To Begin:  My laptop is an Intel I-5 M-540 2.53 Quad core 8 gigs of ram 2 Hard drives and willing to upgrade to an SSD if necessary.  Firewire 1394 Bus.  What I don't have is USB 3  ( I see all of their software is on USB 3 drives ).... 
 
 
Now,  I don't understand soft synths.  All I have are what came with X3 Producer and Platinum. 
I have had some success at  Addictive drums.  
 
I have to admit, as far as DAW's go, I'm a generation behind just about everyone here so old habits are hard to break and I spend more time reading manuals and checking video tutorials sometimes than accomplishing anything.
 
I work with midi files,  either playing directly or importing them because this gives me the most flexibility for my needs as far as tempo, tuning, key shifts, etc.   I've tried to experiment with loading soft synths but I get extremely frustrated, start running out of time and revert back to my hardware midi synths.
 
Would I need a player from East West, or do I need Dimension Pro or one of those that I'd upgrade with Cakewalk?
 
Realistically, I'd probably use between 8 - 10 tracks on a typical project,  but could foresee 16 or more tracks once I get used to this and actually am able to  become what I consider "proficient" at Sonar.  
 
I was thinking about another rack synth like the Yamaha Motif XS - and then read a post about a guy dumping his Motif ES Rack hardware for East West Orchestra.   I listened to some of their examples and was blown away.
 
I could just imagine what could be done with the East West Orchestra and Choir Software.
 
I'd appreciate some feedback if this is feasible,  and "what else" I'd need to avoid any surprises.  I just want to try and grasp what I'd really need.
 
 
 
 
 
 

A USB 3.0 drive WILL work on a USB 2.0 Port...so no worries there...

You can also get the Composer Cloud and download a great deal of East West
Products now...

I have Orchestra Gold and Choirs Platinum...and some others...
I love EW stuff...

Ewql Gold is a good place to start.
The library requires you to use their Play sample player engine.. latest version on their website.

Good luck

OK..  Since my hardware did not send up any red flags - which is what I was afraid off,  I think I should take the plunge and start off with cloud for a month and at least see how it works with my machines, and use the pieces I have ready to go for the upcoming season and experiment with them.
 
Thanks for the replies and feedback.   
Best Regards!
WG

woodsglen
OK..  Since my hardware did not send up any red flags - which is what I was afraid off,  I think I should take the plunge and start off with cloud for a month and at least see how it works with my machines, and use the pieces I have ready to go for the upcoming season and experiment with them.
 
Thanks for the replies and feedback.   
Best Regards!
WG

THAT is a GREAT plan of attack! 

Yup. Definitely a man with a plan. Nice.

Are you able to upgrade the RAM on your laptop? That's frequently a bottleneck when it comes to using large sample libraries. Although having never used a large orchestral library myself I have no idea really how much RAM they require. Generally though, the more the better. 8GB is a little on the small size these days, although I suspect it might be fine for 8-10 tracks. 

sharke
Are you able to upgrade the RAM on your laptop? That's frequently a bottleneck when it comes to using large sample libraries. Although having never used a large orchestral library myself I have no idea really how much RAM they require. Generally though, the more the better. 8GB is a little on the small size these days, although I suspect it might be fine for 8-10 tracks. 

Can't speak to the laptop, but my system only has 8GB RAM and while I can run E/W products. I usually record the synth to audio tracks then freeze the synth. Upgrading your RAM would be a good idea if you can. I'll be moving up to 16GB (my systems max.) early next year. All the Best.
 

One of the problems with most laptops is they max out at 8 Gb...

But there are a few that will handle 16 gb...

Sharke,  I had read people using numbers like 32gigs of ram...  So, I thought this M6500 was also limited to 8 gigs...
 
Turns out is has the quad core I5,  and 4 ram slots -  max 32 Gigs of Ram.   Right off, I'll look to populate a pair of those slots with 16 gigs.  Now to shop around and check specs or recommendations in forum posts.
 
Thanks a lot for the recommendation(s).