Do I need to add RAM?

[Mark B]

Wow, thanks so much for the responses, especially you Davenz....quite the essay! I'm going to read it several times over to try and take it all in!

My old Presonus Firebox works so well for my needs that I am loath to give it up, and Presonus web search results are unclear about whether it'll function with Windows 10 given the lack of drivers. I am a bit unclear on the concept of using legacy drivers. Do they have to be set up every time or can they be set to kick in each time you use the gear in question? I'm tempted to figure out how to dual boot 7 and 10 so that I don't mess up the whole 7 setup and have to start over.

Anyway, my sincere thanks. Awesome. It is so great to have this resource. I think I'm going to take Mixcraft 9 for a spin now. I really like the idea of the detachable sections...

I'm putting the final touches on a Spinal Tap-like number...s'gonna be good!

[Mark B]

The faster RAM will simply clock down (or be run at) the lower frequency and usually this presents no problem.

One further note on this: is it possible that --for the purposes of recording and mixing music -- I would be better off with 8 GB of the faster 800 RAM than the 12 GB of the mixed RAM running at 667? The Internet seems to advise gamers that the more RAM is better, but I'm not a gamer....

[mixyguy2]

I can't speak to your specific RAM question, but I'm not surprised that more RAM helped and was surprised so many didn't think it would; your CPU isn't THAT Godawful and upping from 4GB to 8GB RAM is significant. 4GB even on a good CPU doesn't go far today. I can say that gaming PC and audio recording requirements are not quite the same; gaming is more about a great graphics card, while audio is more about the CPU, and both of course need enough memory. Also if you shop new PC, pay more attention to the chipset, esp what "generation" (like 6000 series, 8000 series etc) it is, that matters more than i5 vs i7 vs i9. That i7 mentioned before only had a 4000 series chip which is weak by today's standards hence the lower cost.

[davenz]

The motherboard clock frequency determines what frequency the RAM runs at - putting 800MHz RAM in a motherboard running 667MHz won't magically run any better - it is clocked at 667MHz after all. Of course, if the mobo can clock to 800, then that's a different story, but any 667MHz RAM will be unstable as hell in that scenario, unless you are very lucky, so you'd ideally use 800MHz (or faster) RAM.

I didn't mean to imply more RAM wouldn't help in some way. 8Mb is better than 4Mb in any 64-bit system (32 bit versions of Windows won't cope with anything over 4GB of memory) but adding increasing amounts of RAM gives diminishing performance returns, and the money spent on RAM would be far better spent on an SSD, or a better CPU. The sad fact is that all newer versions of any software (in general) will be designed to un on bigger and better hardware, so upgrading can be a fraught process. That's why there are trial versions, and it doesn't (usually) cost anything to down load a trial version and give it a go.

If you do a bit of research, it isn't difficult to dual boot Windows 7 and 10 on the same drive, but if this was me, I'd get a 512Gb SSD, install Windows 10 on it and leave the 7 drive in there for comparison purposes - you can usually hit a function key (F12 on my machine) during POST/boot to choose what drive to boot from (a BIOS setting usually determines whether this function is available or not during POST).

You will never regret migrating to an SSD, regardless of what OS you end up using.

[Acoustica Greg]

Hi,

I always try to temper expectations for RAM upgrades because there are so many other factors, like hard drive speed and the sound device. Someone who is using their computer's internal soundcard shouldn't expect RAM to fix all audio performance problems, for example.

That said, if you don't have more than 4 GB of RAM, you don't get the added benefit of 64-bit software (access to RAM beyond the first 4 gigs).

Greg

[Mark B]

I just wanted to follow up and thank all those who responded and helped me figure out my next move. In the end, I DID buy a newer computer, Xeon processor with 4 cores and 16 GB RAM and an SSD and Windows 10 for about 500$ Can., in which I WAS able to get the legacy driver to work with my Firebox. All seems well, no more glitching due to lack of power.

I am having a few weird MIDI glitches in Mixcraft that require restarting the 'puter, wondering if I might go back to version 8 to see if that helps, but otherwise am happy with how things turned out.

Really appreciate this forum.

Mark

[Acoustica Greg]

Hi,

What do you mean by weird MIDI glitches?

Greg

[Mark B]

Hi Greg,

I was going to see if they were replicable before posting details about them.

Since you ask though, they have occurred while using VST plugins like Pianoteq. Suddenly, a couple of the notes in the middle of the keyboard (on multiple input devices) will simply not work, though the MIDI-note-in light lights up; or Mixcraft's MIDI functions will even freeze entirely, with all the tracks suddenly going a weird purple 'highlighted' color. Restarting Mixcraft doesn't fix it, I have to restart the computer too.

I'll let you know more when I understand the circumstances better. It seems in line with what some others have said about plug-in incompatibilities. Haven't tested with Mixcraft 8 yet to see if they happen there too.

[Acoustica Greg]

Hi,

The purple highlighting sounds like MIDI Learn is turned on. If it happens again, click the MIDI Learn option and see if it goes away.

In regard to the silent virtual instrument issue, I will email you a link to download the beta version (build 461), which may address the issue, especially if the virtual instruments involved are VST3 plugins.

Greg