How much RAM do I need to run FCP effectively?

As you can see below, I have an iMac 2.1 Ghz 20 in. (isight) w/ 512 MB of RAM, and I also have FCP, but have been experiencing some playaback framerate issues. So I have decided to upgrade my RAM to either 1 GB, 1.5 GB, or 2.5 GB... My question is how much RAM do you have and how well does it run. I know 2.5 GB's would be the ideal amount, but if I only need 1.5 GB then I would prefer to go with that and use the extra cash for new speakers.
Thanks, and I posted this over at the Final Cut Express board on accident so if any of you feel you have read this before... thats why.

Get an external hard drive - Firewire 400 min/ firewire 800 if your machine will support it.
Having media and the os on the same disk is a recipe for disaster.
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Similar Messages

How Much Ram Do I Need To Run Logic Pro 9

Howdy.
I'm getting ready to do some recording and editing in Logic Pro 9. I'm running a 2011 iMac
2.7 GHz Intel Cor iS
Memory 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
I TB HD
OSX 10.6.8
Is 8 GB enough memory for Logic, or should I bump it up to 16 GB?
Thanks!

diaphones wrote:
To answer your question... Much of what I do invoves "raiding" the loop library and piecing things together. As time goes on, I'm getting more & more into original "progressive" type stuff. I'm not in a band nor am I affiliated with any other musicians, so I heavily dependent on loops.
I haven't had any memory issues (yet), but I just read something about freezing tracks taking some of the load off of memory.
If you're using mostly loops you have plenty of RAM.
Also, if you're not laying down a bunch of recorded audio tracks.. (like recording a band) your single TB hard drive should do fine. Freezing comes into play when the CPU is nearing load limit because of heavy use of software instruments and effects that demand a lot of CPU.
I would say for what you're doing at this time, your system is fine as it is.
If it ain't broke don't fix it.. if/when you run into a problem then deal with it, it's not like you're operating a commercial studio.
My suggestion would be to learn how to use Logic's effects correctly.. (Reverbs, Compressors, EQ, Delay...etc)
Use a Reverb or Delay on a bus, then several tracks and use the same effect, if you use all effects as inserts you're wasting CPU.
Learning how to use your system (as is) is FAR more important than how much RAM, what model Mac or how fast your CPU is.
A good engineer can make a world class recording in Garageband. Don't get to caught up in what you have or don't have.. have fun, be creative.

How much RAM do I need to run windows through paralells sucessfully/smoothly?

I have a MacBook with 2 gb of memory and need to run a program for school that is only available through windows. The program requires 128 mb ram to run. What would be the system requirements necessary to run windows through paralells and then this program on top of it. Do I have what it takes? or is my MacBook able to be upgraded to meet those requirements?

You didn't mention which version of Windows the program requires, or which MacBook Pro model you have.
I have successfully run Windows Microsoft Office 2010 and other older Windows applications under both XP and WIndows 7 with Parallels 5 in 2Gb of total RAM on my mid 2007 MacBook 2,1 with integrated GMA 950 video on both Mac OS X 10.5.8 'Leopard' (though Win 7 is not 'officially supported') and 10.6.6 'Snow Leopard'
But performance is, uh, 'limited', especially for processor-intensive applications like graphics programs.
My Core2Duo 2.16Ghz processor often runs at 100% of one processor, so the fan is often running at high speed all the time Windows is running. It is still possible to run Mac applications like Mail and Safari at the same time.
Since I upgraded to 4Gb RAM (although by design, my Mac 2,1 system only recognizes 3Gb) Windows 7 runs a bit better, though still at a slower speed than the same program with Windows 7 under Boot Camp where it has access to the full 3Gb.
I do own a copy of Parallels 6, purported to provide some performance gains, but I have not yet installed it, because I doubt that my current configuration will provide enough performance gains to warrant the time and trouble to install Parallels 6 and then have to once again deal with Microsoft Support over yet another 'reinstallation' of my perfectly legitimate, legal copy of Windows 7 Home Premium.
If you don't need simultaneous access to both Windows and Mac applications, Boot Camp will likely give you adequate performance with XP in 2Gb. RAM memory upgrades are certainly available from Apple and reliable vendors such as Other World Computing (www.macsales.com) where I've purchased several of my RAM and hard drive upgrades for a MacBook and a MacBook Pro.
Message was edited by: kostby

Imaq 3.0 Driver, How much memory do I need to run Snap.vi?

(1) When I am using ROI in the Snap.vi, the array should be in order of Left, Bottom, Right and Top to work it right, which is different from what Help says, that is, Left, Top, Right and Bottom. Which one is right?
(2) How much memory do I need to run the Snap.vi? 3.0 Driver seems to need more memory than 2.5.1 Driver did. I have 255 MB RAM on my computer, but in reality, the memory usage is used over 255 MB to capture 640*480 picture.
Could you give me a comment about this memory issue?

Hello GraceSun.
(1). The help menu is correct, the array should be Left, Top, Right, and Bottom for the ROI input.
(2). I am not sure exactly what behavior you are seeing with the memory problems in 3.0. You should be able to run an image snap no problem, the memory useage will vary, but will be much less than the RAM on your computer. Be sure that you are not running an IMAQ Create.vi inside of a loop.
Try running the example VI called HL Snap.vi, which can be found by going to Help&#187Find Examples. . . and browsing by directory structure. This VI should not be taking up too much RAM on your computer.
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Colin C.
Applications Engineering
Colin Christofferson
Community Web Marketing
Blog

How much RAM will I need?

Considering buying a Macbook Pro, but I wanted to ask around and find out approximatly how much RAM I would need so that I dont get a model thats too powerful or too weak for my usage. I was considering 4 Gbs but im not sure if thats enough.
What im mainly planning to do on the Macbook is:
internet browsing (chrome, safari etc)
Mail app
Word processing software like Microsoft word
Eclipse (java programming)
skype
utorrent
Say I have all these programs running at the same time, how much RAM will I need to have?

Oh also, I just remembered wanting to ask this, have you ever tried downloading an OS update for a macbook and apple wont let you because you have outdated technology? Like trying to download ios 7 on an iphone 3G for example.
I've had that exact problem - someone gave me what was, supposedly, an iPhone 4s but turned out to be a 3Gs. Couldn't update to iOS 7.x so it just sits on my desk right now.
And when I had my MacBook Pro (1,1 2006 model) I couldn't upgrade to Lion - was 'stuck with' Snow Leopard.
O'd technology that no longer plays nice with new OS's? Time to get a new machine.
Clinton
Message was edited by: clintonfrombirmingham

How much Ram do I need in a MacBook Pro for Software Engineering?

I plan to buy a new MacBook Pro in the next month for school and hopefully for work. I would like this computer to get me at least 4 years of use. I will be majoring in software engineering. My question is how much ram would I need in a Macbook Pro for software engineering? I am currenty looking at the 15" 2.3ghz base model with 8gb of ram as well as the 15" 2.4ghz base model retina. I really like the retina but its at my max budget. Will the 8gb of ram be enough since it is not upgradable? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I am currenty looking at the 15" 2.3ghz base model with 8gb of ram
The MB Pro 15" 2.3Ghz with 8GB of RAM should do the trick.
Save your $$$ on the retina and stick to your budget

How much disk space is needed to run Boot Camp using Windows XP?

How much disk space is needed to run Boot Camp using Windows XP?

The hatter wrote:
But you can't install XP if you have a new Mac.
Try running XP in a VM or aquire Windows 7 which is the only one supported now.
And you will need more like 60GB for Windows 7, so I would skip on 20GB just to be safe.
20G is a fine minimum for XP, I was not responding to any inquiry about Win 7.

How much RAM do I need in my new MacBookPro?

I think I need to add more RAM to my MacBook Pro. I've been using it for a couple of months now and I'm tired of running so slow. Things are fine until I have several applications open or whenever I try to run any Adobe Creative Suite programs.
So, my question is: how much RAM should I buy? My 1.83 MacBook Pro has the standard 512 MBs of RAM that came with it. I'd prefer to keep the cost low, so would buying one more 512 MB stick be enough? I am processing 8 Megapixel RAW images in Photoshop. Will 1 MB total be enough?
Also, do I have to have the two slots matched? Can I put a 1GB stick next to my 512 MB stick?
Thanks,
Laura

512+512 is better than 1gb + 0 - because of the ddr2 effect in the same way that 256+256 is better than 512+0, but not better than 512+256
512 + 1gb is better than 512 + 512 because you have more ram which outweighs the performance benefit of the two dimms.
The way to tell is to run activity monitor (from applications), click and hold the dock icon and turn it into a memory pie chart. You'll see how much ram you are using (tip - free ram is the total of free (green) + inactive (blue). If you are only occasionally running right out you might get by with 1gb total.
Also, economically, you'll be able to get a 512 for about $45-50 as people upgrade, whereas the 1gb chip will cost (at the moment - over $100 for generic and $150+ for one that is the same model as Apple supply - these prices do change and right at the moment there is a shortage of DDR2. - If you do want to buy one, post back and I can give you some hints on where and what to look out for). I'm awaiting a machine next week and will be posting 2 512's on craigslist in your(our) region, as do many others who upgrade so it's not a bad way to get ram - from another mbp owner who is upgrading to 2 x 1gb - and it's normally been tested for a few days.
Also, not a bad idea to have a look to see which chip Apple have put in their already and post back.
Best of luck.

Buying a new iMac... how much power do I need to run GarageBand well?

Hi All
I am about to get a 27" iMac but am weighing up the options for the processor and memory (and maybe hard drive too). Neither my wife nor I are into gaming or high end graphics stuff, so we do not need an i7 with 16GB ram... but is the bassline 27" iMac powerful enough to run GarageBand with no problems?
I have not really used it much before as our laptop is about 6 years old and it really struggles running GB, hence I have not been keen. However as I am a musician and am about to get a new computer... I am keen to find out just how much power I'll need.
At this stage, I want to play around with GB and dop some aranging, not sure how many tracks this will end up equating to as my experience grows... but unless I really get into it, I am unlikely to progress to Logic or similar... but if I did, would I need more than the baseline?
So in short... do you guys think the 27" iMac i3 with 4GB RAM will cut it for someone who is getting started but wants to spend a reasonable amount of time in GB? Why/why not?
Thanks

TuningPeg wrote:
In order to fully understand what you just said to me... I had better find out what an 'Addictive Drum AU' is. I am quite teh newbie when it comes to digitally recording, either from a real instrument or a virtual one.
I am assuming that the Addictive Drum is fairly intense when it comes to the CPU? Are there many other virtual instruments that are hard on the CPU? For an average user I am assuming this will not pop up to often, correct?
Garageband is not a 'closed system' in that you are stuck with what it offers. You have the option to use 3rd party software to enhance your productions. AU stands for Audio Unit, a coding standard around which many 3rd party developers use to integrate with Mac products. As you develop your own habits and tastes with your productions, you might decide that the options GB offers you are not to your liking. This is where these sorts of products come in. They are very easy to use with GB. Addictive Drums is a Drum program that is actually lightweight on your system compared to others. The only reason I had 8 instances (one loaded on 8 individual MIDI tracks) was because of a limitation GB has. It suited my workflow to do it this way.
There is a huge range of AU's available, Native Instruments being a company that does a very good set of products. Some are indeed very CPU intensive, others are not. You have to do your research by asking questions on various forums and seeking reviews etc.
The term 'Average User' really means nothing in my honest opinion. Depending on your preferred genre of music and how you go about hooking into this slippery slope of hobby home recording, you may bump into a variety of limitations either in GB itself or limitations because of your machine. Because RAM is easily replaced by the owner and hard drives are easily obtained for extra storage, CPU is the thing your are stuck with from day one. Programs are getting bigger and they are relying on lots of number crunching. Amp simulations are a good example of CPU intensive software. It is easy to find yourself spending $60 here and $99 there on all sorts of cool Software, and before you know it you have quite the quiver full. I am not a heavy GB user, in that I don't run 30+ tracks on my projects. I am a 12-16 track average user most of the time. However, the reason I upgraded to my iMac recently was because I had one piano AU, yes just one, that stopped my 2 year old macbook in its tracks when using another recording program. I had all the RAM that GB could use, an excellent hard drive and a very good sound card, but the computers lack of grunt made working with it tedious and sometimes frustrating. You more than likely have a budget to work with when getting your machine. The advice I would give any personal friend who was getting their first computer for recording is to get the most CPU you can for your budget. You could be staring at this machine for the next 4-6 years. Typically RAM and hard drives get cheaper over time should you need them, relatively small prices to pay in the long run.

How Much RAM Do I Need in a Mac Pro to edit together hour-long videos for our church?

We need a new computer to edit video together for our services at church. We broadcast these videos each week, so we use our editing computer quite a bit. We also produce shorter videos for use online and in our services. Looking at moving to a Mac, and I'm not quite sure how much RAM we should purchase in a Mac Pro to avoid long rendering times. Obviously, we need to keep costs as low as possible, but we want something that will work, and last for a while. Thanks!

The fastest 6-core is the "sweet spot" in the lineup. near twice the compute power of the entry model at only 1.5 times the cost.
6GB is fine for "regular" stuff you do on a Mac. Video editing without pain often requires more ... up to as much as 24GB if you can afford it. Apple's prices for this are quite high (like a convenience store). Many folks buy aftermarket RAM from Mac-centric vendors who can tell Users what modules will work in their Mac -- "guaranteed or your money back".
You can run as few as a single RAM module in 2009 and later Macs. So when adding, choose the densest modules you think you might EVER need, to avoid throwing away less-dense modules later.
You also will need at least one drive (preferably two) in addition to the Boot drive. Paging and program access to the boot drive wrecks drive access for User data.
You also need a Backup Drive. Big (but can be really slow).

How much ram do i need for serious video editing?

early 2008 2X2.8 Quad Core Intel Xeon Mac Pro, with 8 GB RAM (8X1GB sticks), 2 @ 1.5 TB hard drives +. Use Final Cut Express for video editing. CS4 for typical daily workflow. How much RAM do i really need to make this a powerhouse video editor?

To make any 'good' recommendations it would be helpful to know what you are editing - DV, SD, HD? That is a big factor in determining specifications.
If you do more than one stream of HD, you will eventually want an external video drive solution from CalDigit, Dulce, Promax, G-RAID, or any of the others you see on the side. And it also depends on what 'flavor' of HD - I doubt your running 1920x1080 uncompressed 10-bit HD off of one drive. an external RAID array might seem like overkill. Generally, the advantages are increased speed (necessary for dealing with uncompressed, high-res footage) and redundancy so you don't lose everything if a single drive dies.
Get AJA System Test to test the speed of your logical drives so you can get an estimate of what you are looking at.
You really DON'T want your OS and programs on the same drive as your media files. It'll cause performance bottlenecks and all kinds of grief.
Those WD 10K 300-600GB drive is perfect for your OS, applications, and swap files. That's ALL that you want to have on it, and add one or even two faster drives as a RAID 0 pair for more speed and space. Get at least one 7200RPM drive for video/graphics/etc.
For your video storage:
The hard drives you mentioned are fine for standard definition video. However, if you want to edit high definition or otherwise have complex / advanced ideas for your projects, you'll need something with higher read rates than just those single drives. This gets pricey, so depending on what you're intending to do, may not be appropriate for you.
During video CAPTURE your hard disks need to be able to write at a speed meeting or exceeding that video data stream. If other programs use the same disk you are saving too, then you have and increased change of missed writes to the drive. That is why they suggest having a seperate set of disks for capture. Not a bad idea.
*Strip size*
should be => 128K, I would use 256K. More importaint is cluster size. The default is 8 K which is good for the operating system plus programs as over 50% of the files are =< than 8K. For large files (is dot VOB can be 1 gig) it is not the best. When you write a large file each clustter contains a pointer to the next cluster that is to be read. I used 32K, or 64 K (at work so not sure) cluster size for my disk containing Pitures and video. The size of the file allocation table is also reduced by using the larger cluster size.
Back in 2007, this is what was recommended:
<a class="jive-link-external-small" href="http://">http://www.manifest-tech.com/mediapc/pc_syshd.htm
Compressor can do virtual clusters (you need at lest 2GB/core of RAM.
Apple Final Cut Pro
http://forums.creativecow.net/applefinalcutpro?view=s
Basics
http://forums.creativecow.net/applefinalcutbasics?view=s
Compressor - doesn't hold up well.
http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/20/865329
If you need to convert HD to SD, then you want hardware like the AJA Kona LHi or Kona 3 and those require a Mac Pro. If you go that route, get the fastest Mac Pro you can afford, minimum 8GB RAM, ATI 4870 card.
http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/200/888050
Final Cut Studio
http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=123

How much RAM do I need to use Mavericks?

Happy am I with my iMac from mid-2011. With 4 GB of RAM, it runs Mac OS X v10.8.5 well. :-)
Daily I use my iMac to work the crossword puzzles from the New York Times, to send & to receive email, and to watch Rush Limbaugh.
I _know_ that I must Upgrade to Mavericks _someday_ but for example, how much more RAM would I need? Thank you.
P. S. I wrote, "I must Upgrade to Mavericks someday" because I need to keep current. But _rarely-indeed_ do I need help [with my iMac :-) ].

The requirement is a minimum of 2 GBs. A minimum of 15 GBs of free space on the hard drive.
Upgrading to Mavericks
You can upgrade to Mavericks from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Mavericks can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for FREE.
Upgrading to Mavericks
To upgrade to Mavericks you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Download Mavericks from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. Mavericks is free. The file is quite large, over 5 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.
    Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Mavericks
         1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later
         2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later
         3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later
         5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.
     Are my applications compatible?
         See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.

Recommendation on how much RAM on 8-core to run Parallels & XP?

Hi
I ordered my 8-core with 1Gb of RAM planning to expand it by buying an additional 2GB through Crucial...(cheaper than through Apple)
1. Would 3GB of RAM be enough to concurrently run OSX+apps and Parallels with XP with a negligible speed impact
2. While I am at it... is there a better/cheaper place to buy additional RAM from than Crucial? I've read somewhere that not all vendors had enough quality memory boards to support the 8-core... is that true?

Lloyd Chambers has done some memory benchtests of 8-core and linked form Barefeats article. There is also an entire article
http
on the subject of Mac Pro memory.
Can't go wrong with Crucial, but I use more than 2GB and found 4GB was what I needed, and I don't even run any heavy apps. Symmetrical balance of 4 x 1GB is a good way to make use of the quad channel 256-bit performance and recommended for some apps.
Dig these articles and links:
http://diglloyd.com/diglloyd/free/MacPro/
http://www.geekpatrol.ca/2006/12/eight-core-mac-pro-benchmarks/
http://diglloyd.com/diglloyd/free/MacPro/memory.html
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304492
http://www.barefeats.com/octopro3.html

ML, Parallels (Aspen Hysys) and multi-display. How much RAM do I need?

Hello, I'm a proud owner of a 13-inch Mid '10 MB with a 2.4 Intel Core 2 Duo Processor.
I recently upgraded my machine with a 250 GB Samsung 840 SSD and bought an enclosure for my original 250 GB HDD to sit on.
I'm in ML 10.8.3 and need to use Parallels to run Aspen HYSYS in a 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate edition and I'm planning to use a second display to run Aspen Hysys while using normally ML (Google Chrome, Mail, Excel and Word) in my MB.
I actually have 2 GB of RAM in my MB and I'm planning to upgrade it so I can run smoothly Parallels and use both displays.
I've read tons of times that this MB can handle 8 GB and even 16 GB RAM from OWC, but I think the 2x8 GB RAM is too expensive.
Can my MB run smoothly with 8 GB all the features mentioned above, or should I make an effort and get the 16 GB RAM?
Thanks.

It's really difficult to interpret some posts because
acceptable performance to some is unacceptable to
others.
Good point. To be more precise about my post when using 4GB and running Aperture and CS3 with Activity monitor also running to show me memory use I found that I was running out of available memory and noticing a consequent slow down about 30% of the time. Most of the time (aproximately 70%) the 4GB seemed to be sufficient.
I should note that this did not include much work in CS3 with large layered files. Since I expect to have more large files working in Photoshop in the next few months I jumped to 8GB. I have only had a couple of weeks with that configuration but my impression now is that I am virtually never seeing a slow down due to using up all the available RAM.
The performance of my system even with 4GB and running slightly slower might have been acceptable to some. I thought I could afford the upgrade and went for it. Partially that was because I think that the Mac Pro is the best desktop computer that Apple has ever made and I am likely to be holding on to this one for a bit longer than my usual 18-24 months.

How much RAM do i need?

I am preparing to buy an iMac or Mac Pro for home music production. I could stretch my budget to a Mac Pro, but with my sensible head on i should get an iMac. Someone told me an iMac would be sufficient but 'be sure to max out the RAM'. Its an extra £800/$1000 to max out the RAM. At that cost it makes more sense just to get a Mac Pro where i can get the same 8GB for just £200/$250 more.
As a home producer, using Logic, Komplete 6, Melodyne plug-in/editor and various other plug-ins, do i really need 8GB? Wouldn't a 2.93GHz iMac with 4GB RAM be more than enough?

One key advantage of the Mac Pro (other than pure performance and max RAM), when disk access speed is important, is the capability to have up to four internal SATA drives. So you can separate the OS and apps from where the data is stored, increasing efficiency and performance. On an iMac, you have one internal SATA drive, so you either use it for the OS, apps, and data storage, or you use the FireWire 800 port for external storage. FireWire 800 is reasonably fast and may be fast enough for your purposes, but it is slower than SATA.
If you go get an iMac, DO NOT get it with 8GB of RAM pre-installed. Get it with the standard 4GB of RAM. If you decide you actually need 6GB or 8GB, you can upgrade it for much less. For example, OWC sells a kit with two matched 4GB modules for $476.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/8566DDR3S8GP/
I'm sure there are other quality vendors with similar prices. Plus you get to keep the original pair of 2GB modules. When you sell the iMac later, you can put the originals back and sell the 4GB modules separately, getting back part of your investment.

How much RAM do I need to run FCP effectively?

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