512mb RAM not close to enough...AIDA32 proves it!!

[Paveslave]

I was messing around with that AIDA32 program that Thugs was passing around and found something interesting. It has a memory monitor that updates memory usage to realtime so I decided to test it. I went into Unreal II 2003 and played for a while and then checked in AIDA. I left the game running and just went to windows, Aida was reading 640mb of RAM being used. So, during gameplay I am using close to 650 MB of RAM running windows XP pro...WOW. I guess this puts a hit to all those who like to think that 512 MB of RAM is enough, huh? I'm not trying to start an arguement, but am I wrong here? Sure...not saying that you need 2 gigs (hehe), but 512mb aint cutting it anymore!

 

[Budman]

but 512mb aint cutting it anymore!

That's why I run 1gig of ram.

 

[Yourself]

Originally posted by: Budman

but 512mb aint cutting it anymore!

That's why I run 1gig of ram.

What the big scary ape said

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

But the real question imo is did you notice any hicups or anything from it hitting the page file while playing? I've never played UT2k3 so I have no idea. It would seem reasonable to me though that if you're not seeing any decreased perfomance then who cares how much virtual mem it takes. Maybe I'm way off though.

 

[THUGSROOK]

very interesting find!

:Q

 

[Megatomic]

Some of us have been talking about UT2003 and BF1942 needing more than 512MB of RAM for weeks now. We didn't have the scientific data that Paveslave provided though. Thanks for helping the cause man.

 

[oldfart]

How do you have AIDA update real time? I was just playing BF1942 Desert Combat on the Tobruk map. If I check Taskman, it shows 248 meg of my 1 Gig of physical memory available. That is 750 meg used :Q. Right now, it shows 798 Meg free. BF1942 likes lots of ram.

 

[THUGSROOK]

oldfart ~ motherboard/memory

ut2003 demo only took up 299mb after 1 round of botmatch.
ill have to check my other games, see how much they take.

 

[microAmp]

Originally posted by: Budman

but 512mb aint cutting it anymore!

That's why I run 1gig of ram.

I just started myself a little while ago, when an o/c attempt didn't work very well. Had an extra 512 MB laying around. Not got 1G.....

 

[Paveslave]

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl
But the real question imo is did you notice any hicups or anything from it hitting the page file while playing? I've never played UT2k3 so I have no idea. It would seem reasonable to me though that if you're not seeing any decreased perfomance then who cares how much virtual mem it takes. Maybe I'm way off though.

There was a monitor on there for virtual memory as well, but that's not the usage I was talking about. I don't recall my VM usage and being at work I can't get the numbers for you, but maybe I can do that when I get home. To let you know though, I didn't experience any "hiccups" or anything of the sort while playing UT2003 and running AIDA32. Infact, I usually have my easytuner4 running so I can check periodically on my temps and warnings since I keep my computer in a closed desk (I know, bad idea). I have yet to experience any poor performance issues with my setup when running multiple programs, games, or apps. I guess I'm just lucky in that area

I wonder if a computer as a whole uses more RAM if it's got it. I mean if it had 1 gig to use would it tend to use more RAM quicker than it would with a system that had only 512mb? <---- This is where my ignorrance really shows, hehe.

 

[chizow]

I run task manager on my 2nd monitor while I'm playing games so I can see RAM usage at all times. Interesting what you'll see when you play a game; tells you a lot when and why RAM is being gobbled up at certain points of gaming. Anyways, more RAM is certainly necessary for future games as well as current ones. BF1942 and UT2K3 as mentioned will use more than 512 (including OS overhead, @ that much by themselves), and others have stated SimCity 4 will as well. I'm testing a game now that will use 1GB by itself; hopefully some optimizations will improve memory utilization, otherwise its gonna suck for those with < 1GB.

Chiz

 

[Thor86]

Only makes sense as more of the latest games are throwing textures into the system memory so it doesn't have to load them often from the hard disk. But a gig of high quality ram is still pretty expensive to justify it for gaming.

 

[THUGSROOK]

wouldnt it depend on game settings?

uncompressed textures, AA, AF, software mode sound (ooops), can all have effect on how much memory is needed.

 

[Thor86]

Originally posted by: THUGSROOK
wouldnt it depend on game settings?

uncompressed textures, AA, AF, software mode sound (ooops), can all have effect on how much memory is needed.

Yes, but who doesn't play with FULL IQ in games these days?

 

[oldfart]

Yes, it does. I played BF1942 DC mod Tubrok map.

1152 x 864 x 32 max quality
4X AA 16X AF
~ 800 meg ram used

1024 x 768 x 32 normal quality
No AA/AF
~ 625 Meg ram used.

I didn't play as long on the low res test, but it does seem to use less ram that way.

 

[THUGSROOK]

Originally posted by: Thor86
Yes, but who doesn't play with FULL IQ in games these days?

me
i play all games in 1280x1024 on a native 17" 1:25 LCD @ 75hz

no AA or AF for me

 

[RWalker2]

me either, 1024x768 and med or high settings depending on the game, no AA or AF

 

[RadioactiveMagpies]

I played unreal2 on 512 megs ram and then upgraded to 1 gig and replayed the game.
The repeated loading of stages and overall loading time in the long run and is alot less with 1 gig.
Once loaded the game feels the same and i'm sure the fps hasn't changed.
I think 512 might do for now for most people, until doom3

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

Originally posted by: Paveslave

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl
But the real question imo is did you notice any hicups or anything from it hitting the page file while playing? I've never played UT2k3 so I have no idea. It would seem reasonable to me though that if you're not seeing any decreased perfomance then who cares how much virtual mem it takes. Maybe I'm way off though.

There was a monitor on there for virtual memory as well, but that's not the usage I was talking about. I don't recall my VM usage and being at work I can't get the numbers for you, but maybe I can do that when I get home. To let you know though, I didn't experience any "hiccups" or anything of the sort while playing UT2003 and running AIDA32. Infact, I usually have my easytuner4 running so I can check periodically on my temps and warnings since I keep my computer in a closed desk (I know, bad idea). I have yet to experience any poor performance issues with my setup when running multiple programs, games, or apps. I guess I'm just lucky in that area

I wonder if a computer as a whole uses more RAM if it's got it. I mean if it had 1 gig to use would it tend to use more RAM quicker than it would with a system that had only 512mb? <---- This is where my ignorrance really shows, hehe.

I know you weren't talking about vmem. I just wasn't paying attention and assumed you were running 512 MB. I didn't look at your specs and see the little line where it said two gigs..... :Q My mistake.

 

[KillaBong]

I only play in 1280x1024 w/o aa or af too. I have some extra money around, and I could buy another 512 stick to try the dual channel 1gig of ram... but I don't know...

 

[eklass]

no sh!t

bf1942 loves at least 512...

simcity4 loves as much as it can get. tracking a population of 200,000 is aparently difficult