2 GB of RAM limitation in cubase/nuendo?

[Black neon bob]

Howdy...

So, im about to upgrade my PC from 2GB RAM to 3GB RAM.. however, if i do this, will i be able to gain full advantage of the 1GB upgrade?

I have read somewhere that nuendo only allows 2GB of RAM useage... Kev also sorta hinted that this is true, however im still not sure about this.

Any truth to this?

 

[Emdprodukt]

something I would like to know aswell... because I just did the same and till know it seems it made my whole setup slower (duo core with 2x 1gb ram and 2x 512mb ram)...

 

[ghostofbridgeport]

the dude i get most of my computer advice from says there is no really any reason to go over 2gb Ram....but i could be wrong
but thats what i have is 2gb

 

[Black neon bob]

I dunno man.. im on 2GB right now and i find myself having to force myself to seperate a song into 2 or 3 project files now... i HATE working like that, because i want a decent overview without risks attached to it.
I use lot's of stuff like drumagog (pretty heavy on the CPU) synths like imposcar, albino, native instruments stuff, DFHS, C4... and with a full project (DFHS plus plugins, 4 tracks of guitar plus plugins, vocals, bass and synths like symphonic choirs) it really, really strains the computers limit.

Perhaps im looking at the wrong direction here... maybe i should upgrade my CPU? it's a 2,8 processor.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Yeah I heard that about cubase and nuendo.

I don't know about the new versions though (cubase studio 4, and cubase 4).

 

[-Gavin-]

Sonar has a 3/g switch you can change to allow it to access up to 3gb ram on windows xp x86.

 

[smy1]

Hey Bob,

first thing I would do is render the VSTi tracks to WAV and just leave the midi tracks without the VSTi loaded.

I don't mind working with different project files, really, so I don't have a problem with the 2GB. The dude who built my computer some time ago (Dual 2,4ghz) said Windows XP 32bit cant use more than 2GB. I have no idea if this is true or not, but that would explain why Cubase can't do it ...

 

[::XeS::]

Hey Black Neon
First thing: bounce dfhs in audio tracks and use them in your project...mixing with the dfhs plugin open is a pain in the ass for the cpu!
Second: use aptrigga instead drumagog

These 2 points allow you to free some resource

Anyway I don't know if nuendo/cubase has this limitation...

p.s.
Xp (32bit) can use 4Gb of ram (2^32 memory addresses) and the Xp 64bit more than 4Gb (2^64 addresses)

 

[Emdprodukt]

Hey Bob,

first thing I would do is render the VSTi tracks to WAV and just leave the midi tracks without the VSTi loaded.

I don't mind working with different project files, really, so I don't have a problem with the 2GB. The dude who built my computer some time ago (Dual 2,4ghz) said Windows XP 32bit cant use more than 2GB. I have no idea if this is true or not, but that would explain why Cubase can't do it ...

this is exactly what I heard.

 

[Torniojaws]

p.s.
Xp (32bit) can use 4Gb of ram (2^32 memory addresses) and the Xp 64bit more than 4Gb (2^64 addresses)

Though several things limit the maximum truly usable memory space. Motherboards have limitations related to GPU memory (more graphics memory = less usable RAM), the OS itself (XP 32-bit can only give 2 GB for a single application, and at absolute maximum only can use 3,5 GB of RAM total) and a bit more unimpressively there are intentional limits set on the memory amounts in Vista 64-bit (Home = 4 GB max, Premium = 8 GB, Ultimate = 16 GB).

And for XP 32-bit to use over 2 GB, you need: 1) Physical Address Extension (PAE) capable CPU (read: a 64-bit CPU, or select 32-bit server CPUs), 2) /3GB switch enabled in Windows and 3) as low graphics memory as possible. With some of the biggest cards, you'll only get 3,1 GB usable out of 4 GB.

 

[Black neon bob]

Though several things limit the maximum truly usable memory space. Motherboards have limitations related to GPU memory (more graphics memory = less usable RAM), the OS itself (XP 32-bit can only give 2 GB for a single application, and at absolute maximum only can use 3,5 GB of RAM total) and a bit more unimpressively there are intentional limits set on the memory amounts in Vista 64-bit (Home = 4 GB max, Premium = 8 GB, Ultimate = 16 GB).

And for XP 32-bit to use over 2 GB, you need: 1) Physical Address Extension (PAE) capable CPU (read: a 64-bit CPU, or select 32-bit server CPUs), 2) /3GB switch enabled in Windows and 3) as low graphics memory as possible. With some of the biggest cards, you'll only get 3,1 GB usable out of 4 GB.

Well... im glad we got that sorted out...


...






now what did you say just there?!?

Just kidding, i got most of that, and im a noobzorz when it comes to stuff like this, but it sounds like a complete hassle(hoff) to get more out of it then the 2GB im on now... i mean, PAE, a switch in windows and a CPU to match?

 

[Recgek]

This is what a moderator on Cubase.net had to say about it...

Cubase can only use a max of about 1.5 Gb under 32 bit windows XP. This is because although cubase can use the 2Gg assigned to the application some of it is kept back as a buffer when saving songs hence in real terms there is only about 1.5Gb left for the actual song including any plug-in and samples loaded.

The only way around it when using large libraries is to freeze parts or export as audio once they are done.

The 3Gb switch is not officially supported becuase it doesn't work for all systems.

Tank

 

[TheDude]

Perhaps im looking at the wrong direction here... maybe i should upgrade my CPU? it's a 2,8 processor.

Yes, you should do that.

 

[Recgek]

Sorry...I just noticed you're not using Cubase but Nuendo, which seems to be able to handle up to 4 Gb

 

[heavenshell]

I barley have any ram on my comp stock i mac intel core duo 512 ram i use roughly 8 track of drumgog and it will kill it obvioulsy just send the output of that to a new track and record teh drumagog audio to a seprate audio track u wont regret it such ease and leaves plenty of room for other plugins DRUMACOCK "i love it but i hate it" its beautiful in teh end

Andrew

 

[s34nsm411]

if you add /3GB to the end of your startup file it allows applications more than 2gb of ram

right click my computer, properties, advanced, startup and recovery settings, and click edit where it says "to edit the startup file... blah blah"

then you should have something like this

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect


you need to add /3GB to the end so it looks like this

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /3GB

then restart and it shoudl work

ive noticed that in intense project files when i try to edit plugins a lot of the time the window shows up blank so i cant tweak any of the parameters unless i turn the 3gb switch off again and restart, anyone know whats up with that?

i wish i just lived 20 years in the future when we will all have petabytes of ram, no software issues, and perfect digital recreations of any analog gear

 

[JeffTD]

It has to do with the limitations of a 32bit operating system, for a lot of it. Even if you load it to the tilt with RAM, it'll still show up as 2.7-3.5, depending on your other components.

 

[Torniojaws]

ive noticed that in intense project files when i try to edit plugins a lot of the time the window shows up blank so i cant tweak any of the parameters unless i turn the 3gb switch off again and restart, anyone know whats up with that?

It's probably one of the mentioned bugs related to the /3GB switch.

 

[Deaf Ear]

It seems like a lot of you are leaving drumagog open on your tracks. Let me share my itinerary with you guys for sound replacement. It just might help you work things out a little better.

1. The first thing i do in a session with bad drums is see if I can clean them up somewhat by time aligning them, etc. Sometimes this helps, sometimes this hurts.

2. Once I get all the drums sounding as good as I can by themselves. I run through my samples and see what will support the kit at hand. I kinda make a mental note of what these may be.

3. I strap AP trigga or drumago on the MASTER OUT, and solo the kick, snare, or toms til I know I'm getting consistent hits.

4. Lets say I'm on the kick drum. I'll leave the settings the way they are and load a few of my favorite samples one at a time, then export them as stereo files and bring them into the project.

5. I'll eyeball them real quick to make sure there wasn't any latency issues and such, and make sure they line up with the actual recorded kick and are in the same phase that it is.

6. I make a folder track and put all my BOUNCED sample tracks in there that I can pull up on the fly without stressing about CPU, etc.

I think this helps for multiple reasons. Besides freeing up tons of resources and being able to blend samples on demand, they are output through a stereo fader in the first place. A lot of these samples have been recorded in stereo, and I think some people just strap AP on the snare track and don't realize they're summing the ambiance and image of that sample to mono when they do that. Try this on your next session and see how it works for you.

As for the RAM limitations, I have a P4 3.2, with 512 of ram. I've never ran into huge problems, but I'm not much of a synth guy. My 2 gigs of performance memory will be here on Wednesday though. I can't wait to see what a difference this makes.