How much RAM should I have for VideoStudioX7 64 bit?

[Mark Swanson]

My computer seems like it runs a bit slowly as I edit in VS X7. I have 8GB RAM installed in my machine, might that have something to do with it?

[Terfyn]

If you check the System Requirements on the Corel web site, you will see that 4Gb is considered adequate. I have 8Gb and X7 runs just fine.
It is not just memory but a combination of processor, RAM and other conflicts such as another program running in the background

[TonyP]

Maybe if you added your computer specs in your profile it might help others diagnose the problem.
That, in addition to what type of files you are working with and what are you doing to them on the timeline.
Video editing is a very CPU intensive process with some GPU tossed in there. The faster the CPU, the faster the editing.
A lot of people think that because the program is 64bit that it should be "faster". Well, what this allows is for the program to access more RAM than the 4GIG limit of a 32bit program.
So, you really should not see a speed difference if your projects to not exceed the 32bit RAM limit. Most of my work does not, so for me, there is no speed difference between 64bit and 32bit. The same with PaintShop Pro. No difference unless I am using huge files with zillions of layers, or editing LONG HUGE file based stuff. Then, instead of the program using your hard drive as "virtual" RAM (as it does with 32bit programs), it can use the system RAM if you have more than 4 gigs, which is faster than using the hard drive as virtual ram. That is where you will see the speed increase.
Also, 64bit is a good marketing tool... people think it's faster, it has to be, it's 64bit, right? But not necessarily so.... faster hardware makes editing faster.

[Mark Swanson]

Thank you Tony. I have been trying to get some answers to help me get my computer to run better for using VS. Your comments will help I am sure, I did go ahead and put all the info on my hardware that I could find in my profile...if you see any bottlenecks, let me know!
You will notice right away that I have a weak video card. I had that one sitting around, and popped it in there when the original one that came with my computer started to choke and give me the "video driver has stopped working and has recovered" message all the time. So the card I am using now lets me use my computer with no errors, but it is slow when watching videos and other things. I am sure I need a better GPU for one thing anyway.....and by the way I need a bit of advice about what to get, as well. You can see that discussion here- http://forum.corel.com/EN/viewtopic.php ... 06#p301985

[TonyP]

You have enough RAM to edit.
IF you wanted to speed things up, a faster CPU (if your motherboard supports one) would be the way to go. See mine specs. I had a 6core AMD before (1090T OC'ed). Needless to say, the current computer I have (and the only thing I changed was the CPU), is faster. Not blazingly faster, but fast enough where I don't want to go back.
A faster video card? Sure, but don't spend a lot on one if you are only editing. My card is a mid range card. I do a lot of things with my computer, including games. I happen to like AMD cards, but there are those who like Nvidia. I am not going to get into an AMD vs Nvidia war. They both are good cards. Any card around $100 should work absolutely fine. Even look at last years cards. Just make sure it uses GDDR5 RAM and not DDR3. GDDR5 is much faster and would have a wider bandwidth to handle more data faster. The software does not take enough advantage of the processing power of video cards. But, certain transitions and FX use the GPU for rendering. Faster card, faster rendering those FX.
To speed things up with editing (depending on the video files you are working with), maybe working with Proxy files (lower res files) where you can edit faster. Then when you Export your video, the "real" files will be used.
Me personally? I use AVCHD files and Canon HD MOV files and don't use Proxy files. But my computer can handle editing them natively without going the proxy route.
Using proxy files is not a bad thing. You just won't see "exactly" what the video will look like because of the lower resolution you will be working in. But hey, it's better than watching the "paint dry" while trying to edit and wait.... add a transition and wait... add a title and wait.... you get the idea.