The Final Word
Final Cut Pro: Dropped Frames — Causes and Solutions is a comprehensive resource filled with information and links to help you troubleshoot your system. If it isn’t a fixture in your bookmark collection, it should be.
Amongst the apparent suggestions about changing RT settings or checking your hard drive setup, is Mac Pro RAM configuration, which I’ve seen slip by a number of people recently.
Essentially, the issue is that while you can install different combinations of DIMMs, the internal architecture of the Mac Pro lends itself to a more regimented strategy and Apple recommend that you install RAM in risers symmetrically to achieve optimal performance with the Final Cut Studio applications.
With the current generation of Mac Pro systems the options available include:
| Riser A contains: | Riser B contains: | Total RAM |
| 2 x 512MB | 2 x 512MB | 2GB |
| 2 x 1GB | 2 x 1GB | 4GB |
| 2 x 2GB | 2 x 2GB | 4GB |
| 4x 512MB | 4x 512MB | 4GB |
| 4 x 1GB | 4 x 1GB | 8GB* |
| 4 x 2GB | 4 x 2GB | 16GB* |
*Now, remember at the moment FCP cannot address more than 4GB of RAM. With recent changes to Mac OS X heralded by the arrival of Leopard there’s a possibility this may change in the future, but you should be mindful o of how things work today as you configure your system.
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