Access Music User Forum

The biggest problem with Ableton Live is that live doesn't have a realtime render option, which the Virus needs since it can't process audio offline. This can be worked around by either bouncing the Virus to audio using a live recording of a track send, or by inserting a dummy external midi device in the Virus' plugin chain. Regarding general setup difficulties, the ones you most probably might run into are USB bandwidth problems, so it is good to get to know your USB architecture beforehand, read the setup guide thoroughly, and if you are not computer savvy, then it is good if someone who is, is around.
If you know your way around subtractive sound synthesis and know the MIDI standard then you will have no problems in learning how to use it. I didn't completely understand your question about "the controller".

VirusTI comes with a bunch of "starter" Tutorial projects, and one of the example projects is Ableton!

Your best bet is to start with that project and use it as a basis for all future work. That project shouldn't have any glitches.

Quoted from "GanjaJanja"

Quoted from "flabberbob"

question about "the controller".

Yes, patch/part parameter changes made on the Virus itself are reflected in the plugin GUI, although the two separate UI-s (LCD and plugin) do not influence each other in terms of the currently displayed menu item. Also note that the knobs are panpot style, not motorized, and not endless rotary encoders. This means that if you change a parameter in the GUI, the corresponding physical knob will not automatically move to indicate the change, and when you do move the knob the parameter value will suddenly jump to the physical knob value.

Since you write that you saved money for it, I understand that you are not looking into buying a Virus just as a status symbol. It really depends on what kind of "newbie" you are - if you are just looking for more preset sounds then keep using your VST-s and buy additional sample packs for the type of sounds you cannot produce with your VST-s. If you want to learn how to design/program synths then I suggest you begin with your VST-s and move on to the Virus when you are ready. You can also buy the more modest Snow. If you already know how to do all that, then yes, the Virus is an excellent synth to implement your sound design knowledge on. Just don't throw away your VST-s because every tool has its strengths and weaknesses and a Virus and a set of VST-s complement each other in the studio and increase the polyphony.
I hope you don't think that it is not worth it to make music without the Virus, because that's simply not true. Start by using what you can to the best of your abilities, then move on to getting what you want when the situation allows you to.
Hope I helped.

The Virus can double as a pro soundcard, if you are willing to give up the ability to use it for sidechaining. I'd recommend getting a pro soundcard if you are planning to record live playing or singing. You can still use your internal soundcard if it doesn't add too much latency. The one thing you might need to be prepared to add to your setup is an external hub or an additional USB expansion card if your Snow starts crackling and none of the onboard ports helps.