PC Memory for Rendering
 

I currently have 1GB RAM in my Duo-Core 3GHz PC.

Just loaded up a recent project ( 1hr 05min on timeline ). Started rendering. Noticed majority of memory used. I think it had something like 4000 left - nothing compared to the 1GB. Running a bit slow. Noticed Page File is something in order of 2.1GB ( Disk caching ). From these two figures, can I assume if I had more than 3.1GB ( 1GB + 2.1GB ), then it would render faster. Does Page File indicate the extra memory required in this situation? There are quite a few Dynamic Link renders in there from After Effects. Noticed AfterFX.exe is using quite a bit of memory - I guess this is the Dynamic Link working, as I dont have AE running as a discrete program.

From a recent post I learnt I must remember to separate video and audio at capture via the appropriate scratch disks, so this may be contributing to the slowness.

Any feedback appreciated.

Thanks

Steve

Two suggestions:

1. Increase RAM to 2GB
2. Create a fixed page file on a non-OS disk of 4.096 MB

What is your disk setup?

Thanks for the suggestions, Harm.

I have 2 PCs working - they are networked, but I dont pull files across for editing - I run different projects at the same time, one on each. While 1 is rendering, I can be editing a diff project on the other. Both are identical.

Both have 2 x 300MB, 7200rpm, 16MB Cache, 133Mhz bus.

PS Just read about the pagefile adjustment..... It says max pagefile is 3x RAM installed, so the max I can set this to is 3GB??? Can you confirm this to be the case. Webpages you read are not always accurate.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

Cheers

Steve

Steve,

The rule of thumb is to have your page file set to twice the amount of RAM installed. That seems to work best. If you increase your RAM to 2 GB, then this rule of thumb says that your page file should be 4 GB. In your case where you have only 1 GB currently, 2 GB would be the suggestion, but as you have noticed, this is not optimal. Therefore I repeat my suggestion to increase RAM to 2 GB and adjust the page file accordingly.

Many thanks for your help, Harm.

Steve

Steve,

Premiere plus Dynamic Link (=AE render engine) take up together more than 700 MBs of RAM by themselves. This does not include your system (probably around 200-300 MBs) and project (depending on the amount of footage you have, from 50 to 500 MBs). AE render is also memory hungry.

I would recommend at least 3 GBs (and this is only so much that you can see in Win XP Pro) or 4 Gigs plus Windows XP 64 for smooth workflow. I have tried 2 GBs and it was not enough in my case.

All the best
Bart

Thank you for the info, Bart. I must get more memory asap.

Cheers

Steve

I run XP Pro on a 32-bit system with 4GB of memory. I use a /PAE switch in the boot.ini file which allows all 4GBs to be recognized and used. However, by going from 2GB to 4GB I only clocked a 10-15% increase in rendering times - not really enough to justify the cost of the memory.

That doesn't make any sense. Increasing RAM decreases the need for a paging file. Windows XP 32bit can handle only 4 gigs anyway so what's the point in having a 4 gig swap?

Mikko,

With storage being so cheap nowadays ($90 for a 320 G HD) why skimp on the page file? In a regular PremPro project my page file often goes beyond 1.3Gb. Add AE, Audition, PS and Encore into the equation and your needs will go up rapidly. I prefer one single page file of pre-determined size, so it does not get fragmented. I'm just following the advice you often see around the various sites.

An even better alternative would be to install 8 GB of RAM, use 4 for WinXP and 4 for the page file (using a RAM disk).

Page File recommendations
 

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555223/en-us

Rule of thumb, 1.5x physical memory is a good setting.
I've found too large, apps seem to slow down. Just subjective opinion though.