new comp and software compatibility

[dave_major]

Hi i am very close to replacing my 4 year old studio pc and am going to go the full 9 yards with it but before i do that I have a few questions i would like to ask.

Firstly here is the system specs

AMD Phenom 9500
8GB of ddr2 pc 6400 ram
750gb sata II hard drive
(all the usual other stuff)


the software i am going to be running in A version of cubase, east west symphonic choirs and orchestra pro xp, reason 4.

but most importantly I want to use windows xp64 so that my computer can address more ram.


(on a side not the only hardware i have coming out of the pc is a delta 1010 pci card which i know there are drivers available for.)

Now heres the few questions i have

Are there any restrictions on the amount of ram i can address in xp 64 (like in some versions of vista)?

Does anybody use this os? any problems?

Now to the software questions.

I have a legal version of Cubase SL 2 and itd be great if i could get by without having to spend £300 on an upgrade to cubase 4? Does anybody know if i could run SL2 on an xp64 pc.

Will the east west software use all of the 8gb of ram??? This is the main reason for getting so much because at the moment i am using atleast 2-3 instances of the Orchestra software and, to get a full real choir, 4 instances of the Choir and my computer is struggling even before i put the choir in.

Reason-I am guessing because Reason 4 is new that it should support xp64 even if it only runs as a 32 bit application.

Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Dave Major

Does anybody know of a good site where i can find software compatibility for other everyday software

 

[stopstartstall]

xp 64bit can access up to 128gb of RAM according to microsoft scroll down to the bottom

is the computer prebuilt or are you building your own? if its the latter i'd take a look at the intel q6600s over the phenoms. you'd have to change your mobo, take a look at the p35 chipset. q6600s overclock like anything, and they're still fast at stock speeds. they usually beat phenoms in benchmarks.

can't help you with the software compatibility, sorry!

 

[Hard2Hear]

Installing XP64 at this point is really not a good idea. Its not supported by anyone, and is specifically NOT supported by some. If you HAVE to do 64, Vista is the wiser decision. Of course, it will choke that puny AMD, but thats your choice. But that whole setup looks downright bad to me.

#1 you HAVE to upgrade your sequencer. Steinberg is lacking in 64 bit. Theres a patch for C4 that is 64 bit, but its quite flaky. And you still won't get use out of the extra memory with it.

To actually USE the extra memory 64 bit allows you, you HAVE to stick with real 64 bit programs and their latest versions. You'll need to wait for the EastWest PLAY updates for your libraries, or use Viennas 64 bit player and buy some of their libraries.

64 bit systems are not for those light in the wallet.

 

[altitude909]

To actually USE the extra memory 64 bit allows you, you HAVE to stick with real 64 bit programs and their latest versions. You'll need to wait for the EastWest PLAY updates for your libraries, or use Viennas 64 bit player and buy some of their libraries.

ding ding ding!

This is the biggest thing ppl miss about using any 64 bit flavor of windows. ANY 32 bit program run on a 64 bit OS will still have the 2 gig memory limit that it did with xp32 so you gain NOTHING. The only thing that will be able to use the extra memory would be the OS which is pointless since your typical workstation will never be running anything close to the limit and native 64bit apps (which are few and far between). More likely than not, you will just get yourself into a compatibility mess by running 32bit software with 64bit drivers and mixed 32/64 hosts/plugs etc.

 

[dave_major]

Cheers everyone for clearing a few things up for me.

In terms of the processor i know everyone will have different opinions i have read as many reviews and other poeples opinions as i can and I just trust AMD as i have had real problems in the past with intel chips...its a loyalty thing.

And to be honest jumping from a single core processor (athlon 64 3700) to even a dual core would provide me with a noticable jump in performance.



.i have decided to purchase a cubase upgrade to studio 4 anyway however here is a reply i got from arbiter(steinbergs uk distributor) about compatibility

I am afraid to say it should run but it is not recommended as it will run as a 32 bit application and you do not have any advantages to do this on the performance point.

When I say it should as there is some aspects of Windows 64 bit which could be problematic for the application.

The bottom line it should but not recommended.

If you are going down this route you should think about a software upgrade to a most up to date version.

Hope this will help.

I know that most applications would not address the extra ram and as i said the main reason i would be buying it would be to provide the Symphonic choirs and Orchestra with more ram to use so i would be buying the play engine upgrade..i have already bought my Ilok key in preperation.

Does anyone have any idea when this would be though?

May be another stupid question but am i right in guessing i would have to buy 2 one for each of my VSTi's?

Cheers to altitude909 for clearing another question i had.

At the moment i have 3gb of ram and taken what you have said im i right in assuming that both my cubase and the any vst plug ins i am using can only address 2gb?

Cheers again

Dave

 

[altitude909]

Cheers everyone for clearing a few things up for me.

In terms of the processor i know everyone will have different opinions i have read as many reviews and other poeples opinions as i can and I just trust AMD as i have had real problems in the past with intel chips...its a loyalty thing.

You should get over it. Intel currently tromps anything AMD has to offer on all counts. I just bought a Q6600 for $199.00, there is nothing at that price that will give you better performance (or even close). That and the technical problems with the Phenoms, I would recommend passing on any AMD offering short of an Opteron right now

And to be honest jumping from a single core processor (athlon 64 3700) to even a dual core would provide me with a noticable jump in performance.

Very much so.

.i have decided to purchase a cubase upgrade to studio 4 anyway however here is a reply i got from arbiter(steinbergs uk distributor) about compatibility

This should be fine providing you are running vista where you wil have both the 64bit and 32bit versions available. The C4 64bit version is in the works but is only supported on Vista64

Does anyone have any idea when this would be though?

May be another stupid question but am i right in guessing i would have to buy 2 one for each of my VSTi's?

Who knows. I would say I would not hold breath untill the majority of sequencers have 64bit version out and in use. What is the point of spending money to develop 64bit versions of your software for a tiny portion of people that actually use 64bit windows?

You only need one iLok for everything, it will store all your keys for all your iLok apps
Cheers to altitude909 for clearing another question i had.

At the moment i have 3gb of ram and taken what you have said im i right in assuming that both my cubase and the any vst plug ins i am using can only address 2gb?

It is 2gig "personal" and 2 gig virtual space in memory, so effectively yes