vegas uses too much ram if many clips are imported

[codemaster]

I use Vegas 8 (32bit) to edit, because it can import clips directly from my dvd camcorder. The clips are mpeg 2 video with aac audio, copied from camera to hdd by Vegas, and wrapped by Vegas in .mpg containers.

Vegas 8 requires 1 GB RAM. My computer has 1.37 GB physical RAM, and paging file size is 2046 MB. OS is XP SP3.

When no clips are added in the Project Media, RAM usage is 650 MB. If 40 clips are added in Project Media, RAM usage inscreases to 1.1 GB. If 80 clips are added in Project Media, RAM usage increases to 1.6 GB. If 130 clips are added in Project Media, RAM usage increases to 1.9 GB. If I remove all clips from Project Media, RAM usage decreases to 650 MB.

Why does RAM usage increases so much if many clips are imported into Project Media ? Is it normal ?

Are there settings that can lower RAM usage with many clips in Project Media ? All I've tried so far is:
- I've changed view from thumbnail to list, in Project Media;
- I've lowered dynamic ram preview to 64 MB;
- I've lowered the maximum number of rendering threads to 1;
- I've set "thumbnails to show in video events" to "none".

What else can I try ?

[smrpix]

Is the usage if "too much" ram actually causing a problem? Vegas has to be able to keep track of the clips, be prepared to play them back in real time, and draw audio waveforms. Video editing is resource intensive.

[redwudz]

Windows is fairly good at managing RAM. If you are short on RAM, it uses a 'Paging File' to make up for low RAM. This will slow your PC, as it uses the hard drive instead of RAM, but it should still function. Easy fix, add more RAM.

[sanlyn]

If your PC specs are up to date, 1.5GB RAM is a miserly way to run Win7. It wants 2GB just to keep going, much less to do video work. With one 250GB drive, it looks as if you're using a laptop. If your budget is that tight you'll just have to live with it. But expect a shortened lifespan from your computer and a rough go with any video editor.