How Much RAM

rjm1717 wrote on 11/26/2008, 5:53 AM

I have been making BD-R discs...home movies. The Vegas process moves along nicely. When it comes to DVDA and the prepare process it takes forever. The pc I am using is a quad core 4GB ram but one memory stick is bad...therefore I only have 3GB. Would there be an appreciable difference with 4GB? Also, how high can you go for it to make a difference assuming the pc will handle it? I guess another question is what is the best video format when you are in DVDA? is 1920 60i, 1280 60i.

I am using a Canon HV30

Sorry for all the questions. Happy Thanksgiving

Comments

TheHappyFriar wrote on 11/26/2008, 7:54 AM

get rid of the bad stick. that right there could help & it would definitely be more stable.

check the task manager. if you're not using all your ram (or most) then more won't likely help.

rmack350 wrote on 11/26/2008, 9:59 AM

Just curious how you determined that stick was bad. It's normal and expected for 32-bit XP or Vista to only report about 3GB present even though 4GB is installed.

Keeping that stick in probably keeps dual channel memory access enabled, even if you can't use the RAM

Rob Mack

rjm1717 wrote on 11/26/2008, 3:28 PM

I had a technician replace the mother board about 6 months ago. He told me the memory stick was bad. I did not replace it back then but did replace it today. Prices seem pretty low?

I guess the answer to the following question would help me understand if the pc is performing normally. How long should it take to render a blu-ray video from start to finish? The 30 minute video that I just made took about 4-5 hours from start to finish.

rmack350 wrote on 11/28/2008, 1:25 PM

I hate to see you waste a few bucks on new RAM when you may not need it. Technicians sometimes aren't up to date on things (although any tech ought to understand 3GB limits by now)

I can't answer the performance question but I have some suggestions about the memory. If you think one stick of RAM is just plain dead then try using various combinations of 2 DIMMs. If one is really truly inert then one of those combinations would yield just 1 GB. If all combinations get you 2 GB and the system is stable then the guy just didn't know what he was talking about.

32-bit versions of Windows 2k, XP, or Vista, as well as 32-bit versions of any other OS in the world, cannot address a full 4GB. Usually they can only address ~3GB. It's just a fact of life.

Regarding the performance question, there are a lot of variables like *which quad core?*, what's the source media? What's the final media? What are you doing on the timeline? Ideally, to get a real comparison you should render the same project on two different computers.

Rob

JJKizak wrote on 11/28/2008, 2:10 PM

The new Gigabyte desktop motherboards for the Intel i7 processors will address 24 gigs of ram with 6 sockets. I just about crapped my pants when I read that.
JJK