Specifications
Pro Tools Reference Guide72
System Memory Allocation
(Pro Tools|HD Systems Only)
When you start your computer, Pro Tools automat-
ically reserves a portion of system memory for the
Playback Buffer. This reserved memory is unavail-
able to other applications, even if Pro Tools is not
running.
You can set Pro Tools to reserve only the mini-
mum amount of required memory, so that more
system memory is available to other applications.
To minimize system memory allocation:
1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 Select the Minimize System Memory Allocation
option.
3 Click OK.
4 Do one of the following:
• On Mac systems, if prompted, enter your pass-
word, then restart your computer.
• On Windows systems, restart your computer.
Cache Size
(Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete
Production Toolkit Only)
The Cache Size setting in the Playback Engine de-
termines the amount of memory DAE allocates to
pre-buffer audio for playback and recording. In
most cases, the default setting of
Normal is the op-
timum Cache Size for most sessions.
Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Pro-
duction Toolkit can also load audio files used in
Pro Tools sessions into RAM for cached playback.
Pro Tools prioritizes files closest to the current
playhead location. This way, when you start play-
back, those files are already cached for playback.
This is especially useful when working with shared
media storage (such as with Avid Unity MediaNet-
work and ISIS shared storage systems).
To determine the maximum amount of RAM avail-
able for the Disk Cache, Pro Tools polls the com-
puter for the amount of RAM installed and sub-
tracts 3 GB with Mac systems or 4 GB with
Windows systems.
For example, if your computer has 12 GB of RAM
installed, the total amount of RAM available for
the Disk Cache will be 9 GB (Mac) or 8 GB (Win-
dows).
Note that Windows systems reserve more RAM
for the system than Mac systems.
To set the amount of RAM for use by the Disk
Cache:
1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 From the Disk Cache selector, select the amount
of RAM you want to allocate for Disk Cache.
3 Click OK.
You can use the Cache Meters in the System
Usage window to determine whether to as-
sign more or less RAM to the Disk Cache for
the current session. See “Cache Meters” on
page 85.