I will be getting a new laptop once Windows 8 is released (Oct 26th) and need some help deciding on what to get. The main reason for my upgrade is to get a computer that can handle SONAR X1 better, and it just so happens that the timing falls in line with the Windows 8 release. Anyways...

I'll begin by saying I've already decided on the following criteria for certain: 3rd Gen Intel Ivy Bridge Core i7, and Solid State Drive. My new laptop will contain those for sure. I really want to get an ultrabook because of its sleekness and portability, but all ultrabooks contain Intel's low voltage processors... which are designed for ultrabooks. And the Core i7 processors found in ultrabooks are dual core, not true quad core. My delimma is, whether the dual-core Core i7 found in ultrabooks will be enough or if I should get a traditional notebook with a true quad-core Core i7. Of course the ultrabook is less expensive than a performance notebook with a 3rd Gen quad-core i7 and SSD drive, and it is also sleek and portable, so I'm leaning towards that. But if the quad-core will make that large of a difference, I may reconsider. What do you guys think? Will the quad-core i7 make that big of a difference compared to the ultrabook i7 processor?


As for my desired end result, I want to be able to mix large projects with several vocals and soft synths and large amounts of effect plugins. Similar in size to the sample projects included with SONAR X1 demos (Cori Yarckin song) but maybe with more effects... But similar type of songs.

I'm no expert but it should be fine. Just check the CPU performance rating against the recommended specs for Sonar. You could also email/call Cake to see what they say.

That said you might want to bump that X1 up to X2 because X2 was designed with the impending release of Win8 in mind and X1 won't be seeing any new patches. Some people have reported that X1 works pretty well with 8 but others have reported odd behavior. Cheers.

Research your SSD well. Mine is an OCZ (in a desktop though) and it fails to boot 40% of the time.  They're known for this.  Samsung ones are supposed to be better, but as I said, look before you leap with SSDs.

Vaultwit - check out Rain Computers. They specialize in offering laptops and PCs that are optimized for audio recording. I've been extremely satisfied with my laptop from them.

"Skyline_UK"
Research your SSD well. Mine is an OCZ (in a desktop though) and it fails to boot 40% of the time.

Which model is giving you grief?