Enough Memory?

ORIGINAL: bassout

I've ordered Sonar 4 PE already. I want to get P5V2 also but currently I only have 512MB of RAM. I know that is the min for P5, but realistically... is my system going to be hanging up? Especially if I'm trying to rewire through Sonar?

I'm going to upgrade my mem in another two weeks... which brings me to another questions. I currently have a 512MB stick in there. I want to get a 1024MB stick... do all the sticks have to be uniform??? Does anyone have different capacity sticks currently installed?

(I don't have the rest of the specs of my PC here right now... currently at work)

bassout....welcome to the forum...

most likely your system will run more slowly for lack of memory...meaning lower track counts, increased latency, audio artifacts and such...

Although 512mb is the bare minimum u should really use for sonar or p5, imo you need at least 1 gig or more to really keep things chugging along smoothly( especially if u plan to rewire p5 into sonar).

however.... much more important is the speed of your cpu...i wouldn't recommend anything running at less than 2ghz for what you are planning to do. although p5 has an incredibly optimized audio engine, again imo, it can be a cpu hog if you load it up with lotsa synths(ex. Taboo Style by René w/ i think 19 instances of Dimension)

in regards to your question about memory...yes, you can use sticks of differing capacity...I myself am using (1)512mb and (2)256mb

However....no two mother boards are the same in this aspect...some will allow it and others won't...check with your manufacturer specs- i can't readily answer this question without knowing more detrails about your 'puter HTH

there is some site on the web that actually interactively tests your system to determine compatible ram and number of sticks required and guarantees it all

just google and you'll hit it eventually

i upgraded my system from 512 to 1 gig and honestly I can't see much of a difference, but I don't use more than drum samples and maybe one other sampler per project

bassout --

You need to be careful adding RAM. With many systems, sticks need to be added in pairs, and the two sticks in a pair need to match reasonably well (must be same size, and speed) and should be the same speed as your existing pair. Otherwise, your system can slow down or even fail to boot up.

Best thing to do is check with the motherboard manufacturer. They should have a website which lists memory options and requirements. You can also check most of the name-brand RAM suppliers online -- they usually have a page that helps you figure out what will fit in your system.

What's your motherboard? Do you know if you have 1 stick currently, or 2?

- Jim