Re: st: platform/OS/ver for max mem?

[Jeph Herrin <junk@spandrel.net>]

Austin,

I use 64bit stata on xp64 with 16gb of RAM, and am very
pleased with it as an alternative to SAS for processing
large datasets. I have never loaded anything bigger than
about 14gb, but still - not only is it Stata, but it is
much faster than SAS doing the same job. 64bit also means
you can go to two processors, which is faster than one.

A few caveats:
 - recent versions of Stata allow users to write plug-ins;
   but 32-bit plugins won't run on XP64 without recompiling.
 - XP64 is by all accounts more reliable than Vista (also 64bit),
   but some 32-bit applications have trouble running on it.
   My 64bit box sits on the floor doing nothing but Stata,
   so it's not a problem, but if you want to ditch your desktop
   for a 64bit replacement, you find yourself missing some
   of your favorite applications.

Hope this helps,
Jeph




Frakt, Austin wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Our research group loves and uses Stata except when analytic files are
> too large, in which case we reluctantly and with a heavy heart turn to
> SAS. We recently had a brainstorm that we might be able to use Stata
> exclusively if we only had a machine with more RAM and an operating
> system and Stata version that could take full advantage. I made an
> inquiry to Stata Corp. in this regard and am told that on a 64-bit
> Windows machine we may well be able to run a 64-bit version of Stata
> with quite a large amount of allocated memory. The Stata Corp.
> representative said that (s)he had encountered Stata sessions with as
> much as ~30GB allocated.
>
> Are there members of this community that have done such a thing, i.e.,
> worked in Stata with files of this size or larger? If so, did you use a
> Windows platform or another? What is the upper limit on the memory you
> have allocated and used in Stata? What, if any, problems have you
> encountered? 
> Thanks for your help and advice. Becoming equipped to run jobs of this
> size would be a non-trivial expense for our group so I want to be as
> informed as possible in advance of all the issues before we proceed. 
> ___________________________________________________________
> Austin Frakt, PhD
> Health Systems Research Scientist, 
> Health Care Financing and Economics
> Research Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, 
> Boston University School of Public Health
>
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