Computer crashing with Berlin Series on SINE

Composer 2021 said:

installed 64 GB but the computer did not recognize one of the sticks and I didn't want to take it apart again

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That way you end up running not the fastest anymore CPU even less efficient by driving a single-channel mode for RAM, not to mention system might not recognize second stick for a reason. Have you reset SMC and NVRAM on this Mac?

Composer 2021 said:

don't want OS updates to further hinder performance.

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Why not to try installation one of the more recent releases on a separate partition/drive at first?

Composer 2021 said:

I just did my first fully orchestral project using the Berlin Series. My music has never sounded so fabulous. But my computer did not like it. The computer I use for music production is a 2018 Mac Mini with 32 GB of RAM (I actually installed 64 GB but the computer did not recognize one of the sticks and I didn't want to take it apart again). I know the 2018 Mac Mini is getting older, however it was the right choice for a Mac several years ago. I'm still running on Big Sur, the MacOS version that was installed when I got the computer, because I don't want OS updates to further hinder performance. I run into system overloads all the time. My computer froze and crashed three times when working on my latest project. Samples are stored on an external SSD drive. I may have to split future DAW projects into two or more parts for the different sections after composing in Finale. The vast majority of my SINE instances use a custom mix that only takes up one mic signal.

Does anyone know if it's the CPU, RAM, or SSD that is the bottleneck here? I want to know how badly I need to upgrade when the M3 Pro/Max desktop Macs are released.

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You really need to consult activity monitor to get a definitive answer. If your memory pressure shows red, then yes, your RAM is a bottleneck, (but may not be the only bottleneck). If you're only using one mic signal I'd imagine disk I/O isn't an issue, but again, you really need to look at some kind of meter to compare your actual disk I/O against the (theoretical) performance limit of your disk(s)....

Speaking of which... You mentioned externals for samples so... Your cable, or connection can also be a bottleneck. If you were using a USB 2 or 3 cable; (perhaps without even knowing it, I mention this because a lot of people buy cables on amazon, and amazon can be quite sketchy when it comes to cable accuracy); then your disk I/O's going to be kneecapped by the USB cable, port, or hub I/O limit. If you use a hub that has a slower connection than whatever port you may be connected to then the hub could be a bottleneck as well... Etc...

Basically your system is the only thing that can provide you with the right information to determine where any bottlenecks exist...

Finally the current version of Sine's been sketchy for me. It occasionally crashes for no reason, something in Sine 1.2.1 is shady... Just something else you might want to check, and consider...

I'm getting the same issue while mocking up the same projects using Kontakt and Spitfire Player libraries. So:

* SINE Player is not the issue
* RAM is not the issue (it's in the green right now and still getting system overloads)
* CPU is between 60-80 percent idle on the current project (and it just overloaded as I typed this)

My external SSD is plugged directly into my Mac. Maybe my external drive is overheating or there is a bottleneck with disk I/O. Yes, I tend to only use one mic signal per instance if I can. So idk what is going on. I will put the computer to sleep and work on it later.