Few CS6 questions

[Spencer Tweed]

Okay I have another question as well – what do you guys recommend as far as how much RAM to install? I think I remember somewhere hearing “Xgb of ram per core.”

– Spencer

[Tom Daigon]

I think I just saw Walter suggest 2-3 GB per core.

Tom Daigon
PrP / After Effects Editor
http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com
Mac Pro 3,1
8 core
10.7.3
Nvidia Quadro 4000
24 gigs ram
Maxx Digital / Areca 8tb. raid
Kona 3

[Tom Daigon]

Adobe CS6 System requirements…

https://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/production/tech-specs.html

Tom Daigon
PrP / After Effects Editor
http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com
Mac Pro 3,1
8 core
10.7.3
Nvidia Quadro 4000
24 gigs ram
Maxx Digital / Areca 8tb. raid
Kona 3

[Spencer Tweed]

Yeah, sounds about right…

– Spencer

[Spencer Tweed]

Thanks Tom, but it’s my understanding that these are the minimum requirements. I’m just curious about what people think are acceptable standards in their stations (what has worked well for them).

– Spencer

[Tom Daigon]

To insure proper functionality of my edit systems, I always follow the specifications & requirements as stated by the software manufacturer. Its just to risky to second guess them 😉

Tom Daigon
PrP / After Effects Editor
http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com
Mac Pro 3,1
8 core
10.7.3
Nvidia Quadro 4000
24 gigs ram
Maxx Digital / Areca 8tb. raid
Kona 3

[Walter Soyka]

I usually recommend 3-4 GB of total system system memory per core; that allows you to allocate 2-3 GB per core in AE’s multiprocessing settings and still leave some room for system overhead. You should plan on leaving between 1/4 and 1/3 of your system RAM available to other applications.

Windows XP is not listed as supported [link], so it’s very likely that you won’t even be able to complete the installation. Also worth noting — AE CS6 is 64-bit only, and requires a 64-bit OS.

I am using a 240 GB Intel 520 SSD, dedicated to my cache. I’ve been really happy with the performance, but I don’t have any benchmarks to compare it with other drives.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Spencer Tweed]

Hey Dave,

Wow, sure is a fair amount! I’ve been surviving/struggling with 3gb for about 2 years now 😉

Agreed on Windows 7, but these stations are only to hold me over for about 6 months so I was hoping I wouldn’t need to get into buying things that aren’t vitally needed.

– Spencer

[Spencer Tweed]

Hey Walter,

Got it on OS and RAM.

On your SSD – are you really using 240gb? I know CS6 will use everything you give it, but do you think it’s necessary? I’ve been looking at about 128gb.

Also, and I know this is pretty subjective, how great is the speed difference? I know you said that you don’t have any benchmarks – but how does it feel?

– Spencer

[Walter Soyka]

[Spencer Tweed] “I know CS6 will use everything you give it, but do you think it’s necessary? I’ve been looking at about 128gb.”

I’d rather have a 128 GB SSD for the cache than a 3 TB mechanical HD.

[Spencer Tweed] “Also, and I know this is pretty subjective, how great is the speed difference? I know you said that you don’t have any benchmarks – but how does it feel?”

Before I got the SSD, I had the disk cache on a fast RAID. They’re probably comparable in speed, but the SSD is cheaper and a lot quieter. The constant grinding from the little reads and writes from the cache on my RAID was pretty irritating.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events