Hello

I have Sonar Producer 7. Naturally with Sonar X2 spec demands have increased.

Can I run Sonar X2 on this Laptop. I know my hard drive is ok but screen resolution?

I think I can get away with the core i5 2.5g processor. Thanks!

Chassis & Display Enigma IV: 15.6" Glossy HD LED Backlit Widescreen (1366x768) Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-3210M (2.50GHz) 3MB Memory (RAM) 8GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB) Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M - 2.0GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11 2^nd Graphics Card NONE Memory - 1^st Hard Disk 250GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD2500BEKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm) 2^nd Hard Disk NONE 1^st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW) Memory Card Reader Integrated 3 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC, MS) Sound Card SRS 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack Network Facilities ENIGMA SERIES GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 3.0 USB Options 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD Battery Enigma Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAH) Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 90W AC Adaptor Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Should be able to get you by; do you have enough available hard drive storage for install + audio files? My father in law just bought a sweet new Lenovo (IBM) laptop for $188.... might be worth shopping for a new lappy, even though yours will be enough to check Sonar X out.

Please tell me the manufacturer and the model number.  I just want to look up a couple of things.

At first glance, the memory may be a bit light.  An i5 processor should be fine.  You will want an external audio interface of some kind.  You can look at a pretty sampling of what is available for those by going to www.guitarcenter.com and looking at recording audio interfaces.  These can be Fire Wire or USB, and range from around $100 to way more than that.  A reasonable basic one can run around $150.  Since you are using a laptop, I suggest a USB one, rather than a Fire Wire, due to a potential for hardware issues with some Fire Wire chip sets and devices, and you cannot easily remedy that with a laptop.

Anyways - whatever audio interfaces you are looking at, you MUST make sure they have drivers for Windows 7 64-bit operating systems.

I was going to just look up memory expansion potential for your laptop, once you told me what it is - more memory is better for you here.  Memory strips for laptops are pretty cheap these days, and are most of the time as simple as unscrewing a panel on the bottom and sticking a new strip into an open slot.  

Anyways, the above is a good starting point.

You can also download and install the X2 free trial to see if it would work for your computer.  It gives you 30 days (I think) to play around with it - but for sure you would want an audio interface first.

Bob Bone

Hi Ed97643.

It's a new Laptop. Just built. It's meant for general use but I was hoping that I could use Sonar on it. 

I didn't build it for Daw work but was hoping I could do some light to medium Daw work on it.

I thought eight gigs  of RAM would be enough. It was actually the screen resolution that I though would be the issue or the midrange processor.

I used to be up on my DAW specs circa 2009 but Sonar X2 is a much more demanding spec than the old Producer 7 which I ran on a 2008 laptop.

Hi Bob.

Thanks for your info. The laptop was built as a mid ranger for me by Pc specialist. Initially I didn't even plan it for DAW work but then I thought I would spec it at least to potentially do some light to medium Daw work. I was on a tight budget. That's why I got the 7200 rpm hard drive and at least eight gigs of Ram. I thought the core i5 at 2.50 gigahertz could be just enough to do some DAW work.

Yes there was no way I was going to use FireWire. It's faster of course but more chance of issues. I would get a cheap USB interface. I am a solo home recordist so this is not studio work or anything too demanding.

That's roughly my position.

I am so sorry - I thought it said 3 GB of memory - by all means 8 GB of memory is fine.  I have crappy eyes anymore and the font was a bit tiny when I first read your post.

As far as your screen - you can always plug in a display monitor instead of using the teeny tiny screen you get with a laptop.

You can buy a 32+ HDTV for less than $200 these days, and just use that for a display for the laptop.  And you can do it in stages, if your budget is a problem.  Get the interface first, because that is a definite need.  Add the external display when money permits.

Bob Bone

Sonar x2 screen resolution minimum 1280x800. Mine is 1366x768. How is Skylight going to work out on that? Last time around pre Skylight screen resolution didnt come into my reckoning. I am coming from the old Sonar Producer 7 single screen view by way of experience.

Thanks Bob. I think my specs are just enough to scrape by on and that's ok for the moment. Thanks for your answers.

robert_e_bone


I am so sorry - I thought it said 3 GB of memory - by all means 8 GB of memory is fine.  I have crappy eyes anymore and the font was a bit tiny when I first read your post.

As far as your screen - you can always plug in a display monitor instead of using the teeny tiny screen you get with a laptop.

You can buy a 32+ HDTV for less than $200 these days, and just use that for a display for the laptop.  And you can do it in stages, if your budget is a problem.  Get the interface first, because that is a definite need.  Add the external display when money permits.

Bob Bone

 
Your eyes are not so crappy-There is a 3 MB  memory "something" before the 8gb ram. I saw and thought that also, at first

Guess he menat 3 MB cache for the processor?

Believe me - I have a 46" HDMI TV for a primary display, and a 32" one for my secondary.  Now - I was using the secondary one when I read his post, and yes, when I went back to read it I saw both 3 and 8 listed.  Truth be told, once I saw the chip and the word memory, I sort of skip-read the rest with not enough focus.

Twas my fault, me thinks, 

Bob Bone