Would upgrading my ram on my macbook have serious effects on my ability to have big sessions? I have an i5 macbook 13" about a year old and right now I literally don't put out certain tracks because I cannot finish them. I have 2gig rams in 2 slots right now which makes 4. I was told that I could go up to 16gigs (8 plus 8 ). I was also told that ableton only uses 2 or 4 or something? However.. I was told that the 3rd party plugins (such as the many many instances of fm8, guitar rig, ozone, massive) that I am running would utilize the extended ram.
Is there any one that know about computers, ableton, NI plugins and its ability to utilize more ram?
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 5:05 pm
by MikeyOhh
I don't have a mac, but I would imagine upgrading the ram would be beneficial because unlike windows, it isn't in 32bit, so the system should utilize the full amount.
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 5:09 pm
by Digezt
The Ram will help to some degree. Though most processing is done by the CPU. Make sure you dont have other programs eating up CPU in the background. Upgrade ram, and look into a Solid State Drive. I upgraded the Ram and put a Solid State Drive into my 5 year old Macbook unibody and had mega improvements.
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 5:11 pm
by __________
MikeyOhh wrote:unlike windows, it isn't in 32bit
only 32-bit Windows is 32-bit, you know?
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 5:32 pm
by Perej
Solid state drives are the one. got a 120gb in mine right now and everything is sooo quick
Bear in mind that Ableton is probably the most cpu-unfriendly DAW on the market.
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 5:42 pm
by OfficialDAPT
Ableton live 8 is a 32 bit program so it can only use up to 4gb of ram. If you are getting ableton live 9 or already have I'd recommend maxing out your ram or at least getting more because live 9 will be able to make use of more of it. An SSD will be very usefull if you are working with large audio files or with large sample banks. It also helps make your computer load programs faster and start up faster.
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 5:45 pm
by tintala
Live 9 will be 64 bit and can utilize 16 gb of Ram. Better start now updrading ram. BTW - Windows also comes in 64 bit.
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 7:45 pm
by MikeyOhh
£10 Bag wrote:
MikeyOhh wrote:unlike windows, it isn't in 32bit
only 32-bit Windows is 32-bit, you know?
Yeah I know, but as far as I'm aware, Apple doesn't have a 32-bit operating system. That's the point I meant to make lol.
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 9:53 pm
by Mr_Frost
i upped my macbook from 2g to 8g and it definitly made an improvement. it's an easy upgrade too.
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 10:40 pm
by ill mindset
How many threads is this tnuc gonna start?
Of course a RAM upgrade is gonna help.
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 11:35 pm
by neonmansion
ill mindset wrote:How many threads is this tnuc gonna start?
Of course a RAM upgrade is gonna help.
what is wrong with you???? do i have to go off on you too.. you sound like another fucking ass hole.
i had a specific question if you didn't read it? Did you know ableton only uses a certain amount of ram? Do you know if NI plugins would utilize the extra ram?? maybe yes, maybe no.. i would have thought the same about ableton but I didn't know the facts..
Its a legit question so if you don't have anything useful to add fuck off and go back to jerking it to hentai you fucking anon
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 12:10 am
by ill mindset
neonmansion wrote:
ill mindset wrote:How many threads is this tnuc gonna start?
Of course a RAM upgrade is gonna help.
what is wrong with you???? do i have to go off on you too.. you sound like another fucking ass hole.
i had a specific question if you didn't read it? Did you know ableton only uses a certain amount of ram? Do you know if NI plugins would utilize the extra ram?? maybe yes, maybe no.. i would have thought the same about ableton but I didn't know the facts..
Its a legit question so if you don't have anything useful to add fuck off and go back to jerking it to hentai you fucking anon
You're a child looking for a private tutor. You haven't posted anything that is new information so don't think your noob questions are being helpful. We saw how you fell apart when your drums weren't embraced. Give the forum a break and get to practicing
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 12:12 am
by neonmansion
the problem with you is that you act all pompous and express this cavalier condescending tone to whoever you deem to be unworthy of your posts.. yet you make them.. you spend incredible amounts of time posting on a phpbb board.
you still haven't even attempting to touch on my question.
I'd accept your disgusting and BORING demeanor if you actually knew something i don't.. but you are a garden variety asshole. there is nothing special about your particular flavor of douche bag
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 12:15 am
by ill mindset
neonmansion wrote:dude, seriously fuck you.. i mean really FUCK YOU
you are behind arguing with you vermon
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 12:18 am
by neonmansion
you complain of immature posts but interacting with you is more infuriating then arguing with a 3rd grader..
you think you are smart..
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 12:18 am
by neonmansion
you complain of immature posts but interacting with you is more infuriating then arguing with a 3rd grader..
you think you are smart..
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 12:26 am
by VirtualMark
Upgrading RAM will only help if it's the bottleneck in your system. There's no point in upgrading RAM if you're not going to use it, so it depends on how much you have, what software you're using, how many tracks, plugins, audio files, what sample rate etc. RAM only slows things down when it starts using the hard drive as a page file, this should only happen when you're running low.
I can't say for Macs, but in Windows you can check how much RAM is in use by starting Task Manager. I'm sure there's something similar on the Mac. If you're using near the full amount on large projects, then adding more would be a good idea. You'll need a 64bit DAW, OS and plugins to make use of it tho.
On the other hand - if your CPU is at 100% on large projects, and you have a lot of free RAM, then adding more won't help as the CPU is the bottleneck.
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 12:28 am
by ill mindset
I found a midi controller that you might like. If you have questions about it, just start another thread k?
i'm sorry "ill mindset" but i believe that douche bag comment was meant for another thread, perhaps??
you'll have to clear that up and that craft a completely new douche bag comment for this thread.. just letting you know
Re: Upgrading Ram
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 12:34 am
by neonmansion
VirtualMark wrote:Upgrading RAM will only help if it's the bottleneck in your system. There's no point in upgrading RAM if you're not going to use it, so it depends on how much you have, what software you're using, how many tracks, plugins, audio files, what sample rate etc. RAM only slows things down when it starts using the hard drive as a page file, this should only happen when you're running low.
I can't say for Macs, but in Windows you can check how much RAM is in use by starting Task Manager. I'm sure there's something similar on the Mac. If you're using near the full amount on large projects, then adding more would be a good idea. You'll need a 64bit DAW, OS and plugins to make use of it tho.
On the other hand - if your CPU is at 100% on large projects, and you have a lot of free RAM, then adding more won't help as the CPU is the bottleneck.
Wow.. apparently you wrote all that for a bullshit question from some Noob according to ill mindset..
Anyway, thanks for actually trying to help me out. I actually am not that great with the inner workings of computers but when my projects slow down the CPU display in ableton is often peaking around 60%. After 50-60% I really can't work much more on it.. at least add more plugins or write new parts.
However, does the CPU being high only convert to processing speed. OR could ram have to do with it. Perhaps if fm8, massive, guitar rig, 20 ableton reverb units, do well by having an extra 4 gigs of ram?