New 64 bit system questions.

You mix and match some important things in your question.
RAM, SSD and plugins and all of that have different impacts then you present in your question. Please research some more and talk some more with people close to you who "know". And please learn some more...
 
A system with 8 to 16 GB ram and a normal harddisk of like 500GB for C:\ and a large D:\ drive for recording is fine for most recordings. It might not be for pure sample based playing... So... We don't know your requirements. Please figure those out with people close to you. And I am quite sure you will find "your needs" soon.

JohnPutting the OS on an SSD is a popular thing to do and works well. I wouldn't use it for audio streaming though.[/quote]
 
Actually, I use an SSD to host my Kontakt sample library, and it works great -- the audio samples load so much faster into Kontakt than they did from a standard hard disk!

I've run into a lack of RAM in projects that use BFD2. It alone can eat up 8 GB with ease. With new libraries using many articulations and layers the more RAM the better. Besides it wont hurt and today RAM is cheap.  

As far as plugs, I "think" you need to re-register them (but don't quote me on that). Some (I believe) can simply be used once they are on your machine, others have registry-required keys to run.
 
As far as SSD/HDD, rather than re-type this, I just posted a response 4 hours ago in another thread.
 
As far as RAM... when I built this machine I specifically tailored it so that the CPU/RAM wouldn't have to deal with graphics and that data would go to the card. To compensate, I got a card that is extreme overkill for a DAW, but reduces RAM load considerably. These go hand-in-hand. I do not get "plug happy" recording, so rarely run over 4GB in use (and 2GB of that is the computer idle). I agree with Sander here... and would recommend 8-16GB and get them in 8GB chunks... that way you have other RAM slots open and if feel the need can just throw 8GB more in later if you choose without needing to remove anything. Going that route you can start with 8GB, and if you get the "Oh God" feeling, step up to 16.
 
Edit: I forgot something with RAM that just occurred to me reading another thread. Windows also allocates a paging file (virtual memory) to expand "RAM"... with an SSD you can effectively utilize this since the SSD speed is comparable to RAM. I just checked mine and it has 8GB "in use" after doing quite a bit of tasks on the machine (but my RAM rarely exceeds 3GB "in use"). You can set that paging file even larger than Windows allocates on its own if needed, and with space free on your SSD you can use this effectively.

mettelus
 
Edit: I forgot something with RAM that just occurred to me reading another thread. Windows also allocates a paging file (virtual memory) to expand "RAM"... with an SSD you can effectively utilize this since the SSD speed is comparable to RAM. I just checked mine and it has 8GB "in use" after doing quite a bit of tasks on the machine (but my RAM rarely exceeds 3GB "in use"). You can set that paging file even larger than Windows allocates on its own if needed, and with space free on your SSD you can use this effectively.

I just found this thread again because the 3 to 7 GB upgrade thread made me think of it. Then I saw you had edited your post. I'm not a hardware developer or IT expert, but it's my understanding that putting your page file on an SSD is a bad idea in the sense that it will degrade your disk a LOT quicker. SSDs have a maximum number of writes before they fail, as I'm sure you're aware of, and the page file gets written to a LOT even during mild computer use. I've made certain with both my SSD-based systems that my page file is on a regular drive. I haven't A/Bd but it doesn't seem particularly slow because of it.

mettelus
 
since the SSD speed is comparable to RAM.

In my mind RAM will be substantially faster than an SSD.
 

well, the page file issue caused me to do more research...this info seemed consistent from MSDN and Crucial:
1. the page file should be on the SSD.  I found some articles that talked about page files increasing with increasing ram, but limiting its size is recommended... and the damage caused by page file type of reads/writes may damage the disk but over a period of 'years.'
2. page files may not be necessary if enough ram is used... these recommendations were 8 or 16 Gb, depending on the apps you use.
3.  the page file should be setup as a single size, ie, min=max.
so i'm gonna use 8Gb ram, setup a 2Gb page file on the ssd, and track ram to see if i push the use of 8Gb ram... if that happens, i'll install a couple more sticks... so the page file should not ordinarily be accessed... I may even use a USB 3 ready boost as a page/hibernation/indexing drive, pending further research.

I suppose it depends on what you find a reasonable timespan for your SSDs to last. Modern SSDs have a very reasonable amount of write operations before they fail, it's true. Still, the page file tends to get written to a lot. I personally feel safer with the page file on another disk. But again, not an IT expert.
8GB sounds like a good starting point. Good luck!

Sanderxpander
You really, REALLY don't need more than 16GB RAM unless you're using huuuuuge libraries all the time, and/or are doing heavy video editing. I have only 8 and never run into trouble (though I did keep two slots open for easy expansion should the need arise). My system is very responsive. I also use an SSD for OS and VSTs with all heavy content and libraries on another drive. I'm afraid you'll have to reinstall most, if not all, VSTs. They'll be looking for some registry info or authorization which isn't stored with the DLLs usually.
 
EDIT:
I would DEFINITELY use an SSD for audio streaming by the way, if you can afford another large one for your sample libraries and content. Audio recording, probably not, since their maximum life span is determined mostly by the number of writes. But for sample streaming they're very reliably and kick the ass of any current regular spinning HDD. 

I agree....Deffo an SSD for sample streaming if you can stretch to it plus 16GB ram. I've only got 32 in mine as I got an awesome price. I use orchestral templates so not a bad idea anyway given how huge they can be.

mudgel
Multiple software programs can share an ASIO driver. It is just that only 1 ASIO driver can be active at any one time. That equals one sound card using ASIO drivers.

That is why I am still confused. Here is the thread I first posted that on. Not only do I have the Saffire set to be given exclusive rights (in Win7), but X3 is also not checked to "Share drivers with other programs." After I inadvertently did this twice, I started to intentionally do it... and they ALL will play simultaneously through the Saffire. In the past, just having a program open with an ASIO "lock" on my interface and opening another would give Win7 a heart attack.
 
I am just assuming that the Saffire drivers are simply a "stellar WDM wrapper" specific to the Saffire. I am playing two different songs as I am typing this... one through X3, the other through Melodyne (stand-alone). I wish my Camtasia trial was still active, this is a "have to see to believe" thing.
 
 
Edit: I just took a video with my cell phone and kicked it out in Premiere. I had to use CBR to be able to read the "ASIO" on both Melodyne and X3, so it is 12.5MB (may be slow to load)  Demonstration is here.

Just learned something new, thank you! I searched "ASIO Aggregation" and it only returns one driver data sheet from AudioScience drivers. Section 5.3 (of their drivers) says "The adapters need to be all of the same type and use a common sample rate clock source when aggregating into one ASIO device." This is the same feature I stumbled upon with the Saffire by accident.
 
I ran back through the Saffire manual, and the only comment I could find was a Saffire setting to shut off other system sounds: "Disable WDM Audio in Windows (Windows Only)  Tick this option to ensure that only audio from your DAW is played through the Saffire PRO 24 DSP. Windows sounds will not be played through the Saffire PRO 24 DSP. Sounds from other software will not be played through the Saffire PRO 24 DSP. This is useful to prevent any unwanted audio being heard when you are working in your DAW. It is especially useful when other applications output audio at a sample rate different from the sample rate at which your DAW is operating."
 
I have Win7 locked to the onboard audio, so ancillary programs always sound through that, making the "disabling anything" never an issue for me. I just never knew of the "aggregation feature," which is incredibly nice.
 

I agree, I think this has to be scripted into the ASIO driver. What I find ironic is that Focusrite makes no comment that they have done that! My god, what a sales pitch that is (for me anyway).

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