Link here your looking for:
http://forum.stereophile.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=75774&an=0&page=0#Post75774

I do not think you can get any useful response unless someone really analyses this in great detail.
Because just as a simple example a possible issue can be memory leakage/incorrect releasing of memory (still happens to this day with many apps), so the longer the application runs the more chance it has to run into memory problems.
Or there could be a problem regarding running program for x hours, playing x tracks, or other programs potentially running hogging resources.

In theory memory should not affect sound quality IMO (especially once hit around 3gig but may make a difference say from 1 gig to 2 gig - would still need to be proved), but then this ignores the potential pit falls and real world of resource allocation by OS and applications, and issues of resource management.

Cheers
Orb

The buffers on the associated chips, the software that is in use and how it addresses it's available command set, the bus design and overall architecture, the simplicity of the software and how 'base' (close to assembler) it may be and the software designer's familiarity with hard architecture and the streamlining or minimalizing of the software.

Too much memory can weight down a given PC power supply and cause more issues there.

More than anything, a dedicated music only PC with zero extra software and a well selected and handled chip set Not ONE single extra program. Zero, Zip, Nada.

When making PC's that stream blu-ray for projection, this issue is run into time and time again. Each time you put one more piece of software on a PC you add to the pile of stuff or extraneous garbage that the operating system has to deal with, with respect to stealing interrupts and adding it's own routines into the mix.

seriously, success is built on having a TOTALLY dedicated PC. No exceptions.

Sometimes you can get lucky as the given motherboard manufacturer really knows how to choose and implement a chipset and how to design a bios, and then you have PC which the odd extra bit of software can maybe be added in..but it's a crap shoot, unless you run into someone who states the caveats clearly..from their knowledge base and experience of specific combinations... and tells you what hardware to buy. That person knows their stuff.

After all of that, you still need and outboard dac with a properly implemented PC interface, if you choose to go that way.

Thankfully, in PC architecture, the sound is the primary deal at the hardware implementation level. One problem for the blu-ray guys (on a PC) is that concerning hardware interrupts and video syncing, the PC guys designed the systems for sound sync and made the sound hardware implementation the primary and the video secondary. So you an have video frame jitter due to the sound taking priority and creating video issues.

One of the best ways to pull a digital signal off of a PC is to find a motherboard that has a high quality integrated sound card with coaxial out, as the system is low level and properly streamlined at the hardware bios level. I'm not aware of any mobos doing 24/192, as of yet, is the problem.

As soon as you end up putting sound cards on the bus, you run into headaches, interrupt duplicate requests, duplicate software packages, all kinds of things that can muck up an install. The kind that can give grief to those who can go as far as putting a PC together but don't understand the fundamentals of modern PC hardware and software integration. For example, the order of software install from a clean reformatted hard-drive can be critical, depending on the software/hardware combos.

Broadly speaking the answer is NO. Ignoring the OS, which as noted elsewhere should be pared down as far as possible, each different replay program will require a certain amount of memory to run and a certain amount to buffer music for replay. Generally you want this amount of memory on as few physical modules as possible, preferably one. Beyond this point there is no sonic benefit to be had from adding extra memory.

Quote:

Shifting gears a bit, anyone do a head to head comparison of new SSD drives vs. std. magnetic HD?

Don't have it to hand, but read a note on a home theater page over the weekend that evaluated SSD vs. conventional and concluded that there was no advantage. I don't know that it translates to music (vs. movies/tv) however.

s.

SSD has at least two advantages over HDD:

• it doesn't cause vibration (induces microphony)
• it consumes a lot less power (smaller power supply => less heat => easier passive cooling)

Even with a dedicated PC/laptop and say 3Gig, testing would still need to be done.
Such as investigating and monitoring PC/laptop that is just running, compared to one running for hours, the same applies to the music program running briefly compared to hours, being opened/closed often, etc.

That said, I definitely feel there is no difference between 3gig or more (considering this is max without 64-bit OS even using 2x2GB) and would be enough for an hour even with memory leakage from application, but then it may be possible to even screw this up with some user behaviour.
So would be great if Stereophile did a study with a respected engineer of OS/hardware architecture for both Windows and Mac.

But lets not forget there is a maximum memory utlised and adding more beyond that point does nothing.
For XP/Vista that are 32-bit that max is 3.12GB (as someone else said best from 2GB pairs so 4GB in total but using 3.12).

OK this could be wrong as I only worked with Windows architecture and associated desktops/servers but quick look suggests:
To use more than 3.12GB need 64bit OS for both Microsoft and Mac; 64-bit versions of Vista/Windows 7 or OSX/Leopard on your PC/laptop.
This then also relies on what the hardware can support and for laptops it is rare for non-high end laptops to support more than 4GB (quite a few Mac products support 2GB or less), while non-high end desktops usually can be 4GB-32GB, again especially depending upon model for Macs as this can be as low as 1GB.
Hardware max memory for different models of Macs:
http://www.ramdirect.com/vcom/index.php?cPath=2

Cheers
Orb

It's really an all or nothing situation. If you have enough RAM for music and whatever else your system is running, you're good to go. You run out and your music stutters and skips, which sort of fits in the "Not Sounding Good" category, right?

And of course, keep your hard drive defragmented and have at least one complete backup of all your files at any given time, as well as decent virus protection.