Amount of memory

[pieroxy]

Hi,

I've been told that a lot of memory was a must have if I want many extenders (think 5-6 extenders). I am wondering if more than 4GB is worth anything...

From what I understand, SageTV works in Java and requires a 32bit JVM. So it will never be able to address more than 2-3GB (limits of the 32-bit JVM on the different OSes)

Is my understanding correct?

I don't have any Windows 64 licenses so if >4GB is worth something it could be interesting to upgrade my Windows license or to install SageTV on Linux x64. Both are more trouble or more money so I want to make sure I get into this for something.

[bjkiller]

i run 7 extenders, with windows embedded 7 32bits, computer with 4GB, available 3GB to windows. no page file.
motherboard+fanless cpu
right now i run concurrent 4 extenders and record 4 channels - look at memory footprint.

[SomeWhatLost]

you must have 64GB...
just so you can say you have it...
probably only use 2-4GB on any regular basis though...


but you must have 64GB just in case...

[MrKrabs]

Originally Posted by pieroxy

Hi,

I've been told that a lot of memory was a must have if I want many extenders (think 5-6 extenders). I am wondering if more than 4GB is worth anything...

From what I understand, SageTV works in Java and requires a 32bit JVM. So it will never be able to address more than 2-3GB (limits of the 32-bit JVM on the different OSes)

Is my understanding correct?

I don't have any Windows 64 licenses so if >4GB is worth something it could be interesting to upgrade my Windows license or to install SageTV on Linux x64. Both are more trouble or more money so I want to make sure I get into this for something.

Yep, no need to go 64-bit just for Sage.

[panteragstk]

I recently upgraded from 2 to 4gb running xp 32bit. My system uses about 2.2gb and I have no extenders. Over 4gb is probably unnecessary for a sage server no matter if you use 32bit or 64bit windows. Couldn't tell you about linux. Upgrading your OS just to use more memory is pointless if the server is only running sage. If it has other jobs (exchange, webserver, etc) then more may be necessary.

[pieroxy]

Thanks for the quality answers here. I have yet to build my box, so all options are open at this time. 32bit it is then !

Thx again

[tmiranda]

I'm running Windows XP home on a server that supports with 4 extenders. About a year ago I upgraded from 2GB to 4GB because I thought it would make a difference in performance. It didn't, at least not that I could notice

[bastafidli]

Originally Posted by MrKrabs

Not sure about Linux, but the math is the same[/URL]

As I mentioned. I am running CentOS 5.5 64b on box with 4GB of memory (see sig for full config). Sage is configured to use up to 1GB of memory. With 1 connected HD100 client looking at the System Info screen Sage reports it is using 200MB of memory.

Edit: Just to be clear: 200MB is the heap usage reported by Sage. Otherwise the OS reports Virtual: 1394m Resident: 394m Shared: 10m

[Taddeusz]

It really all depends on what you plan to do with your computer. Yes, 32-bit applications only have access to up to 2GB of virtual address space. This doesn't mean they will actually use that much but the potential is there.

I have 2GB of RAM in my server and it runs at pretty tight margins. I'm pretty sure that it probably stalls from time to time due to swapping.

As I said it all depends on what you plan to do with it. I'm not sure about comskip but Show Analyzer 1.0 uses quite a lot of memory. I've seen it using up to 250MB of RAM by itself. So say you have SageTV using 900MB and a few instances of Show Analyzer. 2GB-4GB will be eaten away very quickly.

I'll be the first to admit that my SageTV server is in dire need of a RAM upgrade. Have to pay the bills first though.

64GB is quite outrageous but 6-8GB might not be unrealistic depending on your usage plan. Then again, 4GB might just work out well. My main use computer running W7Pro 64-bit has 4GB of RAM and I rarely max it out. It does go over 2GB quite a lot though.

Update: I take that back, I have a single SAV1 process currently using around 314MB and rising!

[bastafidli]

As seen on slickdeals today

Newegg has 16GB (4x4GB) G.Skill Ripjaws Series DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory for $139.99 + free shipping.

Price like this beats the cost of any time you may spend wondering if to add more memory or not.

[pieroxy]

Originally Posted by bastafidli

As seen on slickdeals today

Newegg has 16GB (4x4GB) G.Skill Ripjaws Series DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory for $139.99 + free shipping.

Price like this beats the cost of any time you may spend wondering if to add more memory or not.

It is an issue, because if I want to get more than 4GB I need a buy another Windows7 license which is actually about as expensive as the memory you are referring to. $300 might not be worth the trouble for you. Lucky you.

Plus, 64 bits comes with its own sets of hassles, mostly in the form of drivers. PVR-250, GC, etc.

[Taddeusz]

Meh, with the exception of old hardware and firewire tuning there isn't anything that 64-bit Windows can't do other than run 16-bit programs. Unlike with Vista, Windows 7 logo requirements mandate 64-bit drivers.

If you are still using an old Hauppauge PVR 150/250/350 card you shouldn't be using even 4GB of RAM anyway as the drivers are just messed up.

[bastafidli]

Originally Posted by pieroxy

It is an issue, because if I want to get more than 4GB I need a buy another Windows7 license

I feel your pain. Thats why my household runs almost 100% on Linux. 3 exceptions are work laptop with XP (no choice), Nokia phone with Symbian (since it is nice to pay $5 for unlimited Internet) and desktop rarely dual booted with Win 7 just to know what the fuss is about :-).

[pieroxy]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

If you are still using an old Hauppauge PVR 150/250/350 card you shouldn't be using even 4GB of RAM anyway as the drivers are just messed up.

Can you elaborate? I have a PVR250 and a PVR350 both working fine on a WinVista box. What is the issues with the drivers?

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by pieroxy

Can you elaborate? I have a PVR250 and a PVR350 both working fine on a WinVista box. What is the issues with the drivers?

It's my understanding that even on a 32bit system with 4GB or more of RAM installed the drivers on the older PVR cards don't work correctly. The result is corrupted capture and lock ups.

[pieroxy]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

It's my understanding that even on a 32bit system with 4GB or more of RAM installed the drivers on the older PVR cards don't work correctly. The result is corrupted capture and lock ups.

Well, I can vouch for the contrary. 6 years of Windows Media Center with a PVR 250 + PVR 350 without any hiccups. And only 2GB of RAM with a dual core proc.

[MattHelm]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

It's my understanding that even on a 32bit system with 4GB or more of RAM installed the drivers on the older PVR cards don't work correctly. The result is corrupted capture and lock ups.

It really depends on if the Motherboard Bios remaps the memory and the "hardware" memory correctly or not. Some MB's handle 4GB fine, others don't.

[SomeWhatLost]

hey I was serious about needing 64GB...

still not sure why...

not sure for what...

but you need it...

at least you will get bragging rights...

[Tiki]

Originally Posted by pieroxy

Well, I can vouch for the contrary. 6 years of Windows Media Center with a PVR 250 + PVR 350 without any hiccups. And only 2GB of RAM with a dual core proc.

I think you misunderstood. The drivers are fine with 2GB of RAM. They sometimes have problems if you install too much memory.

PVR250 and PVR350 do not have 64-bit drivers, so will not work with Windows 7 - 64bit at all (but they do work with 32bit Win7).

PVR150 and PVR500 will work with Vista and Win7 64-bit, but their drivers will malfunction if you have 4GB of RAM or more installed. There are some notes on this on Hauppauge's website here.

If you are running a 32-bit version of Windows (XP, Vista, Win7), even if you install 4GB or more of memory, it will only recognize a little less than 4GB by default. So, the drivers generally work OK on 32-bit OS's.

If you are running a server version of Windows, there is an option to enable address extensions that will let a 32-bit OS see the full 4GB of RAM. It may be possible to do something similar with non-server versions of Windows too (I'm not sure on this). If you do this, the Hauppauge PVR drivers choke.

If you have a newer HVR card from Hauppauge (e.g. HVR2250), they work correctly with 32-bit or 64-bit Windows and they can handle more than 4GB of RAM installed.

[pieroxy]

Originally Posted by Tiki

I think you misunderstood. The drivers are fine with 2GB of RAM. They sometimes have problems if you install too much memory.

PVR250 and PVR350 do not have 64-bit drivers, so will not work with Windows 7 - 64bit at all (but they do work with 32bit Win7).

PVR150 and PVR500 will work with Vista and Win7 64-bit, but their drivers will malfunction if you have 4GB of RAM or more installed. There are some notes on this on Hauppauge's website here.

If you are running a 32-bit version of Windows (XP, Vista, Win7), even if you install 4GB or more of memory, it will only recognize a little less than 4GB by default. So, the drivers generally work OK on 32-bit OS's.

If you are running a server version of Windows, there is an option to enable address extensions that will let a 32-bit OS see the full 4GB of RAM. It may be possible to do something similar with non-server versions of Windows too (I'm not sure on this). If you do this, the Hauppauge PVR drivers choke.

If you have a newer HVR card from Hauppauge (e.g. HVR2250), they work correctly with 32-bit or 64-bit Windows and they can handle more than 4GB of RAM installed.

Thanks for the clarification.