Improving performance with memory

[zerfall]

I was just wondering what the general consensus would be about going from 1GB of RAM to 2GB of RAM, and the effects on performance it would provide. Currently my system (and my wife's as well) are as follows: Dell Dimension E520 (I got sick of the issues with building my own computers) - Pentium D 915 2.8GHz dual core - ATI x1300 Pro 256MB PCI-X - 250GB 7200rpm (I know, 10k would be better) hard drive - 2x 512MB DDR2 533MHz memory - Windows XP Media Center OS Now, I have 4 memory slots total, so to save money and not make the current memory go to waste, I was going to buy 4 more 512MB sticks (2 for me, 2 for the wife) for a total of 2GB memory in each computer.  I know that nowadays you don't have to match memory, so would that be recommended, or could I just go for buying 2x 1GB sticks and throw those in as is? Also, given the hardware I listed above, would throwing more memory at the computer improve performance enough to justify it?  In all honesty, the game plays quite well... I don't have everything maxed out, but most settings are midway or higher (shadows are off) with quite a bit set to High or Max.  However, the game will stutter once in a while when it goes to load stuff in the distance, and some parts of Freeport are pretty rough (ie. near the broker). Thanks!

[BungFoo]

Adding ram won't affect the frame rate at all. It will however, shorten load times and zoning times. If your system isn't dual channel you don't need to match ram sticks but it's still a good idea to because that you your memory will have the same voltage requirements, timings etc.

[zerfall]

<cite>BungFoo wrote:</cite><blockquote>Adding ram won't affect the frame rate at all. It will however, shorten load times and zoning times. If your system isn't dual channel you don't need to match ram sticks but it's still a good idea to because that you your memory will have the same voltage requirements, timings etc. </blockquote> Well, I don't think it's so much a frame rate issue, as it is swapping.  Whenever my frame rate drops enough to be a problem, the hard drive is also grinding away, which is why I wondered if more RAM would help.  I figured more RAM would mean less swapping to the drive and back.  When the hard drive settles, even in Freeport and more populated areas my frame rate tends to be pretty steady.  It's just that initial grinding away that causes things to slow down. I'm figuring a defrag is in order as well <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[TSR-JasonC]

Don't worry too much about the 7200 RPM drive.  With an extremely minor amount of tweaking, you can get a 7200 RPM drive to serve the game with unnoticeable latency. The amount of memory you are using is likely the cause of the performance issues you are experiencing.  EverQuest II will chew through 1.5 GB of memory if given the chance.  I recommend having at least 1.5 GB (or 2.0 GB for optimal performance), but you will need to ensure that the new memory modules match exactly to the existing ones.

[DiatribeEQ]

<p>In general, having more memory *will* help performance.  But the amount that it will help is limited.  What it will help is with less harddrive accessing, thus cutting out few "dips in frames per second" which in turn,helps to keep you framerate consistant.</p><p>The biggest things to have, in order of importance, IMHO:</p><p>1) Beefy CPU (3ghz+ to help maximize CPU performance, this putting the cpu in wait for video)</p><p>2) Beefy Video Card with GOBS of memory onboard (at *least* 256 megs, if not 512+, will help the video card cache all the visual goodies you want on screen & keep framerates up at the same time, which in turn is reliant on both the CPU to feed it the information it needs & the system memory that the CPU needs to pull the info from)</p><p>3) Tons of System Ram (at *least* 1.5 gigs of ram.  2gigs+ to be safe.  Both the CPU and GPU (video) will draw from this as fast as they both can get it CPU delivers info from Ram & delivers to GPU for video processing, the System Ram will deliver it as fast as it can & as fast as the CPU can deliver it to the GPU & the cycle repeats itself.  So, again...More = Better)</p>

[Deathspell]

<cite>DiatribeEQ wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>In general, having more memory *will* help performance.  But the amount that it will help is limited.  What it will help is with less harddrive accessing, thus cutting out few "dips in frames per second" which in turn,helps to keep you framerate consistant.</p><p>The biggest things to have, in order of importance, IMHO:</p><p>1) Beefy CPU (3ghz+ to help maximize CPU performance, this putting the cpu in wait for video)</p><p>2) Beefy Video Card with GOBS of memory onboard (at *least* 256 megs, if not 512+, will help the video card cache all the visual goodies you want on screen & keep framerates up at the same time, which in turn is reliant on both the CPU to feed it the information it needs & the system memory that the CPU needs to pull the info from)</p><p>3) Tons of System Ram (at *least* 1.5 gigs of ram.  2gigs+ to be safe.  Both the CPU and GPU (video) will draw from this as fast as they both can get it CPU delivers info from Ram & delivers to GPU for video processing, the System Ram will deliver it as fast as it can & as fast as the CPU can deliver it to the GPU & the cycle repeats itself.  So, again...More = Better)</p></blockquote> You can have the highest CPU and fastest graphics card in the world, it's totally useless if you don't have sufficient RAM, and 1GB won't cut it. Going from 1GB to 2GB for EQ2 is the best thing I did to increase overall performance for EQ2. The removal of the excessive hard disk accessing is a major increase in the overall performance and enjoyment of the game.

[DiatribeEQ]

<cite>Deathspell wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>DiatribeEQ wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>In general, having more memory *will* help performance.  But the amount that it will help is limited.  What it will help is with less harddrive accessing, thus cutting out few "dips in frames per second" which in turn,helps to keep you framerate consistant.</p><p>The biggest things to have, in order of importance, IMHO:</p><p>1) Beefy CPU (3ghz+ to help maximize CPU performance, this putting the cpu in wait for video)</p><p>2) Beefy Video Card with GOBS of memory onboard (at *least* 256 megs, if not 512+, will help the video card cache all the visual goodies you want on screen & keep framerates up at the same time, which in turn is reliant on both the CPU to feed it the information it needs & the system memory that the CPU needs to pull the info from)</p><p>3) Tons of System Ram (at *least* 1.5 gigs of ram.  2gigs+ to be safe.  Both the CPU and GPU (video) will draw from this as fast as they both can get it CPU delivers info from Ram & delivers to GPU for video processing, the System Ram will deliver it as fast as it can & as fast as the CPU can deliver it to the GPU & the cycle repeats itself.  So, again...More = Better)</p></blockquote> You can have the highest CPU and fastest graphics card in the world, it's totally useless if you don't have sufficient RAM, and 1GB won't cut it. Going from 1GB to 2GB for EQ2 is the best thing I did to increase overall performance for EQ2. The removal of the excessive hard disk accessing is a major increase in the overall performance and enjoyment of the game. </blockquote>Yup.  I kinda put out the list of "Must Have's" here and examples of what is considered "Must Have's" for each.  (re-read the 1.5 gig system ram AT LEAST part)

[-=Hoss=-]

Forgive my n00b question, but how do you know what your framerate is? -h

[Deathspell]

-=Hoss=- wrote: <blockquote>Forgive my n00b question, but how do you know what your framerate is? -h </blockquote> You can use Fraps to measure your ingame fps.

[-=Hoss=-]

And fraps is an ingame command? -h

[Zcore24]

You need to download and install FRAPS... Link to download here <a href="http://www.fraps.com/download.php" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.fraps.com/download.php</a>