Mac Pro Page-Outs

[mluters]

I have a 6 core MP with 24GB ram (3X8gb) and I consistently get page outs...see attachment below. I have debated about adding just another 8gb stick for 32gb total or do I go all the way and get 48gb (3X16gb)? Anyone try 48gb from OWC and what was your experience?

Thanks in advance.

 

[bearcatrp]

What programs are you running to get this high of page outs? Is this in one day or over a period of time? I could see this if your rendering to the same disk but seems awefull high with that much ram. Could be the software limitation too. Give us a run down what your doing.

 

[mluters]

Those page outs are over a 2 day period of average use...I run my MP 24hrs a day and use the following programs: CS6, Final Cut Pro, Elgato EyeTV, Make MKV, Handbrake, VMware Fusion, and Aperture. At times I may be using 3-4 of these programs at once and of course surfing the web and emailing.

I keep all my data files on a 14TB raid 5 setup and use 2 Intel 520 SSD in Raid 0 for Mac OS X and other programs. I keep all these hard drives at 50% capacity or less.

 

[Zwhaler]

That sounds right for getting some page outs even with 24GB which is what I have ... my suggestion would be to reboot or shut down your machine at the end of each work day ... or simply do a reboot whenever you run out of free RAM and it will clear it and reduce lag in these performance oriented apps. 48GB would help but I think you can make it by just rebooting when you run out of free RAM.

 

[Loa]

Hello,

I'd get more ram, as rebooting will only mask the numbers of page-outs and won't help you with actual performance loss.

Also, you seem to think that using only 3 RAM slots is better than 4. It's not. (It only works in the wonderful imaginary world of theory.) Get yourself a fourth stick and see if it helps significantly (I think it will). If it's not enough, then sell your 4X8GB and go for more.

In the mean time, quitting apps when you don't need them will give your performance a boost as it will free up your RAM.

Loa

 

[mluters]

Thanks for the input everyone....rebooting is not an option because I use this MP 24hrs a day and I don't have the time/patience for rebooting but maybe once a month.

I don't mind trying the 4th stick of 8gb ram which would put me at 32gb total, but it seems like that may be a "band aid" fix and not get to the real meat of the problem...which is that I need 48gb or 64gb.

 

[avemestr]

Thanks for the input everyone....rebooting is not an option because I use this MP 24hrs a day and I don't have the time/patience for rebooting but maybe once a month.

I fear you suffer from constipation.

I don't mind trying the 4th stick of 8gb ram which would put me at 32gb total, but it seems like that may be a "band aid" fix and not get to the real meat of the problem...which is that I need 48gb or 64gb.

Agree. RAM is quite cheap nowadays, so it's certainly worth the upgrade with your use case.

 

[wonderspark]

Those page outs are over a 2 day period of average use...I run my MP 24hrs a day and use the following programs: CS6, Final Cut Pro, Elgato EyeTV, Make MKV, Handbrake, VMware Fusion, and Aperture. At times I may be using 3-4 of these programs at once and of course surfing the web and emailing.

I keep all my data files on a 14TB raid 5 setup and use 2 Intel 520 SSD in Raid 0 for Mac OS X and other programs. I keep all these hard drives at 50% capacity or less.

I run the CS6 production suite, MakeMKV, Handbrake and others much as you do, but I have 8GB x 4 sticks for 32GB, and no page outs or swap used. I also have the 6-core CPU, a single Crucial M4 SSD for my boot drive, and a 12TB RAID 6 close to half used via Areca RAID card. We appear to be quite similar in setup.

I've seen my RAM usage peak out at about 28GB, so I believe you may be just over the RAM usage needed to say page-out-free, and that 32GB will solve it. I had page-out galore with only 16GB, but 32GB solved it for me.

I suppose it's all so cheap today that you *could* just do 48GB and be done with it, but I really believe that adding the fourth 8GB stick will sort it all out for you. Let us know what you end up doing, and good luck!

 

[bearcatrp]

Still seems high for just 2 days. Am presuming your using a scratch disk when rendering. The extra ram always helps but would suggest looking at your settings in CS6. When I had my 2008 mac pro, never got even close to your page outs after editing for a week.