ram, wav files, performance
Moderator: Wiz Feinberg
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Steve B
- Posts: 157
- Joined: 22 Dec 1999 1:01 am
- Location: Garland Texas
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ram, wav files, performance
Any tips on how to keep my computers performance up? I need to keep my computer up to speed, because if the "performance" (settings, control panel, system) is less than 90%, songs recorded as wav file come out bad. My computer came w/128 MB ram, but I just installed another 128, making it 256 ram. If I restart my computer, I get it up to 90%, but if I do just a couple of things, or get online, it takes it down to 85%, and the more stuff I do on the computer w/o restarting it, the lower the performance gets. Will I see any benifits from the extra ram? Being able to mix from my tascam 4-track, to wav files for cdr's is something I like do do alot w/ this computer, so I need to keep it up to speed.
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Jack Stoner
- Posts: 22136
- Joined: 3 Dec 1999 1:01 am
- Location: Kansas City, MO
If you're up in the 80 - 90% range you are doing well. More memory probably isn't going to do you much good. What you do need to do is only keep open (loaded) the programs that are necessary and you will have optimum system resources available. There's more to your computer performance than just the "% of resources available". The disk access speed, internal bus, CPU speed, the sound processor, etc.
What you see in the % of system resources, after running (and then closing) some programs is some "residual" that is left after the program ran. The only way you are going to have the maximum % is to restart windows after you have run a program. But that's really not necessary as windows controls (decides) what it needs and will utilize the available resources and unless you have a relatively slow and underpowered (CPU) processor this is usually not a problem. Generally the video intensive and CPU intensive graphics programs are the ones that tax system resources.
When you do recording, only have the necessary recording software open.
e.g. when I do recording (to wav or CD) I close the antivirus program, disable the screen saver, etc. That way it doesn't have a potential to interfere with what I'm doing. I will only have the necessary program that "records" to a wav file or the software that does the CD recording.
Memory should not affect your recordings and make them come out "bad". The quality of a recording is more a result of the sound card and the audio processing software and the multimedia sound/system settings for the audio.
What you see in the % of system resources, after running (and then closing) some programs is some "residual" that is left after the program ran. The only way you are going to have the maximum % is to restart windows after you have run a program. But that's really not necessary as windows controls (decides) what it needs and will utilize the available resources and unless you have a relatively slow and underpowered (CPU) processor this is usually not a problem. Generally the video intensive and CPU intensive graphics programs are the ones that tax system resources.
When you do recording, only have the necessary recording software open.
e.g. when I do recording (to wav or CD) I close the antivirus program, disable the screen saver, etc. That way it doesn't have a potential to interfere with what I'm doing. I will only have the necessary program that "records" to a wav file or the software that does the CD recording.
Memory should not affect your recordings and make them come out "bad". The quality of a recording is more a result of the sound card and the audio processing software and the multimedia sound/system settings for the audio.