RAM recommendations for Upgrade...

WaveLab
#1

Howdy,

I want to upgrade the 16gb of G Skills Ripjaw RAM (1600mhz) and max out my P8P67 Pro’s Mobo with 32 gb of RAM.

Can anyone recommend me some that is best suited for Audio Production? Should I worry about speed and get 2400mhz RAM that has a Higher CAS latency or should I go for slower RAM with Less CAS Latency.

The purpose of buying more RAM is because I am using more and more Sample Libraries. Ultimately, the machine I am upgrading will become a Slave for VEPro 5 once I have the money to build a new PC. It’s been about 4 yrs since I bought any RAM so I am a little out of touch and any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Jono

#2

For DAW applications the speed of RAM is no longer that critical - anything is fast enough - lots of ram - great - but don’t bust your balls trying to go top spec, it’s just not worth it - you will not notice a difference.

#3

Cheers man. The great thing about your advice is that the slower the RAM, the cheaper the RAM is! :slight_smile:

#4

Hi,
Sorry to jump in on this thread, but I notice that you are both using two SSDs. Do you know if there’s any performance benefit these days in having your OS on one SSD and VSTi’s on another? Or would I be best to have a System drive with Cubase/HALion on the same physical drive, but then have samples stored on another SSD?

Any advice appreciated,

Neil.

#5

You should buy the memory makes and models that are recommended by your motherboard supplier, usually you can find this information on the qualified memory vendor list. That is what I did when I bought my 64 GB DDR4 memory.

#6

since there is no seek delay with an SSD the file placement is pretty much irrelevent. there may be a small advantage in that you’re spreading the ios across two SATA interfaces but in the real world i’ve not seen this theoretical improvement result in anything more than a marginal performance boost. Don’t forget to turn defrag off - completely pointless with SDDs - in fact it will reduce their life for nothing.

#7

While Windows used to still call it defrag – now optimise – for SSDs, it automatically only does a mass TRIM, so no need to turn it off. Windows will also automatically do a mass TRIM during system idle times.

The mass TRIMs are useful because they ensure that any empty blocks are ready to be written to straight away, rather than needing a block erase beforehand.

#8

do not get cheap with memory, if the memory has stability issue’s you’re done computing, I usually look for somewhat better specs then needed and go for a know brand, make sure that once you decide to get it to get all you need at once so you’ll have the ram sticks from the same batch.

#9

I’ve never actually tried installing VIs onto a separate SSD to the OS SSD (and obviously Sample Libraries stored on a 3rd SSD). I’ve never thought there would be any benefit (that I would notice). Also my current Mobo has 2 x 6gb Sata 3 Ports and 6 x 3gb Sata 3 Ports so I have an SSD for OS, Plugins, Apps/Programs connected to one of the 6gbs and the 2nd SSD for Sample Libraries (with R.A.P.I.D Mode enabled - super quick!) on the other 6gb Sata 3 Ports.

Although, things are about to change in the new year because I am going to build a new Master PC and turn my current into a slave PC with 32gb of RAM). The Master PC is going to have a Mobo that supports 128gb of RAM and to begin with I will put 64gb in it (yes from same batch) leaving it with a bit of future proofing.

In regards to RAM Speed, as it doesn’t seem to make a difference with Audio Production, I think I’ll stick with 1600mhz or slightly below. Brings down the cost!

#10

Exactly.

#11

Jono, fwiw, I got Crucial Ballistix Sport RAM , a set of 4x8 GB at the time. I chose the ultra low profile, low voltage version, since that can run at 1.35V and is really tiny, leaving space for airflow and my big cooler. Probably creates less heat as well. I use a Z77 board with an 3770K.

Cheers,
Ben

#12

Thanks! I’ll check it out! I do have a large Noctua Cooler so low profile RAM is good! I actually need to upgrade to 32gb ASAP. I would have much sooner but you know how it goes. A new Sample Library comes out and it’s on offer, with a cross grade offer and a new Plugin, and then an SSD is needed and a new GFX card… HAHA! Never ending. RAM will be my next purchase. 16gb is just not enough anymore!

#13

Nope it really isn’t. My standard template ready to go is 22GB in Memory… :slight_smile:
Which cooler do you have? I use their C14 and it’s awesome, but the LP RAM actually makes it possible to use the lower fan as well!

Cheers,
Benji

#14

I have a Noctua NH D14. My G Skills Ripjaw ram fits underneath it (I researched this when I bought it) but I will have to remove the cooler when changing the ram as I can’t access it. My next Mobo is definitely going to able to support 128gb RAM. No point in messing about haha!

#15

You’ll love that low profile stuff, it’s insanely tiny, makes you wonder why no-one else is making sticks that small…
Have fun!
Benji

#16

I am not sure that performance should be the only factor of decision, e.g. for logistical reasons I use an OS/app drive (C:), a media drive (M:) for samples and such, one for active projects (P:), and a drive for software setup files and various configurations (S:) for easy installations.

Everything (including things on C: that cannot be configured to other drives) gets backed up to a network array (on schedule and on demand) for each computer.

#17

Typically, the OS drive gets the OS (of course!), all program files, and VI and plug-in executables. The latter are fine on there because they are only loaded at project load time, and not during. That is, fairly non-time-critical.

However, libraries and projects should be on other drives so that any OS drive activity is less likely to disrupt the ongoing DAW/sample drive activity. The same can be said for keeping the project drive separate from libraries, and indeed heavy-use libraries from others.

Now, with SSDs, if you have a lightly used DAW on a dedicated computer, you may well be able to get away with only one drive, but you would be faced with a dramatic reorganisation if you suddenly started exceeding its capabilities.

While with HDDs, putting data in a separate partition on the same drive as the OS/programs guaranteed increased latencies (due to the heads being forced to travel between each partition), it is irrelevant with SSDs, as there is no seek time, but only a constant (usually well less than 1ms), access time.

Just be aware that Cubase installs the 10+GB of Halion samples on the OS drive by default. At install time, select another drive for them, or, if you have already installed them, uninstall just them, and re-install with another drive.