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Performance related to system RAM?

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  • 18-11-2005 6:19pm
    #1
    magpie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,643 ✭✭✭


    I've got a 64mb ATI Radeon, and the performance seems to be going down - I use it to play BFV, and now even on the lowest graphics settings there's loads of chaff.

    So, is this related to my system getting clogged up with other stuff? Do I need to get more RAM?

    I've tried upgrading the drivers, but no difference there.


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    #2
    satchmo
    Registered Users Posts: 1,481 ✭✭✭satchmo


    That's probably not enough video memory for heavy games like the Battlefield series - if the game tries to load more textures into video memory than there is available RAM, they'll get cached out to AGP memory. When textures are continually swapped out like this it causes thrashing and the game stutters. Similarly if you don't have enough system memory then pages will be swapped out to the hard drive, causing even more thrashing.

    Depending on your what sort of system you have, your problem is probably a combination of these. I'd upgrade the graphics card first though, 128mb video cards are pretty much a standard requirement with new games.


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    #3
    magpie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,643 ✭✭✭magpie


    Thanks for the advice. Can you recommend a good cheap 128 card?


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    #4
    satchmo
    Registered Users Posts: 1,481 ✭✭✭satchmo


    That depends, how cheap is cheap?!
    You can get an FX5200 for €50, but that's a pretty crap card by all accounts... for €100 you could get a good 9600, or for €150 you can get a 6600/X700.

    How much system memory have you got? Battlefield prefers 1GB, and struggles on anything less than 512MB.


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    #5
    magpie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,643 ✭✭✭magpie


    512

    This is BFV, not BF2 BTW


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    #6
    satchmo
    Registered Users Posts: 1,481 ✭✭✭satchmo


    Oh right, sorry I didn't read it properly - yeah 512 should be ok for BFV. You're saying performance seems to be actually decreasing? When was the last time you reinstalled windows?


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    #7
    magpie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,643 ✭✭✭magpie


    When was the last time you reinstalled windows?

    Yeah, that would be a while ago.


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    #8
    satchmo
    Registered Users Posts: 1,481 ✭✭✭satchmo


    I know it's a pain in the ass to back up everything, and even then there's always some program or setting that you forget to backup. But a proper format-and-reinstall can do wonders for your machine, especially if it's been a couple of years since the last one. Failing that, at least try a disk defrag if you haven't done one recently.


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