I know that this question is sort of answered in the FAQ, but I was wondering if there were any features that I could enable or disable that would speed up the program for my relatively old 64-bit Windows 7. I’m using the demo right now, and it’s mostly unusable at this point. I thought I’d check here before assuming that I need to wait to use or purchase Dorico until I can get a new computer. Thanks, everyone.
No, you can’t disable functionality to speed things up. But please make sure you are on the latest 1.0.20 update, as a few things have improved there in addition to the major 1.0.10 speed improvements (like print mode speed).
Out of curiosity, what’s the spec of your current machine? We do test it on a variety of computers, among them a humble (though fairly current) lower end macbook.
Works great on my 2010 MacBook 2.4Ghz 8gig - probably at the slower end of what people are using.
2010 Macbook (not Pro). 4GB RAM. 2.26GHz. Let me know if there are any other specs you want to know. Most actions seem to take a minimum of 10 seconds besides note entry. Playback on a score with about 30 instruments basically overloads the computer, and it takes about 30 seconds before playback even starts. Playback isn’t essential. It’s just an example of the speed of Dorico on my computer.
I bet the 4GB of ram might be the issue.
Maybe… actions are more-or-less instantaneous for me and I usually have Preview, Twisted Wave, Safari, Nisus and Scrivener all open too!
Okay, let me take a look at what I can do to improve my computer’s speed. I’ll report back with what I find.
Try a project with just a solo piano, and see if that runs OK.
FWIW on my Windows 10 desktop, running Dorico on its own with a moderate sized score and 8 orchestral instruments, Dorico itself is only using 0.24 Gb of RAM, but the playback engine uses about 1.5 Gb.
An upgrade from 4 to 8Gb would probably be cheaper than a new PC, unless it’s so old that it won’t take more than 4, and it would give everything you run a bit more oomph, not just Dorico.
Yeah, so testing on scores with fewer instruments it works fine, even if there are around 20. The score I was working in had 48 staves. Unfortunately, my computer is one of those old computers that maxes out at 4GB of ram.
If you are not too bothered about playback you might be able to reduce the RAM usage by changing the playback patches, e.g. to the General Midi instruments (which have GM in the patch names).
Although Apple says it will only take 4GB, the 2010 MacBook will take up to 16GB. Definitely worth trying 2 x 4 GB modules. And replace the hard drive with an SSD, and you’ll have a brand new machine for a fraction of the price.
Oh, that’s great. I’ll have to try increasing my ram. I’ve wanted to for a while. And thanks for the suggestion Rob to use midi. I might use it while I’m waiting for the new ram to arrive.
Exactly that made my MacBook very fast. Note that it becomes warmer with 16Gb so the fan will run more often.
A RAM increase will go a very long way to helping your situation. It’s relatively low cost at this point. Just make sure you get the properly matched sticks for your machine of course.