RAM, RAM everywhere

[grimepoch]

Yep, 4G will certainly help in instances where you are doing a lot of stuff.

Also, on MacPro's, having 4 modules adds some memory bandwidth improvements due to the memory controller architecture.

[Shooshie]

The other option is to do less alti-v using echo sends/aux tracks as sugested or you can do what I did and buy a used 480L and send out IO> and return< to digital input. The delays involved sound fine and the tones are awsome. Better than Alti-V.

:D:D Man, I'd like to be around on the day that you finally buy Altiverb and see what we've been talking about. You've got a lot of words to eat, Gary, and I'd like to hand you the knife and fork and a silver platter from which to eat them. You like 'em fried or baked?

Altiverb is like one of the foundations of a studio. I'll never mix without it again. Well... until something even BETTER shows up. Which will probably be like Altiverb 10.

Try it, Gary. Honest. It's not just another new reverb. People have been making exaggerated claims for reverb apps for years. In fact, they were just recycled technology with a few more bells and whistles. Altiverb is not even from the same origin as all those other reverbs. It's a totally different beast. It has different genes. Different DNA. Not related to them.

This is a paradigm shift in a good direction. This is a spacial simulator. It samples acoustic spaces, then puts your sound IN that space. Try it. You're going to like it. Better still, you can sample your used 480L, and throw it away. Altiverb will do it for you, without the hassle of leaving digital space and going through the D/A, A/D conversions and their resulting inaccuracies. It will sound like your hardware device is on the line.

Shooshie

[Aramis]

Couldn't houit

What does this mean ?

Aramis

[grimepoch]

hoiut = hurt I believe

[Frodo]

Are you suggesting that DP and dp alone is using up all that Ram on your Mac Pro? That doesn't jibe with what I understand to be happening but if so, that's amazing.

Hey Richard--

I, too, had crashes on my G5 with 8GB which I now attribute more to the hardware rather than to the RAM or software when the MacPro and G5 behaviors are compared side-by-side.

I always thought that my particular G5 was a bit of a lemon whose flaws could never quite be pinned down. Others seemed to be getting better track counts and stability than I could, but on both Intel and PPC- so many people were using a lot less RAM than I was and faring a lot better. Never quite got my head around the cause of that.

Yes, the particulars are a bit of a mystery. But, I do see 11GB on standby in Virtual Memory on the MacPro. That it's funneling all of that data into DP's 4GB limit is even more amazing. DP's RAM limit is fixed, as are all 32-bit apps, but my G5 would crawl or choke with data WAY below what the MacPro is handling with ease.

For example, I could get 6 instances of Miroslav Philharmonik loaded with an average of 10 patches per instance on the G5. Buffers were at 1024, and CPU was hovering around 70% when idle. Spikes kicked in when a lot of faster notes were played back. On the Mac Pro, I've got 11 instances fully loaded so far with five Altiverbs. Buffers are at 512 and the CPU is barely 10%. This means I *should* be able to lower my buffers without a problem.

Maybe it's just the sense of elation more than anything else, but I'm thinking about it less and working more these days-- and for that I am truly grateful.

[rand]

I noticed in Rick Averill's signature the following:

Mac Pro (Intel), 10 Gig RAM, 3 Ghz, OS X.4.9; MOTU UltraLite, M-Audio Keyboard, QuicKeys; Notation: Finale 2007c (Finale user since late 80s--v. 2.something); Sequencing: Digital Performer 5, Garritan GPO, JABB, Strad, Gofriller; Kontakt 2.2 (full); MOTU Symphonic Instrument, Ethno Instrument; PlugSound Pro, X-treme FX; Altiverb

In addition to the suggestions in the other replies I want to point out that QuicKeys can also cause problems. QuicKeys 3 has a memory leak and every once in a while the QuicKeysBackgroundEngine will take over your CPU load and slow everything down. You can always check this in Activity Monitor and you can quit that background process. QuicKeys will still work, but you won't get the tool palette, which most of us don't use anyway.

I permanently disabled the QuicKeys Background Engine by opening up the contents of the QuicKeys package, finding that background application within one of the folders and removed it. No problems since!

This was discussed and verified by others on the Finale list.

-Rand

[Rick Averill]

Disable QuicKeys? Disable QuicKeys? I can't live without QuicKeys!

Actually, DP was crashing before I upped my RAM to 10 Gig. Now it's not. I understand what was said about the whole 4 gig maximum issue, but somehow the memory upgrade did the trick for me. There are probably factors involved of which I have no earthly clue. But for whatever reason, it's working fine now.

[rand]

I didn't say disable QuicKeys! I can't work without it either. I'm just talking about the "QuicKeys Background Engine" which can cause problems.

With the background engine process quit (using Activity Monitor) you won't get the palettes in QuicKeys, but who uses those anyway? (They are too slow for serious users.)

Anyway, QuicKeys, the app, is still working, just not that add-on the "QuicKeys Background Engine".

Sorry for the confusion.

-Rand