-
upgrade to 64 bit
I have a Windows bassed Dell 690 workstation dual quad machine that seems to be very fast. I’m runnning windows 2000 pro with 2 gig of ram.
I am looking to update my opperating system to vista 64 bit so that I can stock up on RAM.
Questions: I run AE 7.0, Avid Express HD, and many of Adobe’s CS3 graphic programs. What kind of upgrade and or compatability issues do you think I might run accross?
Thanks in advance.
Jay Thompson
Thompson Visual Design & Storytelling
7 Marjean Ct.
Kirkwood, MO 63122
-
4 Replies
-
Well, Avid won’t work. It’s not supported for Vista and I haven’t read about anyone getting it to run, especially on a 64-bit operating system.
Honestly, I don’t think a 64-bit system is going to help you right now, considering the apps you listed are still 32-bit (I believe CS3 is still 32-bit, I know Avid is). Even if you could run everything on Vista 64-bit and you installed 16GB of RAM, the programs couldn’t take advantage of it. About the only improvement that I could see would be that you could have all the programs open all the time and there would be enough RAM to go around. But if you’re trying to render in AE, imported/capture into Avid, work in Photoshop, etc all at the same time you’re going to tax your processors (even with two quad-cores, you’ll be pushing it).
I’d upgrade to XP Pro 32-bit. It’s approved for Avid and CS3 and it’s a pretty stable OS. You’ll want Service Pack 2 installed for sure. Otherwise, I’d stay away from Vista, and forget about 64-bit OSes for the time being. Wait until everything is coded as 64-bit apps before you start spending tons of money on RAM. Go with 3 or 4GB RAM for now and spend the rest of your money on fast storage or a nice chair.
My opinion, anyway.
Michael.
-
“…and you installed 16GB of RAM, the programs couldn’t take advantage of it. About the only improvement that I could see would be that you could have all the programs open all the time and there would be enough RAM to go around. But if you’re trying to render in AE, imported/capture into Avid, work in Photoshop, etc all at the same time you’re going to tax your processors (even with two quad-cores, you’ll be pushing it).”
Very likely knowing me I was unclear.
I have Windows XP Pro (I think it is 32 bit) with SP 2. I was under the impression that 2 gigs of RAM is the most the OS could use. Or is it that the indiviual apps can only use 2 gigs each…but if you had more RAM say 4 or 8 gigs I run all of them?
-jay
-
In your original post you said you were running Windows 2000, which threw me off. Ok, so you’re running XP Pro 32-bit with service pack 2. You’re golden.
Windows XP 32-bit will recognize up to 4GB of RAM, and by default programs recognize 2GB. However, there is a 3GB patch for Avid that is included with all recent installers. You don’t say what version of Avid you’re running, but I believe they started including it at Xpress Pro 5.2.x. It may even install by default–if not, check the readme to see how to install the patch to make Avid see 3GB, leaving 1GB for other Windows operations (if you have 4GB installed). I wouldn’t install over 4GB because windows won’t see it.
Michael.
-
I believe 4GB is the maximum you can run in XP, but you will need to make a modification to the boot.ini file in order to allow the operating system to access it. Fortunately, your Avid application provides you a file called 3gb.bat which will make the modification for you. It should be in the folder where Avid was installed, called “Accessories” or something to that effect.
Richard Sanchez
North Hollywood, CA“We are the facilitators of our own creative evolution.” – Bill Hicks
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up