How much PC RAM do you have? is more better, and how much better?

R

rockironwebb

senior newbie caveman
I am thinking about adding some memory to the PC that I am using mainly for my solo electronic music making. I have 4 GB, win7, 64 bit OS, 3 GHz, 1TB HD and 500GB external HD, using ableton live 8. So far not too many issues, I do have the OS stripped down for performance. I did run a little trial while viewing task manager and with less effort then I expected was able to max out RAM usage to the point where things were beginning to be slow to respond, the music playing never missed a beat/note, but when I would click on controls and such they were sluggish. Thinking of adding 8GB, any opinions on this matter?
My specs:
HP Pavilion p6754y Magnesium Gray Edition Desktop PC Product Specifications HP Pavilion p6754y Desktop PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)
 
Also, I meant to ask, I know have 4 slots, 2 slots empty, 2 slots each with 2GB. Do RAM modules "get along well" when from different makers/models? Would adding an 8GB 2X4GB kit to the two empty slots work fine along with what is already in the pc? Or would I do better to have same make/model modules in all slots?
 
rockironwebb said:
Would adding an 8GB 2X4GB kit to the two empty slots work fine along with what is already in the pc?
Click to expand...

Probably - just make sure the specs are the same. I haven't seen problems from mixing RAM in like 15 years...reminds me of manual IRQs and DOS and stuff, lol.

Also - how did you manage to max out 4 GB with audio stuff? Even when I'm working with like 100 tracks, memory usage never even approaches that. Lots of sampled VSTi's or something?
 
I think the preferred method would be the bigger RAM in the first two slots.

Crucial.com has a little app that will tell you how to configure RAM for best performance. I'm pretty sure you want the same clock speed for all your RAM modules. Wiki says higher speed DDR2 DIMMs are compatible with lower speed DDR2 DIMMs but your motherboard or CPU controller will clock to the lower speed DIMMs.
 
Sounds good to me. Even though I am not yet having any sluggishness, I am still an infant in ableton, but I am learning and getteing better every day. I guess I would rather get it now when I don't "need" it then to wait for when I am getting deep into a project and need it but haven't gotten it.May be I'll just go with a 4X2GB kit? I'll do a bunch more googleing before I lay down the dollars.
 
As above, RAM will only run at the speed of the slowest module - make sure your new RAM is at least as fast as your current RAM. Put your biggest RAM in the first slots (usually nearest the CPU).

Your new RAM must be the same type (DDR, DDR2 or DDR3), or it won't fit in the slots.

Also to consider is latency timings. Your RAM manufacturer guarantees performance up to a certain speed (usually 1333 or 1600MHz nowadays) at certain timings (i.e. how many clock cycles it takes to perform each step of memory retrieval). I think your system will run at the slowest timings. You probably won't notice a performance hit.

Then, there's voltage - I think they must be at or near the same voltage at the same speed, otherwise you can damage your RAM if you don't adjust frequency (speed) or timings accordingly (I've no idea how to go about this!).

If you can't find RAM exactly like your current, your best bet might be to buy all new RAM from the same manufacturer in a kit and sell on that old RAM.
 
All that said, I have previously (a long time ago) just chucked further RAM into a PC without checking any of that and it was fine, but your mileage may well vary.
 
Thanx for the advice. I bought Some RAM yesterday, 2X4GB, slapped it in and now I have 12GB. I put ableton through it's paces, I had over 50 tracks and multiple clips running at the same time while I was steady adding and tweaking effects, no sluggishness, cpu never went over 25. I manage to force a crash when I tried to duplicate the 50 tracks, but I am sure that was was just a stupid thing to do anyway. I am comfortable knowing that I can get deep into a project and not have to worry about getting bogged down.
 
I use 8GB and I've never used it all. I think I only just push out to 5GB when doing serious gaming. and that is probably down to my graphics card not having quite enough RAM. I never had problems with just 4GB before.
It's always good to future-proof with more though. Eventually, your computer will need the extra RAM either way, assuming it doesn't die before software does that.

As many have said though, larger RAM in main slots. As long as opposite slots are matching, it shouldn't matter. As in slot 1 in channel A and B are the same, but slot 2 in channel A and B, can be different to slot 1s, but same as each other.
Always best if every stick is the same though. Saves for most complications.
 
Don't get hung up on how much RAM is used at any given time [via Task Manager]. Unused RAM is wasted RAM. You want your RAM used because it's faster than a hard drive. The RAM will give up the space to the most used apps and data, but it retains things in memory after being used just in case you want that data again real soon. If not, it gives up the space to something you are using. I love having my RAM filled by data. There is no harm. Do not be surprised to see all 12 GB filled. MS implemented this technique a little more robustly after XP.
 
I built 8gb 8500 into my last desktop.
I'm not aware of ever getting into the second 4gb.

I did push that pc to the limits, but the limits weren't ram apparently.

Depends what you do though I suppose; I'm not a sample/synth user.
 
EFaaT said:
Don't get hung up on how much RAM is used at any given time [via Task Manager]. Unused RAM is wasted RAM. You want your RAM used because it's faster than a hard drive. The RAM will give up the space to the most used apps and data, but it retains things in memory after being used just in case you want that data again real soon. If not, it gives up the space to something you are using. I love having my RAM filled by data. There is no harm. Do not be surprised to see all 12 GB filled. MS implemented this technique a little more robustly after XP.
Click to expand...
That is stupid reasoning. Once you fill up your RAM, it starts writing the oldest stuff to the hard drive instead. You should certainly be surprised if all 12GB of RAM fills up during a recording session. Most likely, some of your software has a memory leak, or just as bad, you have a ton of programmes running, that you really don't need.

Steenamaroo said:
I built 8gb 8500 into my last desktop.
I'm not aware of ever getting into the second 4gb.

I did push that pc to the limits, but the limits weren't ram apparently.

Depends what you do though I suppose; I'm not a sample/synth user.
Click to expand...

I use both audio and a lot of MIDI with a bunch of plugins. Like I mentioned. Even 5GB is as much as I've needed to use as of yet. Even heavy gaming sessions haven't gone over that.
I think I'd have trouble with my hard drives before my RAM gave up.
 
Well, stupid or not that's just the way it is. It's known as SuperFetch and was implemented during Vista and persists through Windows7. It is a good thing, somegeezer, not a bad thing. Having recently used data in available RAM is far better than having RAM left unused. It has nothing to do with memory leaks or unnecessary apps running in the background. It's just there in case you want that data back again. Sorry.

EFaaT
 
SuperFetch is one of the things I deleted on an old Dell, that had issues when recording. On a slower (minimal RAM) computer, it can be a bad thing.
 
I have 4GB RAM here and AMD E400 Processor (quad core). I'll make this sick by upgrading it to 8GB but Not sure if my motherboard can still accommodate it.
 
EFaaT said:
Well, stupid or not that's just the way it is. It's known as SuperFetch and was implemented during Vista and persists through Windows7. It is a good thing, somegeezer, not a bad thing. Having recently used data in available RAM is far better than having RAM left unused. It has nothing to do with memory leaks or unnecessary apps running in the background. It's just there in case you want that data back again. Sorry.

EFaaT
Click to expand...
Having RAM left unused is great for futureproofing a computer. The only reason I bumped my machine up to 8GB from 4GB. It's never a good thing to completely fill your RAM. Once you're at the end, there's nowhere else to go. So you have a little extra as headroom, for the just in case. As soon as I start having to use closer to 8GB, I'll most definitely upgrade to 16GB, rather than have my computer turn to shit everytime it goes over.

Steenamaroo said:
He did say he was on windows dude! :p
Click to expand...

So am I. =P I make sure to keep on top of all my processes. But then again, I just love playing about with my computer to get it to its greatest potential. Once Linux manages to fully support gaming and top end audio work, I'll switch right over though. =D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top