Okay, to make a long story a little less long: I used Sonar 8 and 8.3 a couple of years ago, my first and only DAW to this point. I've been out of recording for a while, and am now looking to jump back in the pool. My machine is a Dell Optiplex 755 quadcore w/ 8 GB RAM running XP 32 bit. One issue I need resolved is: Was I even USING the Quadcore and/or 8 GB RAM capabilities of the machine with that particular OS? I assume upgrading to Windows 7 64 bit would make a BIG difference when I upgrade to X1, correct? 2nd issue: I'm strongly considering getting a laptop to run X1, as I'm out of the house a bit more than I used to be and would like to do some recording when I'm away from home. Is there anything specific I should be looking for in a laptop as opposed to a desktop? I had been using a Presonus Firebox as my audio/MIDI interface, and would like to continue to use it. So I know I need at least 1 firewire port. What else should I be looking for? I'm sure there might be some questions that I haven't asked yet, but I very much appreciate any help you all might be able to provide!

Hi Mr Pippy.  

The quick answers are

Windows XP 32 can only address a max of 4 Gigs of RAM provided you use the 3 gig switch in the start up ini.  Which means that 4 gig of your RAM is doing nothing but consume power.

The quad core is fine and will get used under XP Service pack 3.

Win 7 appears to be a better option though I am still running XP 32 Bit so my knowledge ends there.

Your Laptop I would suggest a large screen, make sure the Firewire card is a TI card.

Others will give more succinct answers I am sure.

In answer to the first question about support in XP 32 bit. Yes quad core is supported in both Win XP 32 bit and Sonar 8, but no you were not using 8 GB of memory--XP or any other 32 bit windows will only access about 3.5 GB.

No advice on laptops.

+1 on what Wookiee said about choosing a laptop, and especially the firewire chipset being TI.  As far as Windows 7 64-bit, it won't make a huge difference in performance, but it will allow you to take advantage of all 8 gigs of memory, which may come in handy if you start using a lot of effects and/or soft synths.

Here is the Cakewalk computer info page. http://www.cakewalk.com/PCResource/default.aspx There are resources and links to recommended systems/manufacturers. If you have the dough you might want to look at ADK or Blue Cat (I think they're called Blue Cat... that fellow Jim Roseberry works for them). Cheers.

I love my ADKProAudio 9000X laptop. Pricey? Yes! Worth it? Yes! This thing houses three hard drives. Has a TI FW chipset and a clot for my UAD Solo Laptop card. 17" screen. It's HEAVY and you will probably not find a "standard carrying case for it. I special ordered an empty "camera" case on wheels for it. Mandatory. This is NOT a backpack laptop.


Is your Optiplex up to snuff? IIRC you *should* have higher Hz than a Q6600 can supply. But I did *sort of* ran X1 32bit on my old Dell Expiron under specs laptop for a while.  

@bapu... When and if I ever have enough cash for a laptop based studio it's gonna be an ADK. In fact I wanted to buy one of their desktops but by the time it got across the border there would have likely been an extra $800 tacked onto the bill so I built my own. There does not seem to be a similar company in Canuckerland. It was kind of fun and certainly very educational building my own though so no regrets.

@Beepster - ADK is good. So is StudioCat (Jim). Jim helped me sort out an issue and fine tune my DAW build so I feel like have a computer from both builders. 

Ah yes... Studio Cat. Why do I keep wanting to call them Blue Cat? Anyway, I feel kind of bad because I actually swiped all my specs from ADK. The only things I couldn't find for my build were the MOBO and the RAM. Even at that without the extra shipping and cross border taxes, duties whatever I would have only saved about $300 and considering the amount of time and effort I had to put into the build it would have been WAY more than worth it. Not to mention they set up and optimize the system to do exactly what you need and provide full support after the purchase. Like I said though... being up here it would have been a WAY more money than the actual cost of the system so I'd be waiting essentially another year before I could actually pay for the thing. I am quite happy with my build though. Also I had an extremely knowledgeable tech on my side guiding me through the process which most people don't have.

Mrpippy2 ,
If you do go to Windows 7 64 bit be sure that your hardware is compatible.  X1 should run fine on your current system. But to be sure try the demo version. 

Also keep in mind that Sonar 8 and X1 are different from one another. X1 has a very different GUI and different key mappings. 

If you are willing to learn it you will find it is a far better version over all. 

I wish you luck and if you run into problems we are here to help.