Do modern high-end processors really need up to eight memory channels? How is their performance affected if the number of channels is artificially limited?
Impact of DDR5 Speed on Content Creation Performance
The latest Intel 12th Gen processors officially support a range of DDR5 RAM speeds between DDR5-3600MHz and DDR5-4800MHz depending on a number of factors including how many RAM slots are on the motherboard, how many sticks are used, and whether the sticks are single or dual rank. But if you stick with JEDEC specifications for frequency and timing, how much does this actually impact performance in common content creation applications like Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and Unreal?
Messy Memory Speed Standards
Here at Puget Systems, we have tried to be careful about sticking to CPU manufacturer memory specifications – to ensure the best reliability, and to avoid overclocking memory controllers (which could, technically, violate CPU warranties). But increasingly complicated memory speed support schemes on many newer processors, combined with a lack of supply of certain speed modules, has forced us to adopt a new approach to what we offer in our workstations.
Does RAM speed affect video editing performance?
While we generally stick to the RAM speed that is officially supported by a processor, we get a lot of comments claiming that we are limiting performance by not using higher frequency memory. This begs the question: does RAM speed actually impact real-world performance in video editing applications?
Does RAM Capacity Affect RealityCapture Performance?
RealityCapture, like other photogrammetry applications, is built to take a batch of photographs and turn them into digital, 3D models. The algorithms used during that process are designed to be “out of core”, meaning that not all of the data has to be loaded into system memory (RAM) at the same time – allowing for full processing without requiring a ton of available memory. Having more RAM can still be beneficial, though, so we decided to test how much impact it has on performance.
Tech Primer: DDR4 RAM
DDR3 is almost seven years old, but is finally starting to be replaced with the new DDR4 memory. Featuring lower operating voltages, higher frequencies, and increased storage densities DDR4 is shaping up to be a very capable successor to the aging DDR3.
ECC and REG ECC Memory Performance
Recently, a workstation PC was reviewed on a well-known review site that included a Quadro video card, but no ECC memory. In the comment section of that review, a heated discussion occurred with some readers stating that ECC was bad for workstations since it is slower than standard RAM. In this article, we will be running a series of benchmarks on different types of RAM to see if ECC RAM is indeed slower than standard RAM.
Advantages of ECC Memory
ECC RAM is very popular in servers or other systems with high-value data as it protects against data corruption by automatically detecting and correcting memory errors. In this article we will go over the advantage of using ECC memory.
How to Check ECC RAM Functionality
ECC (error-correcting code) RAM is essential in servers and many workstations as it dramatically improves the reliability of the system’s memory. This is great, but we have learned that it is very difficult to verify that ECC is working correctly. In this article, we will go over three methods that we have found to at least semi-reliably show if ECC is working as it should.
Adobe Photoshop CS6 Memory Optimization
We at Puget Systems have always held the belief that a computer’s hardware should be specifically tailored to match what the computer will be used for in order to maximize its effectiveness. Different programs make use of hardware in different ways, and knowing how the program behaves is important to determine what pieces of hardware need to be more powerful, and which are not as critical. In this article we want to determine if the speed and configuration of RAM affects the performance of Photoshop CS6 and if so by how much.
