RAM Usage with CS4/Vista 64

[ricksullivan]

I'm still trying to understand how much RAM I need for my setup (Currently CS4/Vista Ultimate 64/ Dual Xeon 3.0/16GB RAM).

As I write this note I can see in my Task Manager that Premiere Pro CS4 is using 6-GB of Memory to render files. tht's good, but what are the other 10GB of RAM doing for me right now. I have room for 32GB and will gladly install them if they're of use to me. Is 6GB of RAM all that CS4 can access with Vista?

Obviously, I'm not all that smart about computers. I just want mine to have everything it needs without being wasteful by buying RAM that does not get used.

Thanks anyone!

[jkosmicki]

From Adobe about CS4:

CS4 runs the same on 32- and 64-bit systems, but its new architecture means that the software is able to take advantage of increased memory on 64-bit systems. We do this by splitting up the applications into multiple separate executables. Even though each executable is 32-bit (maintaining compatibility with 32-bit systems), each executable can access up to 4GB of its own memory, making the total amount of memory that can be used far higher.

As an example, Premiere Pro on its own runs as four separate processes. Adobe Media Encoder runs a single process but calls additional processes depending on the source of the content to be encoded. When using After Effects compositions via Dynamic Link, a separate, headless After Effects process provides the frames from the After Effects compositions. Encore also uses a similar scheme to split up processes.

So, if you can go 32GB, you probably should. I'm currently building a 32GB AXIO system with room to expand to 128GB of RAM. Early testing on the system has been amazing (no Axio hardware installed yet), I've been able to open every Adobe application at the same time, as well as Internet Explorer, Acrobat Reader and all the Vista stuff without barely taxing the system.

[ricksullivan]

Excellent information. Thanks for the input jkosmicki. I'm sold! I'll be making a call for more RAM pronto.