Premiere CS6 major RAM problem
Red Planet Pictures Jul 30, 2012 1:21 PMA little backstory..I've been using CS6 for 2-3 months now, and originally started with the trial.
I started work on a particularly large project. It's a compilation episode for a show, and draws from multiple full-length episode sources of very large file sizes. I do not have access to the other episode projects and clips etc., nor do I have the time now to export the bits and pieces I'm using and condense the project size as its deadline is imminent. I suppose once the core editing's done i can use project manager to condense it then, but I don't think that will fix my problem.
The machine I'm using is:
Mac Pro 2008 2.8GHz 8-core
Snow Leopard 10.6.8
GeForce 8800 GT
16GB RAM
Blackmagic DeckLink HD Extreme 3D capture card
2.5 TB SATA hd space, including 2TB in RAID 0
1 TB eSATA external hd dock
MenuMeters for disc/RAM usage monitoring
Most of the work I do is directly off the RAID drive, which clocks at about 170MB/s read/write speeds, though due to the nature of this project, I have to use sources on the external, which clocks at about 130.
The problem I'm having is, out of the blue, Premiere randomly started doubling its RAM usage. It will jump from using around 5000-6000MB to about 11200. And the numbers it jumps to are extremely specific, usually 11171, 11185/86/87, or 11201. Once it does this jump, the machine pretty well locks up until Premiere is quit, or sometimes even a full restart. The timing and actions are totally random. Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 minutes, sometimes a couple of hours. It happens both when I'm doing complex work, or something as simple as scrubbing audio. It has even happened when I've left the machine sitting for lunch, running no other processes whatsoever, not even Firefox, literally just sitting there waiting for my return.
I've tried various shared memory settings in preferences; currently it's at 12GB for the Adobe apps with 4 saved for others, but the jumps happen no matter what I change this to, and always the same 11171-11201 range. It also only happens with Premiere, no other software, not even After Effects. The most maddening part is this only started happening once I registered for the full version. The demo version ran without a hiccup the first couple weeks on this project, and I already had all the core assets imported and edited in at that point. Furthermore, it is not specific to this project. It happens in ANY Premiere project, even a brand new one with a couple of DV footage files, thus why I think project manager will do nothing. Sometimes the RAM goes up when I'm doing more complicated work, up in the 10500 range, but with no slowdown until it jumps to that magic 11171 range.
There are three things I haven't tried yet, and I'm hoping to avoid the last one. I just noticed that Blackmagic released updated drivers for DeckLink a couple days ago, so I'll install that to see if it helps. I also haven't cleared the cache since starting this project. Maybe due to the file sizes Premiere is getting devastated looking through the conformed files folder, could explain why it happens in any project. But still, you'd think this would have been an issue with the demo version then too? Last thing is of course a full reinstall. Really want to avoid this as it's a time consuming pain, but will try it if all else fails.
If clearing the cache or the BM update fix it I'll post, but I'm skeptical. I'm hoping somone here can provide some insight to this very frustrating issue?
Jeremy



