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

[ewistrand]

Unless your programs themselves are large address aware, the most any app can use is still 2 GB- actually, closer to 1.75 GB. In most people's cases, the >3 GB switch won't do anything that's actually usable.

ew

[Decalc]

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.

Do you have a recent machine and tried vista? LOL.. you don't seem to know what you're talking about. Sorry.. I have Vista and it runs better than XP. I don't have a single complain.

[Timur]

Unless your programs themselves are large address aware, the most any app can use is still 2 GB- actually, closer to 1.75 GB. In most people's cases, the >3 GB switch won't do anything that's actually usable.

ew

Hopefully NI changes that anytime soon with a free update of Kontakt 3!

[gjm]

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.

Thankyou for the excellent and easily understandable description of the switch.

ewistrand wrote:

Unless your programs themselves are large address aware, the most any app can use is still 2 GB- actually, closer to 1.75 GB. In most people's cases, the >3 GB switch won't do anything that's actually usable.

So the obvious question: Is Live one of those programs that are designed to take advantage of the additional memory address space? And. which commonly used DAW or music apps are designed this way? How useful is it...really?

[Alien Leg]

Are there any users of WinXP x64 or Vista x64?

Anyone actually using more than 2GB with the /3GB switch?

Btw, I do remember Live has been made large adress aware sometime in the v6 update cycle.

[YILA]

im using 3 gig.. but its only so i can preload things into RAM to stop the Disc glitching out...

[samsensual]

Can you, actually? I enabled it, started loading audio files into RAM instead of streaming them from the harddisk. What I get is a filled RAM, even above 2GB, but Live becomes less stable and REPORTS DISK OVERLOADS. Can somebody explain that? I free the disk load and get an overload so that certain files refuse playing and don't start playing again once they're off - is that normal? Shouldn't the RAM thingy prevent glitches and disk overloads? Am I doing something wrong?

[mdb]

im using 3 gig.. but its only so i can preload things into RAM to stop the Disc glitching out...

Download O&O defrag and run a "COMPLETE/Name" defrag and watch your disk glitches go away.

I used to have issues here and there with that, until someone turned me on to O&O and told me its the best defragger out there, hands down. Boy was he right. That software changed my hard drive performance dramatically.