Performance Quest

[EvangelionRS]

I started playing EQ2 last week and have been on a maddening quest to improve performance ever since.  A few upgrades have made less of an impact than predicted and I was curious if the good folks here would have some tips/hints/tricks.<b>System: </b> PSU:    Antec EarthWatts 500WMobo:     915G Express Chipset, 800Mhz BusProcessor:    P4 (Prescott) 3.0Ghz w/HTRAM:         1GB PC3200Video:       ATI Radeon HD3850 512MBDrive 1:    WD 200GB 7200RPM SATADrive 2:    WD 320GB 7200RPM SATA<b>Tweaks/Settings:</b><ul><li>All relevant drivers for components, chipsets and BIOS have been updated.</li><li>Drive 1 contains the EQ2 folder and files.</li><li>Drive 2 starts with a 6GB FAT32 partition that holds pagefile.sys.</li><li>ATI Catalyst Center has default values.</li><li>EQ2 Video Settings are High Performance.</li></ul><b>Issues</b><ul><li>General framerate dropping, seemingly random.</li><li>HDDs churn alot (seems linked to FPS).</li><li>FPS drops are "slideshow" mode when running into lots of players/NPCs.</li></ul>So with all of this in mind:<ul><li>Is it a RAM issue?  (quality, quantity, both?)</li><li>Lack of dual-core processor?</li><li>Other?</li></ul>Any advice is greatly appreciated. :)

[Aurumn]

<p>why only 1gb ram? 2gb seems to be the min you want... more's always better. </p><p>Dual core/multi core isn't supported so you're actually better with the single core you have now.</p>

[jagermonsta]

<cite>Mezzmyrelda@Unrest wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>why only 1gb ram? 2gb seems to be the min you want... more's always better. </p></blockquote>Not <i>always</i> true.4 1 GB modules can actually slow down and or limit performance for your system...

[Aurumn]

<cite>Ranadin@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Mezzmyrelda@Unrest wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>why only 1gb ram? 2gb seems to be the min you want... more's always better. </p></blockquote>Not <i>always</i> true.4 1 GB modules can actually slow down and or limit performance for your system...</blockquote>Really? I'll have to look into that. I learn something new every day. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Kaliguwra]

True, the staple right now would be two 1gig sticks of a high speed low latency ram. Anymore then two gigs is sometimes not needed. I would probably get the fastest ram your motherboard can handle. Make sure whatever ram you buy, the sticks are identical, same build, same manufacture, etc. Paired sticks are best.Defrag your hard drive and/or upgrade to a 10k RPM hard drive. If your hard drive is crunching more then it should, you need to take care of it. Regular  hard drive  tune ups are nice to keep the hard drive from stressing when it attempts to get info. As an upgrade, I would suggest getting a 74 gig Raptor and use that as your OS/Program hard drive, then the others are backup and music or whatever else you like to do.Those P4's run alittle hot, get a newer CPU Heatsink/Fan?