I am about to order a new computer. I can get either 512MB or 1G memory. Will the extra memory buy me a lot of performance in Bryce?

It will help with large scenes and complicated models but won't make it render faster. Only CPU power determines render time for the most part. More memory will speed up render time some because it won't have to access the hard drive as much when it needs to determine the surface of the model.

I would say go for the 1 GB. No such thing as having too much RAM, more is better and faster. If you have the choice go for DDR memory (double data rate) which would compliment your new CPU.

I don't know about performance, but I'd definitely go for 1Gb - the price difference is small and on occasion I've seen the memory usage in Bryce go to around 700Mb on a complex scene. It may not make a huge difference, but it will help future-proof your machine (for another 3 months at least!). And who knows what Bryce 6 will use? (Not Corel, evidently!) When - or rather, if :( - I gather enough money to get another PC I'll be going for 4Mb, not because I desperately need it right now, just because the amount of memory that apps consume seems to be growing exponentially. And I remember playing games written in 1K on the ZX81. I actually found an article the other day in an old mag telling developers (programmers, as they were called then) how to save memory; I kid you not - the first tip saved 8 bytes, the second 32 and the third a whopping 120!! Yes, bytes, not K!!!!

You can NEVER have enough memory. Go for it. Memory is more for being able to open bigger scene files, or opening your scen file while having other programs up. Open a scene file that has to start digging into your hard drive for memory and you'll notice a lack of performance, lol. Get the memory. AgentSmith

Get as much as you can Pam. I have 1G allotted to bryce at all times and I find that things run more smoothly for it. Cheers! to you.

Get as much memory as you can afford. Maya needs at least 500mg. Not that I use Maya of course, but my son bought a 2.5ghz P4 with 512ram and that's like lightning............ Mind you.....I got a 455hz P3 with 398ram and that's no slouch either.... The Bryster

I have 1.5GB and bryce STILL has to dip into virtual memory sometimes. Another thing that will improve your render time is the bus speed. Get the fastest bus speed with ddr ram and you are good to go.

I remember that my complex scenes rendered much faster when I bought more RAM. A swapping harddisk is much slower. Usually my CPU was only working at 75% or less (I've seen it at 13%!). The harddisk just couldn't keep up with the CPU in terms of providing data. But my ram writes at 843 MB/sec and that is much faster. Now my CPU doesn't have to wait for more data to process. So I think that I can conclude that the more complex your scenes are the more RAM you need. And for me that means more RAM is always better.

Thanks to all who responded. I will get the 1G. Peej