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  3. Real and Virtual Memory on the Mac Mini Mid 2011

  • Real and Virtual Memory on the Mac Mini Mid 2011

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    On an old 8-core 2.8 Mac computer, when a sample load spilled from a maxed real memory onto the virtual memory, it was never a good thing. Quickly there followed interrupted playback, CPU overloads, and compromised performance. 

    Recently, when I max loaded the 4 GB on my new Mac Mini Server and spilled into the virtual memory, I expected the same thing. But I have noted no loss of performance. 

    So how important is overall installed RAM capacity on a faster Mac relative to total sample loads? 

    Also, why does the Real memory load suddenly drop about a GB and swap out to Virtual? I'd think it would retain as much as possible in real RAM and swap only what's overage. It knows better than I, but I'm just curious. 
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    That's the downside with the Mac OS, that you have no control over stuff like this unless you go into nerd mode and change it from the terminal. Very few people will venture into doing this, though.

    Concerning the performance, do you use SSD or HDD? How many tracks and articulations played back are we talking?
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    I am among those who will not venture there. I've fallen down enough technological rabbit holes the last two decades.  

    No SSD's yet. But with Thunderbolt, it's an inevitable move. For now, it's all HDD. 

    I have loaded all reasonable articulations (including Dyn and dyn no vibrato) for all of the usual (orchestral) subjects. The Mac Mini was floating about a 6 GB VE Pro load with only 4 GB of RAM installed. And Mac X had knocked down the real memory load to 2.9. On a test file, it came to the point where I could just lay my arm on the keyboard, hear all notes of the currently selected track / VE Pro instance, and that was as an ad hoc arrangement was playing in the back. The CPU Monitor in Logic on the Mac Pro held at about 70% (total, all eight cores). The CPU Activity Monitor on the Mac Mini was at about 35%. 

    I could not figure out how VE Pro was pulling it off by using a disk swap, as I have come to associate that with the fat lady singing (or no longer being able to sing if she has been sampled).

    I'll be upgrading to 8GB on the Mac Mini this coming month in any event. (It's less than 60 USD on Crucial.)