Let's see if someone can solve this one... I've been working on it for some time.
Situation: When playing Battlefield 2 (BF2) or Battlefield 2142 (BF2142) ONLY, my system will eventually grind to a near halt and eventually drop to desktop. Upon investigation, I discovered that my system was exceeding my then physical RAM max at 1 GB (2x512MB Corsair). At desktop with few minor TSRs loaded, my system floats around the 200 to 300 MB range of the memory committed based on Task Manager's assessment.
When playing BF2, I've switched to task manager in the middle of a game to find a peak memory commit of upwards of 2400 MB. Yes, I said 2400. That is no typo. I deduce that the in game slow down to a crawl and the eventual crash has to do with the virtual memory being tapped once the physical memory is exceeded. So, I thought that maybe the game is just a memory hog and I need more RAM. BF2142 acted just like BF2. I decide to ground zero XP and re-partition/re-format/and re-install XP from scratch. The same problems persist.
So, I purchase another 2 GBs of memory thinking that should be more than enough to satisfy the games. If you are keeping count, I'm now at 3 GBs at this point. I load up and play BF2142. The game plays fine for longer now, but still burns through all 3 GBs of RAM and once again goes after the virtual memory causing the inevitable slowdown and eventual program crash. At its peak, my system was using 3.9 GBs of memory in total.
Getting frustrated, I update to the latest nForce drivers for my motherboard chipset. No change in game behavior. I update to the latest BIOS for my MB. No change in game behavior.
Other notable observations: After either of the games crash, I don't get back all of the memory the games used up. I can go right back to the same desktop that was taking only 200 to 300 MB of memory and task manager will report that I am using over a 1 gig... sometimes over 2.... I must reboot to reclaim the memory.
BF2 and BF2142 are the only games this behavior happens on. I do have the latest game patches installed too.
I have not been able to find any similar bug reports by anyone else. So, it really makes me wonder if it is a hardware issue specific to my system.
Suggestions, anyone?
SYSTEM SPECS
AMD 64 3800+
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe (Latest nForce and BIOS software updated)
3GB (2x1GB PQI & 2x512MB Corsair) of RAM of DDR-400
BFG 6800GT at OEM spec using latest Nvidia drivers
Realtek ALC850 ONBOARD sound
Plextor PX-716SA DVD Burner
WD Raptor 72GB C Drive
XP SP2 with updates
DirectX 9.0c
Situation: When playing Battlefield 2 (BF2) or Battlefield 2142 (BF2142) ONLY, my system will eventually grind to a near halt and eventually drop to desktop. Upon investigation, I discovered that my system was exceeding my then physical RAM max at 1 GB (2x512MB Corsair). At desktop with few minor TSRs loaded, my system floats around the 200 to 300 MB range of the memory committed based on Task Manager's assessment.
When playing BF2, I've switched to task manager in the middle of a game to find a peak memory commit of upwards of 2400 MB. Yes, I said 2400. That is no typo. I deduce that the in game slow down to a crawl and the eventual crash has to do with the virtual memory being tapped once the physical memory is exceeded. So, I thought that maybe the game is just a memory hog and I need more RAM. BF2142 acted just like BF2. I decide to ground zero XP and re-partition/re-format/and re-install XP from scratch. The same problems persist.
So, I purchase another 2 GBs of memory thinking that should be more than enough to satisfy the games. If you are keeping count, I'm now at 3 GBs at this point. I load up and play BF2142. The game plays fine for longer now, but still burns through all 3 GBs of RAM and once again goes after the virtual memory causing the inevitable slowdown and eventual program crash. At its peak, my system was using 3.9 GBs of memory in total.
Getting frustrated, I update to the latest nForce drivers for my motherboard chipset. No change in game behavior. I update to the latest BIOS for my MB. No change in game behavior.
Other notable observations: After either of the games crash, I don't get back all of the memory the games used up. I can go right back to the same desktop that was taking only 200 to 300 MB of memory and task manager will report that I am using over a 1 gig... sometimes over 2.... I must reboot to reclaim the memory.
BF2 and BF2142 are the only games this behavior happens on. I do have the latest game patches installed too.
I have not been able to find any similar bug reports by anyone else. So, it really makes me wonder if it is a hardware issue specific to my system.
Suggestions, anyone?
SYSTEM SPECS
AMD 64 3800+
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe (Latest nForce and BIOS software updated)
3GB (2x1GB PQI & 2x512MB Corsair) of RAM of DDR-400
BFG 6800GT at OEM spec using latest Nvidia drivers
Realtek ALC850 ONBOARD sound
Plextor PX-716SA DVD Burner
WD Raptor 72GB C Drive
XP SP2 with updates
DirectX 9.0c
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