Hey guys,

Here's three questions I'm sure I've asked a thousand times before. But, I can never seem to find/get a conclusive answer to any of them.

Anyway, I just don't get what the deal is with RAM on OS X....

1. Are there any RAM limitations running a 32bit DAW on OS X (which is 64bit)

2. If I run Studio One 32bit on OS X would I only be able to utilise 4GB of RAM? Or... does that crap only apply to Windows?

2. In terms of memory, are there any benefits of me using a 64bit DAW running 64bit Plugins on Mac OS X?

Thanks,
k3ith

I don't know for sure about that Host, but generally speaking that '4' is theoretical and typically we'll run into some stability problems before quite reaching it. the OS makes no difference here.
If you do not have a 'bridge' to put the plugins in a different process than the host, the host is how you access more than the 32-bit RAM ceiling. So it is a matter of do you want to use the bridge or the host to do so. the primary point of the x64 DAW is the memory access..

Do you mean "bridge" as in "JBridge"? I won't use a plugin like JBridge, I think they're kind of pointless. If I'm going 64bit I'm doing it properly. Studio One doesn't have a x86 to x64 bridge.

Any one else like to contribute on this, I really need an answer on the matter for once and for all.

Thanks,
k3ith

Yes, exactly the same limitations apply to Mac and Windows. It's not the OS that is the problem, it's "how big" a 32-bit number can be (which is directly related to how much RAM can be addressed).

4 GB is the hard limit with 32-bit apps on all OS's. In practice, most 32-bit hosts crap out (crash!) when using more than 2 GB.


See above.


Access to "unlimited" RAM (or as much as you can install). Better stability. Possibly some minor performance gains.

If your projects don't use large sample libraries or tons of plugins, and you are not experiencing any limits when composing / producing / mixing now, then you probably won't notice any difference.

Peace,
Andy.

yes, such as J-Bridge. if one is restricted to a 32-bit DAW, there's the point of a bridge; bridging to a 64-bit process. once and for all, you will only access the RAM past a couple of gigabytes by a 64-bit process, whether the process is the host or a bridge. There isn't any answer beyond this: If STUDIO ONE is a 32-bit-only host, it will not work past a couple of gigs used in a project, 3 is optimistic; and you will need to use a bridge or change hosts to use more physical memory.

I went to 64 bit on my macbook pro, added ram, put a solid state hard drive, and CPU is overloaded with just a few plugins in logic. The same plugins in 32 bit mode (same song) are at least 50% lighter on CPU. What a crap, this 64 bit Let alone the bridge, that is as buggy as hell...

Thanks guys, I kind of understand this whole debacle now.

I've just been given a new MacBook Pro Retina 2.6GHZ with 16GB of RAM. I just think the time is right to make the jump to 64bit. So I'll be using Studio One 64bit exclusively with 64bit Plug-Ins.

I don't like the idea of bridging plugins. Studio One does not include a 32bit to 64bit bridge. But I absolutely agree with PreSonus that it is the plugin developers responsibility to provide 64bit plugins rather than PreSonus providing a 32bit bridge to make them work inside a 64bit environment.

What the heck, I can live without the (quite a few) plugins I already own that aren't yet 64bit.

Thanks,
k3ith

I use Cubase 64 bit on OSX and at first didn't want to use 32 at all, but j-bridge for mac is only like $11. I gotta say, it's well worth it! I don't use 32 bit vsti's nearly as much as the 64 bit, but it's really nice to have. If anything I'm pretty shocked at how flawless and trouble free it is. So, I understand not wanting to do 32 at all, but I would try out the j-bridge demo at least. It's a great product.

Thanks. I've heard good things about JBridge. But, my stance won't change on bridging I guess. Jesus, I own Auto-Tune and cannot believe Antares haven't made it 64bit yet... that's just crazy! The biggest selling VST of ALL TIME and it is only 32bit!

I'll probably just sell any 32bit only plugins a few months down the line I guess...