Using 4 GB Ram: XP /3GB or Vista x64

[Alien Leg]

Hi!

I'm going to build a new PC and it will have 4 GB Ram.
Using WinXP and default settings one can only utilize 2 GB.

I'd like to hear reports from users, who are working with XP and enabled 3GB switch. Does it work with all plugins? Is the system stable?

An alternative would be using Vista x64, which should be able to use all of the 4 GB. Any reports here? Are there performance penalties using 32bit Software in Vista x64 if compared to the 32 bit version?

Markus

[rikhyray]

There is hardly any benefit of the 1 G more since Vista will swallow it. XP is probably the best OS for music ever, unless you need OS to be pretty but then OSX is the best choice..

[Alien Leg]

I don't think Vista needs 1 GB of ram for itself and there is vlite.

So the questions remain:

What are your experiences with Win XP /3GB

and Vista x64?

[Decalc]

I would recomend using Vista SP1 if you are getting a new computer. I use to say bad things about Vista until i installed it. I'm writing this post under vista and it says it's using 640mb of ram (i have 2GB).. and i have P2P software running.

So if you have 4GB i would recommend the x64 version, but make sure there are 64bit drivers for all hardware you use.
I'm using the x86 version because i have axiom49 and alesis multimix usb2.0 and there are no 64bit drivers for them.
All i have to say is that i'm happy with the x86 version.. no software problems.. no crashes.. and it's a really smooth OS.. i'm in love wih Vista.

[gjm]

Hi!

I'm going to build a new PC and it will have 4 GB Ram.
Using WinXP and default settings one can only utilize 2 GB.

I'd like to hear reports from users, who are working with XP and enabled 3GB switch. Does it work with all plugins? Is the system stable?

Markus

Any chance of a brief description of what this is? I have never heard of this. Thanks.

[Nogi]

http://www.dansdata.com/askdan00015.htm

[gjm]

http://www.dansdata.com/askdan00015.htm

Thanks for that. I thought the Switch might be referring to some piece of kit you hacked to your box, and then jumped through a bunch of big hoops to enable it.

[wxyz]

With XP 32 bit you can only access 3gigs of ram and you need to have the switch if one program is to access more than 2 gigs

[gjm]

With XP 32 bit you can only access 3gigs of ram and you need to have the switch if one program is to access more than 2 gigs

Oh shit... now I am confused... so it is a physical thingymajig that you use at your discretion for certain applications? So what is the advantage for use with Live?

[Timur]

Live doesn't run smooth on Vista, several people (including me) report problems with Live's GUI swallowing CPU and in combination with a Fireface 400 it is unuseable on my system even (runs better with my other audio-interfaces eventhough these come with worse drivers than the Fireface). In fact the only reason I did not completely switch to Vista is because of Ableton Live! I'm not amused.

[pr0jekt2501]

i ran vista x64 on a dell m1330 with 4gb ram without any probs. using asio4all i could get 5 ms latency. didnt have any problems with vsts either, except for activating massive which involved a bit of a workaround.

[Decalc]

Live doesn't run smooth on Vista, several people (including me) report problems with Live's GUI swallowing CPU and in combination with a Fireface 400 it is unuseable on my system even (runs better with my other audio-interfaces eventhough these come with worse drivers than the Fireface). In fact the only reason I did not completely switch to Vista is because of Ableton Live! I'm not amused.

I don't seem to have any of those problems with vista. Are you running SP1?

[Timur]

Happens with or without SP1, on both 32-bit and 64-bit Vista. Except for the Fireface problems usually it helps to use Aero instead of the Basic Desktop (which may be NVidia related, because all people reporting this seem to use Nvidia graphics).

Do you use a NVidia graphic-card? Please run Tarekith Performance Test with both Aero and Basic desktop then move some non Live window over Live's GUI. Does it run smooth or start dropping out with the CPU meter increasing?

Do you use a Fireface (400)?

[blank]

Hi!

I'm going to build a new PC and it will have 4 GB Ram.
Using WinXP and default settings one can only utilize 2 GB.

I'd like to hear reports from users, who are working with XP and enabled 3GB switch. Does it work with all plugins? Is the system stable?

An alternative would be using Vista x64, which should be able to use all of the 4 GB. Any reports here? Are there performance penalties using 32bit Software in Vista x64 if compared to the 32 bit version?

Markus

I use the 3 gig switch without a prob and I think xp is the way to go on pc to produce stuff.

I also think vista is a pretty dirty os without any kind of promising future except to be sell to some fat aunt on a gateway laptop in a best buy or a future shop.

[Ajbbklyn]

The /3GB switch can be implemented by editing the boot.ini file. Do a search on microsoft.com: "editing the boot.ini file in Windows XP" Basically, you're editing a simple text file to add the "switch". (It's not a piece of hardware in and of itself. Just an instruction to the OS.)

Here is Microsoft's definition:

/3GB
This switch forces x86-based systems to allocate 3 GB of virtual address space to programs and 1 GB to the kernel and to executive components. A program must be designed to take advantage of the additional memory address space. With this switch, user mode programs can access 3 GB of memory instead of the usual 2 GB that Windows allocates to user mode programs. The switch moves the starting point of kernel memory to 3 GB.

PS - I have the switch implemented. Live 7 Suite runs just fine. I have 4GB (4 X 1GB) installed on the motherboard.