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Apologies if this is answered elsewhere, I did look around a bit before posting... I've just completed a long-overdue upgrade from a G5 running DP 5.13 to a mid-2012 Mac Pro Quad Core and DP 8. The new machine has the stock 6 GB RAM (3 2GB DIMMs, and one empty space). At the very least I'll fill the last slot, but should I aim higher and upgrade to 16 or even 32 GB by replacing all four DIMMs? My audio work consists of mainly classical recording projects using from 2-12 channels, and Waves plug-ins for mastering, reverb (IR-1) and Izotope Rx for taking care of noise issues. Rx, especially, can be resource-intensive, so I'm wondering if another 8 GB (or more) of additional RAM will really help out there...

Thanks,

prokeds

AFAIK, Ram size is a real question about VIs.
Some VIs are Ram hogs, while others are not.

IMHO, if you work consists only on audio tracking an mixing, 6Go would be enough for DP and some plugins.

To make sure on this subject, you will open a *big* DP project and work on it while looking at Ram usage. You will use any Mac ram utility, such as Menumeters and the like.
As a general (and approximative) rule, if memory usage exceed 3/4, then increase ram size may help.

More RAM is always desirable, but If you don't use VIs, and if all you're doing is only what you specified, I think you're all set with what you already have (the 6 GBs).

If you really feel your system needs it, go up to 8 by adding 2 more in the empty slot. I suppose going higher than that entails getting rid of all your sticks and getting new ones?

With VI programs that are heavily scripted or sample intensive, give them their own channel (separate instances) as that will use multicore threading and reduce CPU load. I would imagine with plugs one should take similar care not to overload one channel with too many plugs. Maybe multiple bussing to aux tracks can similarly lighten the CPU load?

MIDI Life Crisis wrote:Maybe multiple bussing to aux tracks can similarly lighten the CPU load?

I'd be interested in knowing the answer, as well.

Buzzy

Is a ? for Magic D.

I'd like to hear from Dave too.

I've tried it. Bus a channel to two auxes. Put 20 instances of some plugin on one of them, and look at CPU. Move 10 instances to the second aux and look again. It looks to me like 10 and 10, if anything uses more CPU than 20 and 0. I did it on a laptop with only two processors, but that ought to work if it's going to work at all.

I just tried it on my system using a stereo track, bussed to an aux, then bussed the aux to another aux, and that to yet another. Inserted about 12 plugs in track one and spread them around a bit from aux to aux with no appreciable difference in the CPU hit. Apple Activity Monitor hovered around 50%, same as with all plugs on the main track with no bussing.

With VIs it definitely makes a big difference to have separate tracks, but plugs don't seem to matter in that regard (on my system at any rate). It may well be that with plugs, more RAM really is the answer.

Dave? (Dave's not here... yet.)

I've got 8GB in the iMac listed below, don't use VI's, and with buffers of 128 or lower it seems that DP loses the ability to keep up long before activity monitor shows memory pressure over 20%, about the same for CPU usage. Raise the buffers and headroom will go up in DP. I haven't been able to overload CPU or RAM with higher buffers. Likewise with 2 plugs per channel I can't track 20 live inputs with buffers under 128 or DP will overload and shut down, no pressure whatsoever showing in activity monitor.