3 gb switch?

[mirrored]

Hi there.
I recently added a GB of RAM, so now I have three. Strangely enough, I don't see any improvements.
Accidentally I found something about "3 gb switch":
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/item?siteID=123112&id=9729516&linkID=9240697

Does this apply for music software too? I mean - after plugging one additional GB of RAM I need to do this in order to have 3 GB Ram avaiable to work?

[zuijlen]

It's an OS switch so you would need that independent of the application. However, as you have 3GB now and the OS will need some, it's unclear whether the switch does anything if you have just 3GB. I would imagine you would need more than 3GB. (Windows XP 32bit can address 4GB maximum; some of this address space will be used by your graphics card and other devices, which "eats" addressable memory I believe).

[Memphis]

You dont need the 3Gb-switch to use all your 3Gb. The swith alows you to get more of the memory used for applications, lika your Daw for example. As standard it splits the memory in two. Halv to the OS and half to all applications. With the swith you get 2/3 of your memory used to applications and 1/3 to your OS. Im pretty sure that´s how it works.

/M

[zuijlen]

If you have, say, 4GB, then without the switch you would still have only 2GB for your applications and 2GB would go to the OS, right? So in that case, the switch would allow you to access over 2GB.

[Memphis]

If you have, say, 4GB, then without the switch you would still have only 2GB for your applications and 2GB would go to the OS, right? So in that case, the switch would allow you to access over 2GB.


Yea, What I meant was that the 3Gb will be used weather he use the switch or not. So in his case, now having totally 3Gb, the 3Gb-switch will make the computer use 2Gb to his applications and 1Gb to the OS, instead of 1,5Gb to each. So if he want 3Gb to his applications he have to get another 1Gb, so he have 4Gb.

@ mirrored - So when you bought 1Gb more, the system only let you use 500Mb more to your DAW, maybe thats why you didnt noticed so much improvement. So fix the switch or get one more Gb and you will problaby see a change. ;)

Cheers!

/M

[Memphis]

Double posts. :/

[mirrored]

@ mirrored - So when you bought 1Gb more, the system only let you use 500Mb more to your DAW, maybe thats why you didnt noticed so much improvement. So fix the switch or get one more Gb and you will problaby see a change. ;)

Cheers!

/M

Thanks for the answer. :)

Regards
Mirrored

[jeriddian]

By default, Windows will allow only a maximum of 2 Gb of RAM for any single application, reserving the other 2 Gb for the OS. The 3 Gb switch will give that much for the application(s) and only 1 Gb to the OS, but it will not help you if the application itself is not written to take advantage of this feature. This requires the application to have the /LARGEADDRESSAWARE switch available in its programming. This is a feature Microsoft incorporated to allow expanded use of its Microsoft Exchange Server programs with the Server 2003 OS (which is the next upgrade from XP Pro), and would allow some large databasing programs to use more than 2 Gb RAM for those RAM intensive database programs used on servers, and with the PAE and API processes would also be able to access greater than 4 Gb RAM altogether (up to as much as 64 Gb). But all of this is completely useless to you unless the application you are specifically using is written to access more than 2 Gb, and very, very few programs are, since they normally would never need it. So unless your program specifically says it supports the /LARGEADDRESSAWARE switch, it can never use more then 2 Gb of RAM in Windows.

[paulwr]

By default, Windows will allow only a maximum of 2 Gb of RAM for any single application, reserving the other 2 Gb for the OS. The 3 Gb switch will give that much for the application(s) and only 1 Gb to the OS, but it will not help you if the application itself is not written to take advantage of this feature. This requires the application to have the /LARGEADDRESSAWARE switch available in its programming. This is a feature Microsoft incorporated to allow expanded use of its Microsoft Exchange Server programs with the Server 2003 OS (which is the next upgrade from XP Pro), and would allow some large databasing programs to use more than 2 Gb RAM for those RAM intensive database programs used on servers, and with the PAE and API processes would also be able to access greater than 4 Gb RAM altogether (up to as much as 64 Gb). But all of this is completely useless to you unless the application you are specifically using is written to access more than 2 Gb, and very, very few programs are, since they normally would never need it. So unless your program specifically says it supports the /LARGEADDRESSAWARE switch, it can never use more then 2 Gb of RAM in Windows.

Hence the 'latiido' hack. It is a free program that will make the adjustment to programs like Kontakt, etc that aren't large address aware. Take about 10 sec to download and 2 sec to run. Very easy, and it works like a charm, does no harm. BUT there can be programs or software/hardware situations that for some reason don't like the 3GB switch being used. Always wise to set it up as dual boot choice. Mine is still that way, I never removed it from any of the slaves or DAW.

-Paul

[jeriddian]

Hence the 'latiido' hack. It is a free program that will make the adjustment to programs like Kontakt, etc that aren't large address aware. Take about 10 sec to download and 2 sec to run. Very easy, and it works like a charm, does no harm. BUT there can be programs or software/hardware situations that for some reason don't like the 3GB switch being used. Always wise to set it up as dual boot choice. Mine is still that way, I never removed it from any of the slaves or DAW.

-Paul

Ah! I learn something new every day. Could you tell me where I could find this hack? I tried to google it and got nowhere. Thanks.

[paulwr]

Ah! I learn something new every day. Could you tell me where I could find this hack? I tried to google it and got nowhere. Thanks.

I misspelled it. It is Laatido.
http://www.musikbanken.se/TechLaaTiDo.aspx link to the guy who wrote it and he talks about the details. Not sure where the link to the program is. Try and find it and if you don't, I'll grab it from one of my computers and email it to you. Just pm me.

-Paul

[jeriddian]

Thanks, Paul,

I was able to download it fine. Do you know if there's any problem running it with ProTools? I'll try it anyway after I set up a dual boot system to try all this out, but if you already know, it would be nice. Much appreciated.:)

[A.Leung]

Of all the protools users I know for some odd reason seems like 4 out of 5 cant get it to work.

[jeriddian]

Of all the protools users I know for some odd reason seems like 4 out of 5 cant get it to work.
That's a shame, however, if some ProTools users have succeeded, there must be a way. It sounds like some special tweak or condition of some sort has to be accomplished on top of everything else.

[gavc]

Hence the 'latiido' hack.-Paul

Thanks Paul, that's a great link. I've just installed Goliath on my PC running XP with 4Gb, using it with Cubase SX3. I was finding lots of clicks/pops, Laatido established that Goliath needed the fix, it took 2 seconds to do and now it's rock solid.

Thanks!
:)

[paulwr]

Yea, some of us still need that 3GB switch....... but not for too much longer. Glad the LaaTiDo helped get you there.

-Paul

[jeriddian]

Well, I tried the LaaTiDo hack and it seems to improved things pretty well. I am able to put on more instrument tracks and run the program where its RAM usage is around 2.2 to 2.5 GB without problems. The only problem is that although it improves my simultaneous active instrument count to about seven or eight, but I really wanted to get even more than that. But I suppose I'm really shooting for the moon. I'll have to wait until a full 64 bit version of PT finally comes out, And I really don't want to wait. Oh, well.....

[paulwr]

Well, I tried the LaaTiDo hack and it seems to improved things pretty well. I am able to put on more instrument tracks and run the program where its RAM usage is around 2.2 to 2.5 GB without problems. The only problem is that although it improves my simultaneous active instrument count to about seven or eight, but I really wanted to get even more than that. But I suppose I'm really shooting for the moon. I'll have to wait until a full 64 bit version of PT finally comes out, And I really don't want to wait. Oh, well.....

ProTools 8 may give you some improvement. You are up against a software bottle neck right now, not hardware like most of us. On my DAW with Cubase 3.1 I'm at around 50-60 instruments with 4GB ram running the 3gig switch. Now that is with Kontakt mainly. Play doesn't play well with my 3.1 Cubase and I need 4.0 or above to be officially supported.

-Paul

[jeriddian]

Yeah, that's what I'm hoping with PT 8. But I've seen some of the specs and I'm not seeing anything that drastic. It's still a 32 bit app. I may give PT a call and ask for more specifics. They have a seminar scheduled in LA by a third party, but I don't really have the time to do that.

[paulwr]

If they improve the rtas plugin format to come closer to the vst spec, you'll be in much better shape. PC ProTools still uses the rtas for plugins, right? My 50-60 instruments in Cubase is in 32 bit o/s. If the ProTools 8 upgrade still is lacking in the native plug efficiency, you might consider Cubase or Sonar for sequencing and then bring audio into ProTools for mix/mastering. A shame that they don't get it together on the rtas thing since it is just so great in all other respects. My only other suggestion is a couple of slave computers for Play and Contact. That is if you are doing heavy sequencing and really need to move pretty quickly.

-Paul