Does RAM help with CPU Overload

[johnnyrowing]

Hello all,
So, probably a very silly question for those that are techie . . . but will more RAM help with CPU overload during my recording sessions? If so, any way to suggest what % it would help?

I am of the mind that the CPU mem. and speed is really the key to solving this issue . . . but . . . I'm wondering if it is possible that more RAM will do anything to help.

Thanks for any wisdom that you might provide.

I did do a "search" prior to posting but didn't find any hits on the first 3 pages from the results.

Johnny R.

[TheElement]

I found that I needed 32GB ram as I was using a lot of VST's. More the better. I planned on upgrading to 64GB and then 128GB as my gaming PC could go that high so why not.

but 32GB worked for me. also in Cubase tracks can be freezed saving memory.

[Casey H]

What Graham said. See if you are using heavy CPU or heavy RAM. In general, CPU overload is just that the "brain" of the computer can't keep up with all the tasks it's being asked to do which is independent of RAM. However, with less RAM, the CPU might be getting slowed down constantly swapping between disk and RAM to manage the limitations. This would be more of a factor with a mechanical hard drive than an SSD one.

Good luck!
Casey

[johnnyrowing]

Thank you Graham, Casey, and TheElement,
I appreciate both the insights and suggestions. I am going to purchase more RAM, as it does look like RAM is being taxed.

I'll let you know, in a few weeks, if it does help.

All my best,
Johnny

[johnnyrowing]

Just checking back in . .. the RAM did NOT help with my overload issue. However, this computer is now rocking in other contexts.

I guess I'll have to use a few fewer plug-ins or do the comparable thing to "freeze" on Studio One 5.



I appreciate you both giving me some ideas to shoot through.

Johnny Rowing

[irthlingz]

You're probably already aware of this, but another good practice is to use sends instead of duplicating plugins (like reverb) on multiple tracks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCGGqg4Mhx0&t=237s

[johnnyrowing]

Thank you irthlingz. It is something that I apply. However, it is great to see some suggestions that might help on this post. I'm sure I'm not the only one struggling with CPU overload. Someday we'll laugh at still operating with Giga instead of Tera in our processors.

I have definitely found that bussing and creating FX busses, etc. does help.

Thanks again for sharing the suggestion.

Johnny Rowing

[Paulie]

RAM and CPU are entirely different components within a computer. Think of the CPU as your brain and RAM is your work desk. Your brain can only process so much information... if you have two documents on your desk two fill out, or a stack of a hundred, your brain can only process so much information at once. Getting a bigger desk makes it easier to store all of those documents, you can arrange them in categories, ergonomically, etc... but your brain is still the limiting factor.

[irthlingz]

The question most people really want an answer to is “Does more RAM improve system performance?” The answer there is quite often "yes". Because with more RAM, the less the CPU may have to swap data out of memory to the system drive, and then maybe swap it back in later. However, that is only true up to a point; at a certain point, there's not that much swapping going on to begin with, and adding more RAM may not improve system performance noticeably.

[johnnyrowing]

RAM and CPU are entirely different components within a computer. Think of the CPU as your brain and RAM is your work desk. Your brain can only process so much information... if you have two documents on your desk two fill out, or a stack of a hundred, your brain can only process so much information at once. Getting a bigger desk makes it easier to store all of those documents, you can arrange them in categories, ergonomically, etc... but your brain is still the limiting factor.

Sounds like you really KNOW me Paulie.