I am running protools digi 001 on my G4, dual 500s, 640 ram, 160 hd. now i seem to be maxing out the capacity to handle my tracks after only about 8 tracks with some plugins, edits, etc.

my question is this... will i get signicant performance improvement by upgrading the memory, or will i only get there by jumping up to a faster processor?

thanks for your input.

I'd say both, memory and CPU. but if you are using only one drive, it may be the first offender… use a second hard drive for audio!

Yes, i agree a external drive is always a good idea. And having 1 gig of ram over 640mb would also help. I think the dual 500 should be ok for alot more than 8 tracks.

also. check preferences and hardware/playback engine settings. you should be using 80% or more cpu

also, if you are in os9, you can change the ram useage for protools and DAE applications. by: click DAE app (in system folder) Get info, then "memory useage. it should show how much memory is dedicated to DAE engine. this can be changed.

this is worthwhile increasing, as long as you leave enough ram for other apps that are running at the same time as Protools.

hope this helps.

reply me for more info, if required

thanks.. replies are appreciated!
i do indeed have 2 hard drives, one dedicated to audio. and i have been adjusting the hardware/playback engine settings as needed between tracking and mixing.
I just don't know if it's worth keeping the current dual 500s and buying more ram, or if faster processors will be the only way to greatly increase my performance. I have to say, with those 8 tracks, i was using a number of plugins.. probably at least 1, maybe 2 on each of those tracks.

thanks again to all who contribute.

You definitely need more RAM, but I don't know that I would spend money to upgrade the model you've got. A 1GB upgrade would probably run you about $300. It would be better, IHMO, to put the money towards a newer model of computer (which will almost certainly come with at least 1GB out of the box, and lots of retailers have specials where they will give you extra RAM these days). From what I've seen, the G5s use SODIMM memory which isn't compatible with the G4s, and the Intel Macs will probably use something different from that.