Question about getting more RAM for my CPU...
By
Arcanaville,
Posted on: 2011-09-14 18:24 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs
Quote:
I doubt it. 4GB is a hard limit for 32-bit OSes, and even then, the OS doesn't make all 4GB available to programs due to memory-mapping of hardware.|
Originally Posted by Ultimus
1) I currently have 4 gigs of RAM. If I add more RAM to this, is it going to do anything since I am on a 32-bit OS? |
Quote:
| 2) My other option is to upgrade to a Windows 7 64-Bit OS. I don't run any applications that wouldn't work on this. To my knowledge though you gotta wipe the harddrive going from 32 to 64 bit. Is the change difficult to do? I've personally never installed an OS before... |
Installing Windows isn't hard, but you ought to make sure you have up-to-date device drivers for all your hardware on-hand (either on CD/DVD or on a second hard drive), as well as the install discs or downloaded installers for all your apps and games, so they can all be loaded after the base Windows installation finishes.
Quote:
| 3) If I do end up upgrading to Windows 7, what is the best 64-bit version? Is there different ones? |
You can get the upgrade version of Home Premium x64 for about a hundred bucks or less if you shop online. (You could also get the OEM version, which might make more sense since you have to do a clean install anyway as discussed above, but Microsoft requires that the OEM version must be purchased with hardware.)
Hope this helps.
TargetOne
"If you two don't work this out RIGHT NOW, I'm turning this invasion around and going home!" - Emperor Cole
Are you sure it's the memory leak crashing you? I've seen a lot of people complain about that who had 2GB, but you have 4. Are you closing the Launcher after starting the game? Are you running a lot of other stuff in the background?
Quote:
If it really IS a memory leak, likely more memory would NOT help you unless your machine is just heavily loaded out on how much memory it's using when idle.|
Originally Posted by Ultimus
So the memory leak in this game is still crashing my game. Its very annoying so I might as well bite the bullet and from what I've read adding more RAM has fixed this problem for people. However, I currently use Vista 32-Bit OS. So here are my questions:
|
The game is still a 32-bit application. So the maximum memory that can be assigned to it is 2GB (though it becomes squirrelly above 1.5GB).
Quote:
| 1) I currently have 4 gigs of RAM. If I add more RAM to this, is it going to do anything since I am on a 32-bit OS? |
Quote:
| 2) My other option is to upgrade to a Windows 7 64-Bit OS. I don't run any applications that wouldn't work on this. To my knowledge though you gotta wipe the harddrive going from 32 to 64 bit. Is the change difficult to do? I've personally never installed an OS before... |
This way you don't get an "upgrade" style install (where it chunks the pre-existing Windows install into a "Windows-Old" folder. This can have detrimental side-effects on a 32-to-64 migration.
Quote:
| 3) If I do end up upgrading to Windows 7, what is the best 64-bit version? Is there different ones? |
Windows 7 Ultimate - 64-bit OEM: $190
Windows 7 Home Premium - 64-bit OEM: $100
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
Quote:
I would say I am about 90% sure its the memory leak. The crash usually ends with "The Game has run out of memory." I play with all the settings maxed and the crash usually occurs after doing a lot of loading or in heavy graphical zones like Praetoria.|
Originally Posted by Shadow Walk
Are you sure it's the memory leak crashing you? I've seen a lot of people complain about that who had 2GB, but you have 4. Are you closing the Launcher after starting the game? Are you running a lot of other stuff in the background?
|
I don't even run virus on scan on my machine its purely for gaming I have nothing else installed on it.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Next time this happens, flip out of the game and open up the Task Manager. See how much memory the CoH process is eating.
This could be one of two things.
1: Yes it could just be the memory leak.
2: Your system could be memory/swap(paging file) starved and the system is simply running out of available physical memory and swap, but not really overflowing its process limits.
Could you hit the link in my sig and post a CoH Helper and HijackThis log back here?
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
Quote:
Part 1:|
Originally Posted by Hyperstrike
Next time this happens, flip out of the game and open up the Task Manager. See how much memory the CoH process is eating.
This could be one of two things. 1: Yes it could just be the memory leak. 2: Your system could be memory/swap(paging file) starved and the system is simply running out of available physical memory and swap, but not really overflowing its process limits. Could you hit the link in my sig and post a CoH Helper and HijackThis log back here? |
---System information gathered by CoH Helper version 0.2.0.2---
DxDiag gathered at September 14, 2011 23:42 (-07:00)
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.110617-0336)
System Manufacturer: EVGA__
System Model: nForce 750i SLI
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Central Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
Memory: 3070MB
.Net Memory Report: 2303MB out of 3069MB available
Page File: 5103MB (1242MB currently in use)
C Drive: (ST350063 0AS SCSI Disk Device) 308744MB out of 476937MB (64%) free
D Drive: (HL-DT-ST DVD-RAM GSA-H55L ATA Device) zero-size drive
Windows directory location: C:\Windows
DirectX: DirectX 11
DirectX Diag version: 7.00.6002.18107 (32-bit version)
Display Notes: No problems found.
Sound Notes: No problems found.
No problems found.
No problems found.
No problems found.
Input Notes: No problems found.
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor's Max Resolution: (blank)
Video Device Name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470
Manufacturer / Chip: NVIDIA / GeForce GTX 470
Video Memory: 2527 MB
Driver Version: 8.17.0012.8026
Driver Date: 8/3/2011 4:50:00 AM
Driver Language: English
Sound Device Description: Speakers (Creative SB X-Fi)
Driver File: ctaud2k.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.1347
Driver Date: 7/14/2009 2:51:36 AM
Sound Device Description: Digital Output Device (HDMI) (High Definition Audio Device)
Driver File: HdAudio.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.6002.18005
Driver Date: 4/10/2009 9:43:02 PM
Sound Device Description: Digital Output Device (SPDIF) (High Definition Audio Device)
Driver File: HdAudio.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.6002.18005
Driver Date: 4/10/2009 9:43:02 PM
Sound Device Description: SPDIF Out (Creative SB X-Fi)
Driver File: ctaud2k.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.1347
Driver Date: 7/14/2009 2:51:36 AM
WMI Information
Motherboard Manufacturer: EVGA
Motherboard Model: (empty)
Motherboard Product: nForce 750i SLI
Motherboard Version: 1
BIOS Manufacturer: Phoenix Technologies, LTD
BIOS Name: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
BIOS Version: EVGA - 42302e31
BIOS Release: 20080707000000.000000+000
Registry Information for Current User
Resolution: 1920x1080
3D Resolution: 1920x1080 (Not using renderscale)
Full Screen: Yes
Maximized: No
Screen Position: 0, 0
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Vertical Sync Enabled: Yes
Physics Quality: High
Maximum Particles: 50000
Max Particle Fill? 10.000
Physics Card Enabled: No
Anti-aliasing: 8x
Anisotropic Filtering: 4x
Texture LOD Bias: Smooth
Water Effects: Ultra quality
Bloom: 1.000 (turned on)
Depth of Field Enabled: Yes
Desaturation Effects (Sepia) Enabled: Yes
Shader Detail: High
World Texture Level: Very High
Character Texture Level: Very High
World Detail Level (Vis_Scale): 1.000
Entity Detail Level: 1.000
Shadows Enabled: Yes
Shadow Mode: Unknown (4)
Shadow Map Shader: High quality
Environmental Reflections: Ultra quality
Advanced Occlusion Settings: No
Ambient Occlusion: High quality
Occlusion Strength: Strong
Blur: Trilateral
Ambient Resolution: Quality
Gamma Correction: 0.595
Geometry Buffers (VBOs) Enabled: Yes
Suppression of FX When Camera Close Enabled: No
Close Suppression Range: 3.000
Show Advertisements: Yes
Audio Mode: Performance
3D Audio: No
FX Sound Volume: 1.000
Music Sound Volume: 0.600
Show Advanced Graphics Options: Yes
Overall Graphics Quality: 0.500
Reverse Mouse Buttons: No
Save Login Username: Yes
Transfer Rate: 278927 bytes/second
Current Game Version: 1850.201006301958.0
Installation Directory: C:\Program Files\City of Heroes
Mod files in the Data directory
No modifications found
Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 11:47:42 PM, on 9/14/2011
Platform: Windows Vista SP2 (WinNT 6.00.1906)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v8.00 (8.00.6001.19120)
Boot mode: Normal
Running processes:
C:\Windows\system32\taskeng.exe
C:\Windows\system32\Dwm.exe
C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE
C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe
C:\Program Files\Creative\Sound Blaster X-Fi\Volume Panel\VolPanlu.exe
C:\Windows\System32\Ctxfihlp.exe
C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe
C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\CTXFISPI.EXE
C:\Windows\ehome\ehtray.exe
C:\Windows\ehome\ehmsas.exe
C:\Windows\system32\wuauclt.exe
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\plugin-container.exe
C:\Windows\system32\SearchFilterHost.exe
C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
O1 - Hosts: ::1 localhost
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHelperStub - {18DF081C-E8AD-4283-A596-FA578C2EBDC3} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Windows Defender] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe -hide
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [VolPanel] "C:\Program Files\Creative\Sound Blaster X-Fi\Volume Panel\VolPanlu.exe" /r
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [UpdReg] C:\Windows\UpdReg.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CTxfiHlp] CTXFIHLP.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Reader Speed Launcher] "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe ARM] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARM.exe"
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Sidebar] C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe /autoRun
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [WindowsWelcomeCenter] rundll32.exe oobefldr.dll,ShowWelcomeCenter
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ehTray.exe] C:\Windows\ehome\ehTray.exe
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [WindowsWelcomeCenter] rundll32.exe oobefldr.dll,ShowWelcomeCenter (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-18\..\Run: [CtxfiReg] CTXFIREG.exe /FAIL1 (User 'SYSTEM')
O4 - HKUS\.DEFAULT\..\Run: [CtxfiReg] CTXFIREG.exe /FAIL1 (User 'Default user')
O4 - Global Startup: Microsoft Office.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\OSA9.EXE
O13 - Gopher Prefix:
O16 - DPF: {D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000} (Shockwave Flash Object) - http://fpdownload2.macromedia.com/ge...sh/swflash.cab
O16 - DPF: {F6ACF75C-C32C-447B-9BEF-46B766368D29} (Creative Software AutoUpdate Support Package) - http://ccfiles.creative.com/Web/soft...5110/CTPID.cab
O23 - Service: Creative ALchemy AL6 Licensing Service - Creative Labs - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Creative Labs Shared\Service\AL6Licensing.exe
O23 - Service: Creative Audio Engine Licensing Service - Creative Labs - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Creative Labs Shared\Service\CTAELicensing.exe
O23 - Service: Creative Audio Service (CTAudSvcService) - Creative Technology Ltd - C:\Program Files\Creative\Shared Files\CTAudSvc.exe
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Display Driver Service (nvsvc) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Windows\system32\nvvsvc.exe
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Stereoscopic 3D Driver Service (Stereo Service) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\3D Vision\nvSCPAPISvr.exe
--
End of file - 4296 bytes
You have a remarkably clean system. Congratulations.
Upgrading to Windows 7 64-bit would take some time, but it would also effectively give you 2 more gigabytes of memory to use for City of Heroes, vis-a-vis allowing the full use of the 2 gig on your video card.
Quote:
I know you know your stuff Hyperstrike, but that's not true. I have a screen shot of CoH using just over 3gb memory (and it was still rising) while stable. This was while dual boxing. I had just closed the second account down and noticed it.
| The game is still a 32-bit application. So the maximum memory that can be assigned to it is 2GB (though it becomes squirrelly above 1.5GB). |
CoH PvP SG = SuperUnion - Co-Leader - Union/Freedom
CoV PvP VG = Disruption - Co-Leader - Union/Freedom
Global = @Rent & @Rent.
Playgroup are all **** - Global Handle
Does the video card memory count towards the 3 GB limit of 32-bit OS? How does windows divide up the allocations?
Ultimus, it's time to get a 64-bit operating system and maybe treat yourself to a solid state drive (SSD) to put it on.
Jer
Quote:
Yes. The system shadows video card memory. So someone with a 2GB GTX 560 is going to only see about 2GB available on a 4GB system.|
Originally Posted by SeedyXX
Does the video card memory count towards the 3 GB limit of 32-bit OS? How does windows divide up the allocations?
Ultimus, it's time to get a 64-bit operating system and maybe treat yourself to a solid state drive (SSD) to put it on. Jer |
Windows can assign up to 2GB per-process for 32-bit apps and the core OS will utilize up to 2GB of memory itself. So you can see how things would get tight almost immediately.
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
Quote:
I'd like to see that screenshot. I'd also wonder if the memory reported was from two separate threads being reported as a single thread.|
Originally Posted by Rent_
I know you know your stuff Hyperstrike, but that's not true. I have a screen shot of CoH using just over 3gb memory (and it was still rising) while stable. This was while dual boxing. I had just closed the second account down and noticed it.
|
Note: There ARE ways to get some 32-bit apps to address more. This is, essentially, PAE. And as noted, it has adverse performance characteristics.
Again, I didn't say the app CRASHES the second it pops over 1.5GB. It merely runs less stably. I've had the app up to about 1.8GB for various patch versions and never had a crash. And on some patch versions in the last three years, it'd go above 1.5GB and BLAM!, I'm back on my desktop.
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
Quote:
Agreed!
|
Originally Posted by Starcloud
You have a remarkably clean system. Congratulations.
Upgrading to Windows 7 64-bit would take some time, but it would also effectively give you 2 more gigabytes of memory to use for City of Heroes, vis-a-vis allowing the full use of the 2 gig on your video card. |
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
It's a touch out of date as it discusses XP and Vista, but this is a pretty decent explanation of the whole addressing mess and how it works for anyone interested.
It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination.
Quote:
Here you go man, as requested |
Originally Posted by Hyperstrike
I'd like to see that screenshot. I'd also wonder if the memory reported was from two separate threads being reported as a single thread.
|
Picture
CoH PvP SG = SuperUnion - Co-Leader - Union/Freedom
CoV PvP VG = Disruption - Co-Leader - Union/Freedom
Global = @Rent & @Rent.
Playgroup are all **** - Global Handle
Quote:
Okay. All I can say to that is "wow".|
Originally Posted by Rent_
|
Still not sure if it's showing all memory taken by both the processes you had running or if the client is now large-memory aware. I haven't had a chance to check it out. I will be keeping an eye on it. Thanks for this heads-up, as I don't want to be spewing information that's outdated on this subject.
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
Ok so I am going to upgrade sometime in the week. Problem is I am a CPU novice when it comes to certain things and I've never done a reformat or my own installation. On top of that, I am not sure if all my hardware is compatible with 64-bit. (Personally, I would guess with about 90% certainty it is).
What is the best RAM for gaming? How do I know what kind of ram I am using?
How hard is it to install your own OS and do a reformat if you never done one before?
Quote:
The main thing I would look at is if your CPU can do 64-bit instructions. A lot of them can, but if you got the CPU name, ask Google if it works.|
Originally Posted by Ultimus
Ok so I am going to upgrade sometime in the week. Problem is I am a CPU novice when it comes to certain things and I've never done a reformat or my own installation. On top of that, I am not sure if all my hardware is compatible with 64-bit. (Personally, I would guess with about 90% certainty it is).
What is the best RAM for gaming? How do I know what kind of ram I am using? How hard is it to install your own OS and do a reformat if you never done one before? |
Windows 7 is fairly easy to install. Most of the time will be spent on watching a small light move across a white line at the bottom of the screen. It's kind of boring, really, compared to older Windows installations. It practically figures everything out on its own.
No, the really tricky part of a reformat is this: Not losing any data you want to keep. It never fails that something slips through the cracks and gets left on the drive you're about to format, so think very carefully and remember to export everything you want to keep in all the programs you use. The email address book is a classic thing to lose, for instance.
Aegis Rose, Forcefield/Energy Defender - Freedom
"Bubble up for safety!"
Quote:
I checked, and according to Intel, his processor handles 64 bit OSs.|
Originally Posted by McNum
The main thing I would look at is if your CPU can do 64-bit instructions. A lot of them can, but if you got the CPU name, ask Google if it works.
|
Ultimus, do you have a second (or more) drive handy? If at all possible, either swapping drives and keeping your current OS drive aside for last minute stuff, or copying your OS drive if the spare isn't as good, is a good idea.
If not, try to remember all of the little things.
- Browser bookmarks. There is a way, somewhere, in every browser to export the bookmarks to import them into your newly installed version.
- Email address book, as McNum mentioned.
- Downloads.
- Documents.
- Pictures.
- Wallpapers.
- Anything you have stored on your desktop.
- Any other thing you want/need that isn't available any other way.
From my own experience of always forgetting something, I'd recommend backing up everything you can think of, and then double checking every night for a couple of days - if you have the time.
Now, for most people, RAM is RAM. The effort put into getting the best possible timings and such aren't worth the return.
As a general rule of thumb, get the fastest clock speed RAM you can for your motherboard. It may not run at that speed, but that is okay because RAM tends to be more stable at one speed point lower than it's max anyway.
Keep to the lowest number of memory sticks you can while maximizing your number of channels. Example: If you have dual channel, try to use only 2 sticks. If you have triple channel, try only using 3 sticks. The more sticks you use, the less stable the memory can be.
Those are just rules of thumbs. I am sure there are people that will swear they can break them - and I don't doubt it. But if you follow them as best you can, you maximize your enjoyment while minimizing hassle.
Now, if this is your mainboard (also called motherboard), you will want DDR2 1066 memory. Preferably in two sticks.
Such as this. That is just a quick suggestion. Don't feel married to it or anything.
And if you really wanted to break the 4 gig barrier, you would get another pair.
Pretty much this is a gaming computer thus an installation and memory wipe won't bother me.
1) All of my pictures I keep on my Facebook.
2) All of my music is kept on my IPHONE or I have a separate CPU for that.
3) I don't download anything to this CPU and if I do I generally delete it ASAP. Mostly because I don't run Virus scan and I go to very limited websites on this CPU. If I do have to browse foreign places, I use my IPHONE.
Ok my question is, if I go down to Fry's Electronics and buy Windows 7. Do they just give me a disk and I just put that into the CPU and it will install itself after a few clicks and format everything? Is it that simple? Do I need a disk with all the drivers for my hardware such as the motherboard, or processor whatever?
Quote:
I am not sure what dual channel or triple channel means? Can you say that in layman terms?| Keep to the lowest number of memory sticks you can while maximizing your number of channels. Example: If you have dual channel, try to use only 2 sticks. If you have triple channel, try only using 3 sticks. The more sticks you use, the less stable the memory can be. |
I am also looking to go to at least 8 gig ram maybe 10 gig. How do I know what RAM is currently in my CPU?
Ok I found the RAM I have its according to this old receipt...
TWIN2X4096 - 6400C4DHX
TWIN2X4096 - 6400C4DHX
(2X2GB) CAS LATENCY 4 . 4 .
DOMINATOR HEATSINK
TWIN2X4096 - 6400C4DHX
This is what the receipt says.
Quote:
That is fair enough, at least you have a seperate PC as your "backup" pc if anything goes wrong and you need to look up stuff to help you out.|
Originally Posted by Ultimus
Pretty much this is a gaming computer thus an installation and memory wipe won't bother me.
1) All of my pictures I keep on my Facebook. 2) All of my music is kept on my IPHONE or I have a separate CPU for that. |
Quote:
| 3) I don't download anything to this CPU and if I do I generally delete it ASAP. Mostly because I don't run Virus scan and I go to very limited websites on this CPU. If I do have to browse foreign places, I use my IPHONE. |
Try using the built in Windows Firewall and Microsoft Security Essentials (once you get Windows 7 installed). MSE is not installed by default (to give people the choice of using it, but considering that it is free, it does its job admirably.
Quote:
| Ok my question is, if I go down to Fry's Electronics and buy Windows 7. Do they just give me a disk and I just put that into the CPU and it will install itself after a few clicks and format everything? Is it that simple? Do I need a disk with all the drivers for my hardware such as the motherboard, or processor whatever? |
Without knowing your specific motherboard model i cannot directly link to what drivers you would need to download to get everything actually working properly (as i said, Windows 7 will run with generic drivers included, but sometimes the manufacturer has better specific ones available).
This is where a USB memory stick/freshly burnt CD/DVD (with the downloaded drivers for graphics card, sound card and motherboard) are handy. Will save you time as well in the long run having them already at hand.
Quote:
| I am not sure what dual channel or triple channel means? Can you say that in layman terms? |
Quote:
| I am also looking to go to at least 8 gig ram maybe 10 gig. How do I know what RAM is currently in my CPU? |
You can use CPU-Z (free download look on the right hand side of the page for download link) to tell you how many RAM slots you have available.
*GENERALLY* you are looking to go in powers of 2 for how much RAM you can fit.
ie 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB. Most motherboards have either 2 or 4 RAM slots, and remembering that you should ideally have the sticks of RAM in pairs, i would say that 8GB would be best for you.
This is assuming you have 4 RAM slots:
2 x 2GB (already owned)
2 x 2GB (need to buy). As long as you buy the same "speed" ram (in this case PC2-6400 RAM) you shouldn't have any problems.
If you only have 2 slots available, stick with what you have, and install windows 7 64bit on it, and get the full advantage of the RAM and GFX card you have.
How do I find out what motherboard I have? I had the old one on this CPU I believe replaced and got another one upgraded for free.
CPU-Z will give you the information on the "mainboard" tab of the program.
Look further down on the page i linked to earlier on for CPU-Z and there are images available to show you what each tab does.
The tabs that you would be interested in are the Mainboard, because from the model number, we can tell you how much RAM you can fit in...
So the memory leak in this game is still crashing my game. Its very annoying so I might as well bite the bullet and from what I've read adding more RAM has fixed this problem for people. However, I currently use Vista 32-Bit OS. So here are my questions:
1) I currently have 4 gigs of RAM. If I add more RAM to this, is it going to do anything since I am on a 32-bit OS?
2) My other option is to upgrade to a Windows 7 64-Bit OS. I don't run any applications that wouldn't work on this. To my knowledge though you gotta wipe the harddrive going from 32 to 64 bit. Is the change difficult to do? I've personally never installed an OS before...
3) If I do end up upgrading to Windows 7, what is the best 64-bit version? Is there different ones?