RAM Usage During Video Encoding??

[chinook9]

I am building a new computer and have already purchased 32 bit Windows 7. I recently discovered that 32 bit Windows will only recognize 4GB or RAM. (Unless there is a workaround that I'm not aware of) I'm not a gamer and I generally don't use software that uses much RAM, however, I will encode many Blu-Ray videos.

My present Windows 7 32bit machine has 4GB of RAM and only uses 22% at idle and 31% when encoding an HD video using DVDCatalyst.

Will most encoding software use as little RAM as my present Windows machine or should I make it a 64 bit machine?

Is there a fix to enable a 32bit Windows 7 machine to use more than 4GB of RAM?

Any input would appreciated.


The rest of my build will probably be an i5-3570K on an AZRock z77 Extreme4. with one SSD and a couple of other HDD. I already have 8GB of DDR3-1600 also.

[johns0]

You have to have windows 7 64 bit to use more than 4gb of ram,no way to get windows 7 32 bit to use more than 4gb.Best to get win764 for encoding with 8 gb of ram.

[jagabo]

Most encoding software doesn't use more than 32 bit Windows can supply, not even close. NLEs can use lots of memory because they pre-render transitions and other effects and keep them in DRAM for fast/smooth playback. AviSynth can use lots of memory when lots of filters are in use.

Note that 32 bit programs running on 64 bit Windows have the same basic memory limitations as when running on 32 bit Windows (they run in a 32 bit virtual machine). 64 bit programs can use the rest of the memory.

[SLK001]

Encoding software is CPU intensive, not memory intensive. You could probably get by with 1GB of memory for an encoding machine and still have memory space available for other use.

[chinook9]

Thank you for your replies. I thought I didn't need much RAM for encoding. Thanks, again!

[robjv1]

Note that in most cases if you have a valid 32 bit Windows 7 serial activation code, it can be used for a 64 bit install instead as well.

So if you can get a 64 bit version of the installation DVD of the OS (are you a student, does your school have a MSDN licensing program?) as long as you uninstall the 32 bit version from your machine, you can reactivate using your 32 bit code for the 64 bit version.

[chinook9]

Note that in most cases if you have a valid 32 bit Windows 7 serial activation code, it can be used for a 64 bit install instead as well.

So if you can get a 64 bit version of the installation DVD of the OS (are you a student, does your school have a MSDN licensing program?) as long as you uninstall the 32 bit version from your machine, you can reactivate using your 32 bit code for the 64 bit version.

That is really good to know. I'm not at an educational institution but I am sure I could find a 64 bit installation disk when I need one. Thank you!

[robjv1]

Note that in most cases if you have a valid 32 bit Windows 7 serial activation code, it can be used for a 64 bit install instead as well.

So if you can get a 64 bit version of the installation DVD of the OS (are you a student, does your school have a MSDN licensing program?) as long as you uninstall the 32 bit version from your machine, you can reactivate using your 32 bit code for the 64 bit version.

That is really good to know. I'm not at an educational institution but I am sure I could find a 64 bit installation disk when I need one. Thank you!

No problem! I don't believe you can do it with OEM copies (or at worst, it's considered a violation of the EULA agreement) but it is both valid and allowed for retail copies.