Comments

david_f_knight wrote on 7/12/2010, 9:11 AM
VMSHDP10 is a 32-bit program. Consequently, it can utilize up to 4GB of RAM. Increasing the amount RAM in your computer to 8GB certainly should not "increase" render times, but it might reduce render times.

You can get an idea if it might improve overall program performance by looking at Windows page file usage as you run VMSHDP10. The Performance tab of the Windows Task Manager (press CNTL+ALT+DEL simultaneously to bring it up) shows the page file usage. If it jumps a lot while running Vegas, then having more RAM in your computer might help, but if it doesn't jump much then adding more RAM might not do anything.

In any case, adding RAM is one of the cheapest upgrades you can make to a computer. It's kind of silly to have a 64-bit operating system unless you also have more than 4GB of RAM in your computer. But most programs are 32 bit applications in any case, so it really doesn't amount to a hill of beans for nearly all computer users (except that 64 bit drivers tend to have more bugs than 32 bit versions). For nearly everyone, 64 bits is nothing but hype to help sell newer computers.
KenJ62 wrote on 7/12/2010, 10:06 AM
It is obvious to me that Windows 7 manages RAM very well and VMS 9 and 10 utilize RAM very well also. I have "just" 2 GB RAM with Win7-32 bit and the performance is quite good. I also have a quad core CPU and fast HDDs and I believe those will give the best performance for the buck until real 64 bit NLEs become available. You are unlikely to gain much for all your effort and expense running a 32 bit application on a 64 bit OS. Opinions on this obviously run somewhat hot.

As a practical matter I have learned to avoid large projects, breaking them up into segments no longer than about 40 minutes each, then assembling them together in one final project. This has been the way the pros say they have been working for years. I won't recommend a 64 bit OS until 64 bit apps become available. If you have the bucks I hear that the latest Adobe suite is 64 bit.
Sykes wrote on 7/13/2010, 7:01 AM
I am using Win7 64bit, not because it is any better than 32, but 64 gives me the option to expand and utilize over 3.25GB limit that you can only get from W7/Vista 32bit. The extra RAM does certainly help when I'm multitasking.

As far as performance goes while editing, I think the real question is not the RAM itself but how much Video (GPU) Memory is in your system.
david_f_knight wrote on 7/13/2010, 7:49 PM
I don't think the amount of video memory in your system has anything to do with performance while editing. I believe that because essentially 100% of the work during editing is done by the CPU, and so only its memory (not video memory) can play any role in performance. (Just because you're editing video doesn't mean your video is in video memory -- it's not. It's in system memory. Video memory is almost exclusively used for rendering 3D scenes with the GPU. More video memory means more and larger texture maps and more vertices for 3D geometry models are possible. Video editors don't do any of that.)

In the specific case of rendering AVC on CUDA-capable video cards with VMSHDP10, then video memory plays some role, but probably a very small one.

As far as 64-bit operating systems and multitasking: very few programs are 64-bit applications, and very few will ever need to be. It is extremely rare that any application needs or can use more than 4GB of memory, and that will probably be true forever. Few people do much true multitasking; at most, they have several programs loaded simultaneously, but generally only one that is actively in use at any one time (other than trivial programs like the clock). In such cases, all having a tremendous amount of RAM does is allow for quicker transition from one loaded program to another. I have 4GB in my 32-bit system and never have to wait any perceptable amount of time to switch from one application to another, and I sometimes have dozens of programs loaded simultaneously.

Unless you are one of those few people that truly requires >4GB applications (generally, heavy-duty scientific and engineering programs), having a 64-bit operating system is fairly silly... especially if your computer doesn't have more than 4GB of memory.