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Reader Q&A : How much RAM do I need?

here's my question.

i have a mac pro with two dual core w/ 3.0ghz and 4 gig of ram. we are trying to figure out whether the current configuration is fast enough for motion & final cut pro and livetype program running all at the same time. i was wondering if we need to upgrade the ram memory in order to have a faster computer that can process projects quicker. what do you think? how much ram memory is enough for a total ease of operation in doing editings? thanks so much for taking your time to read and hopefully i will hear a response from you!

Eunho

Hey Eunho,

Thanks for your question. I think that 4 gig of ram is more than enough to run those programs at the same time. Remember, at the end of the day, you are really only using them one at a time anyways. In most cases, I never have any more than 2 app's running at the same time, and I'm running on a machine with 4G of ram, and it's smooth sailing for me. I normally have either Final Cut Pro and Motion open together, or Media Composer and After Effects open together. Programs like After Effects start really using the systems RAM when they start rendering. I'm currently working in compressed HD, and in many cases I have Compressor running in the background while I'm editing, and I never notice a performance problem. In the Mac Pro's, you can now get up to 32G of RAM, at a bank-breaking $9100 US extra. For me, that's like shooting a fly with a cannon!

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