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johnpenn
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| HA! RAM COUNTS. More than one GB might be necessary. |
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HA! RAM COUNTS.
For all you out there saying 1GB should be enough for mid to high graphics, you are just wrong. With the following specs I was getting significant (fps) lag:
Athlon64 3000+ 939 Venice
MSI Neo4 Platinum motherboard
1 GB Corsair (2x512 in dual chnnl)
ATI Radeon X800XL PCI-E 16pipes
SATA 80GB NCQ seagate HD
430watt antec psu
terrain mid
effects mid
geometry high
texture high
light high
dynamic shadows mid
dynamic light high
anti aliasing 2x
antisotropic filtering mid
Basically mid to high graphics settings. Another thing is that when I would put all my settings on high, when the load process would get to 'collisions' 46%, I would crash to desktop.
SOLUTION:
Well, I took 2 256mb chips from another system and added them in (I have a four slot board, GRN-PRPLE-GRN-PRPLE.) for a total of 1.5GB and *VOILA* that solved the problem. My what 512mb of extra ram can do. I wanted to know this for certain before I went out and bought (2) 1 gibabyte chips of pc3200. Now I will. Now I can load with everything on high across the board without crashing. Come to think of it, I'll bet that more than half of the tons of forum posts I have read online relating to CTD are related to RAM. I am doing better now with 1.5 gbs of ram with settings all on high than I was with 1 gb of ram and settings on medium to high. It seems that when the interface encounters what it perceives to be too little ram it automatically crashes to desktop. This can actually be a good thing. A nice alternative to FREEZING. Although, that is happening to a number of folk as well. The only time I ever freeze though is sometimes when I hit refresh. I mean it will just not go anywhere. And yes I gave it plenty of time. Incidentally, it did this once while I had the extra ram in and so I managed to be able to cntrl alt delete and manual shut down BF2. But when I had only 1 gig of ram and it would freeze it would not let me ctrl alt delete to windows task manager. MORE RAM DEFINITELY COUNTS WITH THIS BEAST OF A GAME. In fact I am going to start calling it 'the Brahma'.
Another thing more RAM did was made me able to ALT+TAB to desktop from the game rather easily so I could save screenshots and then ALT+TAB back into the game. Before I put the extra ram it simply would not let me do that. Also, the way ram affects fps is sort of tricky. Too little ram will make you lag even though your fps shows good.
Having said all that I am still not totally happy with my X800XL. My frames per second are still around 30 to 50, which is playable but I was expecting more. Here is a question for anyone who might know. Does anyone know if NVIDIA cards work better in the nforce chipsets than ati's do?? You know if I had it all to do over again I think I would have just dropped 600$ for the new gforce 7800. At the time money was not really horribly an object for me. But I am just sort of tired and I am going to keep this x800xl.
To wrap up:
1. always make sure your ram is configured for dual channel if you are going to add some to test it like i did
2. for anyone wanting to play on high settings *YOU WILL BENEFIT BY HAVING MORE THAN 1 GIGABYTE OF RAM*, especially for lower end card owners.
3. don't always necessarily trust some benchmark you found online. I was let down by the x800xl benchmarks. broaden your research before you buy
4. NOTE!! don't take what i am saying as gospel. I am just telling you my experience. Don't blame me if you did what i did and still have problems.
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| 07/03/05 15:24 |
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Dayve
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| Re: HA! RAM COUNTS. More than one GB might be necessary. |
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Uh, i can play the demo with everything maxed out, i only have a gig of ram, not sure what make it is but it isn't an expensive kind i don't think.
Rest of my specs are P4 2.4ghz, Radeon x800pro 256mb.
I play on maxed out all the time, basically no lag at all...
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| 07/03/05 23:45 |
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johnpenn
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| Re: HA! RAM COUNTS. More than one GB might be necessary. |
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Do you lag when you first get in the game. Like for maybe a minute or so or less.
In console type: renderer.drawfps 1
and tell me what it looks like for you. I have a question for anyone reading this:
Supposedly the left number in the showfps is your current fps and the right number is your average fps. Why is it then that the higher my left number goes the lower the right number goes. And why is it that the more i lag the more the right number goes UP, and the left number goes down.
That just doesn't make any since. I suspect that it might be something different than left-current/right-average. Now I can understand how the left would be the current but the right number just doesn't make sense.
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| 07/04/05 12:05 |
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johnpenn
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| Update on 'RAM COUNTS' post: I was wrong on few points. |
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Ok i need to update my long post concerning the RAM issues. I still stick by my claim that more than 1 gb of ram will benefit you. However, my specific problem was one that is a little embarrassing.
Unbeknownst to me I had a 2.5 cas latency stick running in dual channel along side a 3.0 cas latency stick. They were same size and brand and speed, just diff. latencies. I so thought that i was running same latency ram. BUT that may actually not have been as much the issue as what i am about to tell you later in this post.
First of all what I did was take (a gig total) two equal latency sticks of 2.5cs from a friends system(same brand, speed, and size) and put them in my system. Totally solved the low fps problem. I noticed I was getting consistently above 60 fps with all settings on high. But with former configuration I was getting around 40 and sometimes lower with graphics on medium to high. Also it stopped lagging and jerking. I mean it was smooth. It ran exactly like a lot of posts I have read my x800xl is supposed to run on high. So disregard my post about me being dissappointed about the x800xl.
But, and here is big but, I don't think the cas latency incompatability was the ONLY thing causing the problem. What I did was take the 3.0 latency stick and put it (alone) in another system and opened a game of 'Halo I' on it and bout 10 seconds into the game the computer crashed. Then opened the game again and right as i was getting in the game the game crashed to desktop. Then Mozilla crashed. SO what i had on my hands was a bum stick of ram or seemingly so.
What this all says is that RAM can be a major factor in a lot of the problems that folks are having.
But I still stick by my statement that more than a gig can benefit. I will explain what i mean by that in later post.
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| 07/04/05 21:26 |
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Buzzgud
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| Re: HA! RAM COUNTS. More than one GB might be necessary. |
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Alright, look look here. You don't need anything above a 1 gig. First off, your graphics card aint all that great, second off, maybe your lagging from GRAPCHICS lag, not ram. FPS is Frames Per Second Which is your graphics. So maybe something might click? Also, if your lagging with 1 gig of ram, I don't get it, I have a 9200 Radeion graphics card and 1 gig of memory, and my comp works like a newly polished flute, maybe it's your G card, but I doubt it's the ram, you don't need more then 1 gig, if you want to go out and spend thirty to fifty dollors on another gig or a nother five twelve, then go ahead, but I wouldn't advise it if you've got a good graphics card.
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| 07/04/05 23:31 |
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johnpenn
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| Re: HA! RAM COUNTS. More than one GB might be necessary. |
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I'm sorry to tell you but the x800xl is not a sucky card. It hangs in there not far behind the best ones out there. Did you not read what I said about me getting 50 to 70 consistently when I matched the ram up properly. Fifty to seventy fps in battlefield 2 with EVERYTHING maxed out is not sucky.
Now let me further explain how RAM can be very moody and tempermental at times. And almost irrational to be honest with you. (and i am talking about brand name). Here is an example. Last night I put my 512mb pc3200 3.0 cas latency in my system all alone. One stick in slot 1. Turned the graphics on medium to low. Went on a specific empty server on a specific map and observed my FPS at a specific location on the map. Looking around jumping. Getting in and out of a vehicle. Etc. Then I took and added another stick of ram same everything except it was cas latency 2.5. Put them in dual channel for a gig total. Went to the same server on the same map in same spot, and was getting half the fps consistently. There was no mistaking what I was seeing. Then I took the 3.0 RAM out and put it alone in an nforce2 system next to me. Got in HaloI and was getting all kinds of instability. Rebooted the system. Made sure the RAM was in good. Game crashed. And not only that but other things crashed. Took that 3.0 out and put it back in my nforce4 system (alone) WORKS BEAUTIFULLY. Oh yeah and I also put the original ram back in nforce2 box. Now its fine again. My roommate played different games just to see. (He thought I broke it). But it was fine and still is. Now that may be a sign that the 3.0 stick is 'bad' somehow. But to further illustrate my point. Some systems are more comfortable with 'flaky' ram than others. RAMology can sometimes be a very unpredictable science. That is just one example of RAM schitzoness. I have been building and messing with hardware for five years and I could enumerate tons of examples of RAM issues. Of course there are layers of possible explanations. One factor is the motherboard. Cpu's are very trusty and predictable. RAM and motherboards are not. That is why I never buy either unless i have seen a number of reviews on how well its doing. Some motherboards are just 'happier' with certain kinds of ram.
Now for my explanation of why more than a gig of ram can benefit. It helps you multitask easier while you are in a game and you want to alt-tab out and anwser an IM or do some other thing. Another thing more than one gig of ram will help is general interface stability and ease of load. You will probably experience less freezes. More than one gig of ram is especially necessary for folks running a monster antivirus program or some other beast they just like to keep open.
Now as pertains to being in the game. A lot of you with one gig of ram and settings maxed out are probably noticing a certain jerk when covering territory in a jet or vehicle at a high rate of speed. This is your HD and ram swapping out with each other. This is actually a different kind of lag than general graphics framiness. You can actually be appearing to get great fps and still have this momentary freeze when moving across territory on a map. It is this particular kind of lag that having 2 gigs of ram will possibly solve. It did solve the problem for me anyway. I added 512 to my one gig and big difference. Easier alt tab. Smoother interface operation. Now i am talking about people who with maxed out graphics.
If you do decide to get two sticks of ram, get brand name and make damned sure they are exactly equal to each other. The best possible way to do this is to match model numbers. For example, I was getting significant unexplainable lag with a 'Model #: VS512MB400C3' paired together with a 'Model #: VS512MB400'. I borrowed a stick of vs512mb400 from a friend to troubleshoot. Took the 400c3 out and put the vs512mb400 in dual channel together with exact same model. Oh my god the improvement! My consistent fps went up almost my 30.
The reason why you want to get your ram right, get brand name, equal sticks, at least a gig of 400mhz, is so you can rule that out as what ever problem you may be experiencing. Its not to say that you RAM is causing your problems, but don't over look. Don't underestimate it. RAM COUNTS. It just does. I am telling you alot of the posts i been reading talking of problems are without question an issue of RAM. Not just capacity. But all the other things i mentioned above.
If you are not familiar with microsoft's memory diagnostic, look it up. It can help you determine if your ram is 'broke' per se. Although it is not full proof for some very nuanced issues.
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| 07/05/05 10:52 |
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demonocus
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| Re: HA! RAM COUNTS. More than one GB might be necessary. |
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Interesting we have very similar systems, I have an amd 3500+ with 1gb of ram and and the neo 4 platinum mobo with the x800xl video card. My question is how are you getting 1.5 gbs of ram with that configuration?
When I went to upgrade the ram on my comp, the tech at the store I buy from said it wasnt possible for me to go higher then the 1gb (matched 512's) that I already had.He said even though it has a 4gb capacity that you cannot run ram in only 3 of the 4 slots, which indeed it says in the mobo manual.And that you can't use all 4 slots unless your using single sided ram, once again this was backed up by the manual.
He said if I wanted 2 GBS ram the only thing I could do would be to buy 2 sticks of 1Gb.He did say that you can use all 4 slots by using less then PC3200 ram tho, but seeing as i all ready have 1gb of pc3200 that wasn't really an option.I'm wonderingt is the additional 512 of ram less then PC3200 possibly?
Anyways if you could be a bit more specific on how your pulling off this configuration I would greatly appreciate it, as I would love to bump up to 2gb of ram without having to scrap my existing ram to do it.
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| 07/16/05 13:43 |
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johnpenn
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| Re: HA! RAM COUNTS. More than one GB might be necessary. |
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well i will tell you exactly what i have set up with model#s
(2x512)in DIMM 1 and DIMM 2. Channel A and B, grn and blue
(2x256)in DIMM 3 and DIMM 4. Channel A and B, grn and blue
It would look like this:
| 512 | 512 | 256 | 256 |
which is just the opposite of standard intel 4 slot boards.
model #'s, VS512MB400 for the 512s
and VS256MB400 for the 256's
the following are links to what i am referring too.
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec....atinum&class=mb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....Submit=Property
I actually want to say more on this. But I have to bolt right now. Keep up with this thread though. I want to see how it works out for you. Also, make sure you have equal ram's, especially latency. I'll say more later. All I know is that my system has been doing very well with the game. But if there is a better config. then i want to know about it. Honestly I didnt even bother checking to see whether my ram was single or double sided. Look on the newegg product page and let me know.
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| 07/16/05 19:31 |
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MWHRowdee
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| Re: HA! RAM COUNTS. More than one GB might be necessary. |
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I put in another gig of ram and it cured all my ills. Loads faster AND disconnects faster.
Asusu A8N-SLI mobo w/ AMD a64 3500+ (oc'ed)
2 Gigs Patriot pc3200
WD/ Raptor Drives
BFG 6800 GT OC (oc'ed even more)
Creative Aud. ZS Gamer w/ Logitech Z640 speakers in surround
Rocks the house!!!
Try more ram..... ALSO!!! U dont need anisatropic filtering running. Games looks great without it. Slows your load times and can create lag. I am running on fast cable....6000 down....768..up. Its a quirky game like that.
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| 07/17/05 01:30 |
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Saito
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| Re: HA! RAM COUNTS. More than one GB might be necessary. |
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2gigs has been fairly mandatory for high details since doom3 hit first, bf2 for some odd reason is a bit more finicky than d3 is about it though.
I have 2gigs pc4000
My PC
CPU P4EE Gallitan core socket 478 @ 4.2ghz, Abit IC7-G Max 3, 2 gb PC4000 corsair xms, PC Power and cooling 510 psu, Albatron 6800gt @ ultra, Creative Audigy 2 ZS, Cooler master wave master case, Switech Liquid Cooling, Dual NEC 22 inch CRT, Klipch Pro Media 5.1, Senn HD280 pro, MS 3.0, Steel S&S, logitech elite.
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| 07/17/05 16:51 |
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Bloodless_End
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| Re: HA! RAM COUNTS. More than one GB might be necessary. |
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i have this
Antec Plusview 1000AMG
Asus P4C800E Deluxe
Intel Pentium 4 3.2Ghz 800FSB 1Mb
Corsair Twinx 2Gb
Seagate 160Gb 8Mb
ATI Radeon X850XT-PE
i can run battle field everything maxed on high ... but you really dont need 2Gbs of ram ... i got that much for animation and video editing .... i use programs such as Adobe Premiere 1.5 which is basilly the 7.5 , Adobe After Effects, and Maya 6.5
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| 09/09/05 23:21 |
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