bcfromfl Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I was talking to my "go to" mac guy today, because I was considering increasing my G5 to 8 gigs of RAM (specs below). I have four slots, 2x256K, and 2x2G. He said that on 32-bit systems, it's mathematically impossible for it to utilize more than 4 gigs (I think he said 3.7, but I'm not sure). Just wanted to confirm that what he said is accurate. Thanks! -Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holger Lagerfeldt Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 He's correct that Logic won't be able to address more than the approximately 4 Gb. However, with 8 Gb of RAM you will have a bit more headroom in my experience. I'm not sure why this is, but I figure it's something to do with the OS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfromfl Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 Thank you, lagerfeldt -- guess I'll continue to make plans to upgrade. I just recalled another question I had about this, and that's the balance/distribution of my RAM. I bought this Mac used, and the way the previous owner had upgraded is how I mentioned above. I think I read somewhere that by balancing the RAM sticks, things will work more efficiently, i.e., 4x1G to arrive at 4G, or 4x2G to get 8G. I like the idea of 8G, and it may solve many unknowns like you mentioned. Also...having never done this, are there different kinds of RAM for the G5? Or, do all I have to say is that it's a PowermacPC? Thanks! -Bruce EDIT: I just went to the OWC website, and answered my question about the different types of RAM. However, there is an option for ECC RAM. All I use the G5 for is running Logic. Necessary? I have occasional crashes (not often), and run the disk repair utility regularly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holger Lagerfeldt Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Yes, it's a good idea to balance the RAM. I have occasional crashes (not often), and run the disk repair utility regularly. My G5 was less stable than my current Mac Pro is, i.e. it would crash one or twice per year. Whether that was the OS, the G5 hardware, or me pushing it too far, I can't say. My current Mac Pro has yet to crash. I bought it in early 2009 and I've been using it 5 days a week for almost 4 years now. It's the most stable Mac I've ever had, even more than my iMac at home which has crashed twice since 2008. Is it too expensive for you to upgrade to a Mac Pro? Even a 2009 model would be a big step up from the G5. The Disk Utility repair function will most likely have no effect on your crashes. You must be running Logic 8 then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfromfl Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 Thanks again for your help, lagerfeldt. I really appreciate it! I'm running Logic 9.0.2, and it crashes much more frequently than yours did. I would say that it crashes about once every ten, 3-hour sessions with Logic. I can tell when it's getting ready to crash, because I'll start to hear subtle "staticky" clicks on playback, and I might start to get memory errors. What I found is that if I exit Logic and run the disk repair (and it comes up with a ton of error items), then reload Logic, it'll be fine for several more sessions. Sometimes just exiting and reloading does the trick, too, if I don't feel like waiting for the disk repair to run. The reason I've been using disk utility so often is that it was recommended I do this from a Broadway composer/producer acquaintance. Since I didn't know any better, I've just been following his advice, and it seemed to help... Total system failure/lockup (black screen) maybe happens twice a year. Different from the Logic crashes. By the way, I'm cloning the HDD to a separate, dedicated Mercury drive. I don't have any reason to suspect that the HDD is getting close to failure (I think I'm just getting software crashes), but better safe than sorry! I was watching the memory installation video on OWC, and something occurred to me. They mentioned installing RAM in mirror pairs, i.e., position 2-3 and 1-4, and it made me wonder if the previous owner had done this correctly. Another thing to check. I know this is an aging machine, but I just can't swing a newer Mac. I'm embarassed to admit this, but my understanding of all this is so limited, and it was so difficult for me to get all this set up correctly so I could use it, I'm reluctant to start over! Sorry, that's a poor excuse... My remaining disposable music budget will hopefully go to getting my projects mastered and released, but that's a long way off. I'm expecting that to run in the $3-5k range, which would also pay for a nice upgrade, but I need to use what I've got for now. I allowed myself one software "treat" this past week, and picked up Spectrasonic Trilian. That, with the RAM upgrade, will have to be about it for the forseeable future! Thanks again! -Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holger Lagerfeldt Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 9.02 was pretty unstable and of course 9.x isn't officially supported on PPC. Combined with potential RAM issues I guess that's why you're experiencing crashes. I think even a low specced second hand iMac will be better than your current G5. Maybe checking and upgrading your RAM will make your G5 setup marginally better, but I think you're throwing good money after bad. Consider saving for a bigger upgrade. Upgrading to an Intel Mac also allows you to upgrade your Logic to the newest and very stable version, 9.1.8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfromfl Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 Thanks again, lagerfeldt. Upgrading to an Intel Mac would also open up newer virtual libraries to me, as well. I would really enjoy that! I just scanned the iMacs on eBay, and it looks like ones with better than 2.5 GHz processor speed and 8G of RAM are going for $1,000 to $1,200 maybe, or "Buy It Now" for $1,600. Guess that'll have to wait. I don't know much about iMacs, but it doesn't look like I would be able to, for example, install my internal HDD with some proprietary music libraries. Also, I wonder about USB and Firewire connections... The G5 has lots of flexibility in those respects. I didn't know that 9.02 isn't supported on the PPC!! I know what I'm experiencing are software glitches, and that might explain it. I guess I'm just going to have to continue with what I've got (the devil you know, as they say), for the time being. I freeze tracks when necessary, and that helps too. Thanks again for your help and explanations. You've really helped me to understand this better, and given me some guidance for moving forward! -Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark R Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Bruce, You might want to consider a new (and also cost effective) Mac Mini. Quite the deal for Logic. Has great assortment of ports - including USB 3 on the 2012. Thread on 2011 model: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=85914&start=40&hilit=mac+mini#p454802 Resent thread on newest model: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=91512 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n6smith Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Indeed... Apple are currently selling refurbished 2011 2.0Ghz i7 MMS's with twin internal 500GB 7200rpm drives for less than $760.. which for a (virtual via Hyperthreading) 8 Core i7 is an amazing deal... http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/mac_mini I just picked one up myself, as a spare, for the two I already have... because at that price, it's a steal.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfromfl Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 Thanks, both of you, for the recommendations. I'll file them for future reference. Unfortunately, now that I've spent my Christmas money, I'm back to being dirt poor! Thanks again! -Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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