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Mac Pro--Page outs--RAM upgrade???
- Thread starter huz123
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Should I upgrade to more Ram or do I need to upgrade Mac Pro?
Okay, so here is a question. I have a 1st generation Mac Pro. It has 2 x 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors and 5GB 667 MHz Ram. I also have the Nvidia GeForce 8800GT graphics card. I use it primarily for heavy video editing and graphic editing (Final Cut Pro, Motion - and rest of Final Cut Studio, After Effects, Cinema 4D, etc). I'm trying to figure out if I need more Ram to help speed up my computer a bit more or do I need to upgrade entirely to one of the new Mac Pros. I guess bottom line is - I've noticed some lag time when working with a few pro apps at the same time and trying to figure out if I'll be okay with upgrading the Ram to handle the heavy loads or is the 1st Generation Mac Pros now so outdated that I need to upgrade entirely?
Okay, so here is a question. I have a 1st generation Mac Pro. It has 2 x 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors and 5GB 667 MHz Ram. I also have the Nvidia GeForce 8800GT graphics card. I use it primarily for heavy video editing and graphic editing (Final Cut Pro, Motion - and rest of Final Cut Studio, After Effects, Cinema 4D, etc). I'm trying to figure out if I need more Ram to help speed up my computer a bit more or do I need to upgrade entirely to one of the new Mac Pros. I guess bottom line is - I've noticed some lag time when working with a few pro apps at the same time and trying to figure out if I'll be okay with upgrading the Ram to handle the heavy loads or is the 1st Generation Mac Pros now so outdated that I need to upgrade entirely?
5gigs? That setup doesnt sound optimal,the memory should be in matched pairs (say,4x1gigs in one tray,4x512mbs in the other = 6gb) allways.
I would say that you would go a long way upping your memory to 10-16Gb.
A loong way.
And what about your disk system? Do you have enough throughput in that arena,ie you have speedy raid system?
The 1st gen mac is still a good workhorse if you have you bits and ***** together. The FCP and it´s programs are so poorly multi threaded than in most use you would get very little benefit changing to a new 09 MP.
Jeebus,color uses 1 core in many of its renderings...
Yeah, I've got 2 x 512MB Ram chips and 2 x 2GB Ram. I have an external hard drive that I'm wondering is part of the problem. It's only connected via usb (rather than a 6 or 8 pin firewire). Could that also be part of the problem? Maybe it's going out? Other thing that's annoying is that same external hdd keeps un-mounting and re-mounting (basically resetting and I get the error message that a drive was ejected non properly... or whatever it says)
hmm.I would say that you have propably the worst memory configuration possible. even if the memories would be on different raisers it would be far from optimal.the idea is to fill each of the raisers with similar memory.
i would say get rid of the 512s and fill all the remaining slots (6) with similar 2gb sticks what you have.that way you would have 16gb symmetrical
memory.
and yes,it sounds like the hdd or its controller is dying.
even a normal "wake from sleep" usually beachballes and stalls the computer (thats why it is important to put the hdds to never sleep) totally.
let alone if your machine gets constant faulty signals from the hdd,like unmounting and stuff... replace the drive.
and if you are doing some editing,single disk setups are almost never enough to have a good running system. for what I understand,you dont have raided disks for media?
get that thing sorted out and you should be... uuh...sorted.
Thanks! I'll get rid of the 512mb ram chips and fill the rest with 2gb. I'll also replace that external hdd. As far as a raided disk for media - do you know if Drobo 2nd generation (800 pin firewire) is okay for that or do I need something else? Or would it be even better to get new internal hdds and use those as scratch disks for media?
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
Man, reading this thread makes me wonder why some of you even bought MacPro's.... you spend a few grand on your computer workstation - learn how it works! Technology isn't that hard to understand. Sorry to sound mean, I'm not trying to be but... gees, learn how the darn things work, you would have been better off buying an iMac with how you've outfitted yourself.
"So, what you're saying is if I rev my engine past 3,000RPM my BMW will go faster? I've heard high RPM's can hurt an engine..."
Sorry, I am coming across mean. It's more..... constructive criticism. Spend a little time on here and google etc to learn how your hardware works. I've looked into upgrades on my MacPro and I'm happy to say the thing performs faster now than when I bought it a year ago (RAID0, SL, using RAMDISKS for scratch in PS...)
"So, what you're saying is if I rev my engine past 3,000RPM my BMW will go faster? I've heard high RPM's can hurt an engine..."
Sorry, I am coming across mean. It's more..... constructive criticism. Spend a little time on here and google etc to learn how your hardware works. I've looked into upgrades on my MacPro and I'm happy to say the thing performs faster now than when I bought it a year ago (RAID0, SL, using RAMDISKS for scratch in PS...)
I know - that's my fault. I guess when I buy a 3000.00 system, I assume it should work fine as is. When I originally put the ram in (originally came with 2 x 512mb ram and I added 2 x 1gb ram), I was advised how to set it up from someone working at Apple (and they said to leave the 512s in and it would be more then fine to do video/graphic editing - now I'm learning that's not the case), so I kind of put my trust in that. I definitely regret not doing the research until now (when it's now starting to run slow). I do appreciate the input though and the advice.
YES — it will be a lot faster with more RAM. Do it.
As for the different between the RAM running in quad channel mode or not, I can't say as you'd probably have to compare it using excessive amounts of RAM so that it wouldn't be slowed down by having too little. I hear the difference even then is negligible (depending on your task).
I believe my configuration is the 2x2GB sticks in Riser A and 4x512MB sticks in Riser B (the bottom one). And yes I know, but the 4x512MB config was the cheapest back then and I knew I'd be getting more RAM from a 3rd party later.
YES it will be a lot faster with more RAM. Do it.
As for the different between the RAM running in quad channel mode or not, I can't say as you'd probably have to compare it using excessive amounts of RAM so that it wouldn't be slowed down by having too little. I hear the difference even then is negligible (depending on your task).
I believe my configuration is the 2x2GB sticks in Riser A and 4x512MB sticks in Riser B (the bottom one). And yes I know, but the 4x512MB config was the cheapest back then and I knew I'd be getting more RAM from a 3rd party later.
I went from 2GB to 10GB and the difference was night and day. 2GB for 2 hours...