RAM vs. processors

[Jeff Handy]

I would put preference to faster processor initially. RAM prices fluctuate, but come down in the long run. Plus, I would actually go with either 6 or 12 GB as the channels are optimized for three banks per. If you go with 6, get three 2GB DIMMs. Then when you upgrade, all you’ll need is three more 2GB sticks for 12GB, or you could get another 12 with three 4GB sticks.

HandyGeek

[Jeff Handy]

BTW, you would do well to add your new system to your Qmaster cluster for FCSvr. In fact, I would add all of your systems to the cluster – donating at least one or two cores each. Cluster processing is crazy fast and the newer your machines are, the faster it processes.

HandyGeek

[Donato M. rondinelli]

Cool, I’ll look into that. Going with 2.6 & 6x2gb stick probably won’t break the bank.

Since I’m replacing 3 G5’s, maybe I’ll add that to the cluster too?
I don’t have a use for the older systems since were switching from DVC Pro HD to intra 100. Maybe they could offline with proxies and the new systems could online?

[Walter Soyka]

[Donato M. Rondinelli] “For FCP & AE, what’s more important, RAM or processors?”

I see that this post is already a week old, so I’m somewhat late to the party, but I though I’d add that for After Effects, more processor cores are useless without lots of RAM. You want a minimum of 2 GB per core. For an 8-core machine, you’ll want at least 16 GB of RAM.

If you have less RAM than this, your AE renders might actually be faster without multi-processing.

With multi-processing enabled, AE launches several copies of itself in the background. Each instance works on a frame at a time, and each instance requires its own memory space for footage and layer caches. AE is still 32-bit, so each instance is limited to 4 GB. Of course, the operating system and any other applications you may have open will also want RAM, so the more, the merrier.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
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