How much RAM do I need for FCP - Octo mac pro?

[akdj]

I have 14gigs of RAM, 6x2g sticks, and 2x1g sticks (Mac OEM).

What was the deal with having symmetry between upper and lower boards?

I think mine is 4,2,4,4 if I'm not mistaken. From the top of the box (IE, with the cheese greater sitting straight up), what SHOULD my config look like?

Thanks!

J

BTW, I use FCP with After Effects, PS and DVD Studio Pro running....all while surfing while rendering. More RAM is better, but I'm not sure how much with the limits of OSX and FCP.

J

 

[tharpey]

the good ol' american mindset...more is better.

the key to having fast video processing (aside from a fast processor and solid graphics card...) is having RAM that's matched, paired, and tested together. you can't just piecemeal RAM together en-mass and call it a fast computer. processes are sent to all ram channels simultaneously, so if you have a couple slower slots - that's going to hold your computer back.

8GB of matched & paired RAM > 10-12GB of random sticks of memory thrown in every slot.

in any case though - you're not going to notice much of a difference, if any. if all of the processes you run only need 3GB of RAM combined - then you won't be seeing much difference when you throw in 32GB of RAM vs. your 4-8GB of matched and paired RAM.

by all means though - blow your savings adding sticks of memory that you don't need - i'm sure your starving families will appreciate it