Apple Final Cut Express HD - Manual (Page 955)

Chapter 66 Choosing Settings and Preferences 955
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Memory & Cache Tab
The settings in this tab affect memory usage in Final Cut Express HD.
Memory Usage
Use these fields to decide how much of the RAM available in your computer to use
when running Final Cut Express HD. Your computer’s available RAM is defined as the
amount of RAM not used by Mac OS X and other currently running applications. By
limiting the amount of RAM Final Cut Express HD uses, you can maintain the
performance of Final Cut Express HD by preventing Mac OS X from using virtual
memory unnecessarily. This is especially important when multiple applications are
open at the same time.
 Application: This specifies what percentage of available RAM Final Cut Express HD
should use. The total amount of allocated RAM appears to the right. The minimum
amount of RAM you can allocate to Final Cut Express HD is 125 MB. If the amount of
available RAM is lower than 125 MB, this slider is dimmed.
 Still Cache: This specifies the amount of RAM used to hold still images for real-time
playback. The still cache that is allocated is a percentage of the excess RAM allocated
to Final Cut Express HD, so adjusting the Application slider also adjusts the amount
of RAM available to the still cache. The more RAM allocated to the still cache, the
more still frames can be played back in real time in the currently selected sequence.
If another sequence is opened, the contents of the still cache are replaced with stills
from the new sequence. If there is no excess RAM available, this slider is dimmed.