How much RAM can Pro Tools access ?

[garnoil]

I have an old computer with 96 gigs of ram, works perfectly, but I can no longer upgrade Pro Tools or anything else as my OS is not upgradable any more. I am going to buy Mac Studio with an Echo 3 chassis for my 2 HDX cards. The Mac Studio comes with 64 gigs of ram, but for extra money I can get 128 gigs. I think 128 gigs is overkill and 64 may do, as the new computer and the ram should be much more efficient and faster than my 5,1 cheese grader.

Is there a specific technical Avid given number as to how much RAM Pro Tools can access? Is this specification listed anywhere by Avid?

[Darryl Ramm]

There is no simple practical limit/answer to this question and no specific hard memory limit that you should hit... and if there was one accidentally in the product you would hope it was removed in future versions including during the time you own the mac.

How much memory Pro Tools can effectively use/is worth paying more to have is a different question and depends on what you are doing, the session/workflow and especially plugins.

But since memory is not upgradeable on these new macs... buy as much as you think you will need in future and more, or as much as you can afford.

I've written many times on DUC about why its a bad idea to assume things like "memory is more efficient" on an Apple Silicon mac. I've also pointed out that users impressions of how much memory their current systems actually need can be overstated since the demand paged memory management tends to fill up memory. And I've pointed out how to do useful memory usage measurements by reconfiguring memory at boot time or by putting artificial memory pressure on a system. And of course a great way to "prove" Pro Tools runs OK in less memory on an Apple Silicon Mac is to not measure memory usage correctly to start with. You might want to find and read some of those posts.

[garnoil]

Thank you, the question of how much memory can Pro Tools address came form the Apple store person, because she said it has something to do with which chip set would be more efficient or better suited for my needs. I think your answer confirms what I already knew. Memory, you always buy as much as possible and buy the fastest possible CPU speed. But...my old, slow, clunky 5,1 works perfectly.... if I could only upgrade the OS further....it is 15 years old.

[Tweakhead]

Originally Posted by garnoil

.... if I could only upgrade the OS further....it is 15 years old.

https://dosdude1.com/software.html

or

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads...c-pro.2207814/

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

There is no simple practical limit/answer to this question

Yes there is and you know it. 64bit software can address 16 million terabytes so "practically" the answer is hardware dependent, or "unlimited in your lifetime".

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Yes there is and you know it. 64bit software can address 16 million terabytes so the answer "practically" is hardware dependent, or "unlimited in your lifetime".

Bad choice of words I meant practically there is no hard limit built into the software, but yes practically the limit is current hardware.

Do you know how annoying it is to have my bad writing corrected by somebody from Finland?

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

Do you know how annoying it is to have my bad writing corrected by somebody from Finland?

I'm sorry about it. In here we are taught "practically" flawless english grammatics before we are taught to actually open your mouth and speak

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by JFreak

I'm sorry about it. In here we are taught "practically" flawless english grammatics before we are taught to actually open your mouth and speak

I hope your reindeer bite you.

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

I hope your reindeer bite you.

Reindeer are no beasts, not biting.

We actually race with them in the wintertime, if you have guts. With skis on your feet and reindeer giving you speed, some suckers soil their pants and fall to the snow.

And reindeer meat is delicious to eat

[JFreak]

But please, let us get back to the original topic. 64bit PT (11.0.0 and later) does not have practical memory limit. It is all about your hardware.