So I just upgraded to 2GB.......

[lektrix]

So I just upgraded to 2GB today mainly for Oblivion.....havent noticed any other speed differences except maybe half a second faster Windows load time? LOL....anyways, I was wondering if you guys knew any specific Windows tweaks for 2GB users.....I was a 1GB user previously.

 

[m1ldslide1]

My experience teaches not to get too excited about RAM upgrades. I remember two years ago going from 512 to 1GB and being super disappointed. A few weeks ago I went from 1GB to 2, and FEAR plays a little more smoothly, but other than that I don't notice any real difference. In fact my 3DMARK05 score went down about 100 points.

 

[SparkyJJO]

You might not notice it right now going from 1GB to 2GB - I didn't really notice the difference either. Not yet though, later on I'm sure it will.

 

[lektrix]

Heh, have you done any tweaks to your Windows? Can I get Windows to use more of my physical RAM rather than cache or HDD? What about pagefile? Right now I have a 74GB Raptor and a 400GB storage drive and I have my page file set at 1800MB on the storage drive. Should that be changed?

 

[SparkyJJO]

I'm wondering about adjusting the pagefile too. That would probably help.

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: lektrix
Heh, have you done any tweaks to your Windows? Can I get Windows to use more of my physical RAM rather than cache or HDD? What about pagefile? Right now I have a 74GB Raptor and a 400GB storage drive and I have my page file set at 1800MB on the storage drive. Should that be changed?

As far as i know, no you can't. Windows is a bit ****** at ram handling, it dumps things too quickly when there is no need for the RAM.

Also i've never seen Oblivion use up 1GB, so there would be no improvement going to 2GB. I've seen BF2 hit 1.6GB once, but that was with 128 bots running around screaming at each other.

 

[lektrix]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost

Originally posted by: lektrix
Heh, have you done any tweaks to your Windows? Can I get Windows to use more of my physical RAM rather than cache or HDD? What about pagefile? Right now I have a 74GB Raptor and a 400GB storage drive and I have my page file set at 1800MB on the storage drive. Should that be changed?

As far as i know, no you can't. Windows is a bit ****** at ram handling, it dumps things too quickly when there is no need for the RAM.

Also i've never seen Oblivion use up 1GB, so there would be no improvement going to 2GB. I've seen BF2 hit 1.6GB once, but that was with 128 bots running around screaming at each other.

Well my Oblivion stutters/lags almost every 10 seconds, especially when Im entering new areas. From what I hear, it should run DECENTLY on my system (with 1GB memory) but it doesnt. Im running the game on 800x600, no AA/AF, Ive tweaked the game accordingly, almost all the graphical detail is turned down just to get 50-60FPS in most areas, and i STILL drop down to 20ish FPS in fights sometimes :\

 

[Bobthelost]

That's not right, i have no idea why it's doing that but it shouldn't be. You've pretty much taken the graphics card element out of it by running at such a low resolution/detail. Slowdowns in fights should be more CPU dependant while RAM slowdowns should be when you're moving from area to area as the machine loads files from the HD...

Picture me confused.

 

[lektrix]

Yes I dont know whats going on. I pretty much have nothing running in the background when I play Oblivion. I cut down all the non-essential processes so I only have around 23 active when I'm playing. Also did a fresh format a month ago so it should be fine. Defragged too. :\

 

[PhoenixOrion]

with 2GB and primarily for gaming, maybe you can try some of this:
1. disable pagefile
2. registry tweak of unloaddll

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: m1ldslide1
My experience teaches not to get too excited about RAM upgrades. I remember two years ago going from 512 to 1GB and being super disappointed. A few weeks ago I went from 1GB to 2, and FEAR plays a little more smoothly, but other than that I don't notice any real difference. In fact my 3DMARK05 score went down about 100 points.

3D Mark goes down because usually 1GB sticks have tighter timings.

I'm going from VX (250 2-2-2-5) down to Platinum PC-4000 (250 2.5-3-2-7)

I don't mind hte slight drop, but trust me the gains are worth it. Loading huge amt of apps is faster.

Ever see the BF2 1gb vs 2gb comparison? I ran BF2 on 4 sticks of 512mb VX before and it was awesome. 1GB is ok, but I can definitely use 2. Same with FEAR. If you turn details up to a certain point where your system is under stress (not graphics card), then you know you need 2GB. Quake 4 would help and same with Doom 3 on ultra high. The jerkiness you get in those games is OBVIOUSLY not graphics card related. You should be getting a constant frame rate. Jerkiness implies the need for more ram.

Do not disable pagefile. Windows should manage your page file properly.

Here's how I manage my pagefile

2 - 50mb on my PRIMARY Windows drive
1536 - 3072mb on my SECONDARY PHYSICAL drive (the partition that is accessed most).

Here's a general rule: You want your page file to be on the LEAST USED drive but MOST ACCESSED partition. Why? Least used means that drive's bandwidth is not used too much. Most accessed partition? Because access time is important. You don't want the heads jumping around.

 

[NeonFlak]

The pauses seem more like an overclock issue to me if you have eliminated graphics by using such low settings and you have 2gig of ram and still having the same issue as before. Have you tried your cpu and graphics cards at their default speeds?

 

[CVSiN]

I dunno about this..
one of the biggest upgrade jumps I have ever made was going to a really good 2 GB ram set up..
went from 1 gig of regular grade Corsair ram to 2 sticks of 2.3.3.6 XMS Corsair Platinum..
with my A64 3800+ X2 it woke my system up big time..

 

[Fraggable]

When I went from 1 to 2 gig of ram, the only difference I really saw was that I was able to run BF2 at full detail without stuttering. That's what I got it for so I was happy.

I've noticed in Oblivion that 2 GB helps. It might not actually use more than 1Gb, but it's smoother nonetheless.

 

[Powermoloch]

The only thing from going to 1 giger to 2 giger. Is faster load times