last couple of days. I've noticed that you post some pretty lengthy replies to a lot of posts.
 
Kudos to you bro for being so helpful!
 
JTW