Thread: Question about OS

Well here are some more fancy words

I need to clarify that there is a case in which adding more RAM won't give you any benefit at all. The only advantage to having more RAM, is that it speeds up your computer because your avoiding using your swap space on your hard drive.

For those who don't know what swap space is: your computer assumes you don't have enough RAM, so it sections off part of your hard disk to act like a RAM storage area. If while your doing things, you run out of RAM, it will save off parts of running programs (or the whole thing) to that special area on your hard disk in order to free up RAM for immediate use. If you go back to using the swapped out program, the OS will read back it back from the hard disk and force something else to swap out.

If you've ever had a program minimized for a while and you go back to it, and its slow to respond and come back up, its because it was swapped out and Windows is trying to swap it back in.


Here is the point: More RAM only speeds up your computer if it lets you avoid using the swap space. If you are not running out of RAM (and therefore not using the swap space), then adding more RAM will not increase your performance in the slightest.

[SU]Magikfingers, look to see if your running out of RAM with your current 2GB. If you are not, don't bother going to 4GB, it won't do you any good because it will just sit there doing nothing.

You can see your current RAM usage by using Windows Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc shortcut in Windows XP, I don't know what it is in Vista), going to Performance, and then looking at the "Physical Memory" section and seeing what it lists as "Available". If that number is really low, then you want more RAM. Do it when your using your computer as you normally would (you should probably even go into a game and alt-tab out to see what it's like)

Doesn't Vista also have new code that uses all of your RAM constantly to "pre-load" applications that you use frequently? I forget what they call it but it'll free up RAM for other programs if you run them but boosting your RAM means you can have more applications "pre-loaded" as well. Which I would see as a big benefit considering I typically only use about 2 to 3 applications in any given month.

I guess I'm more interested in stability / driver issues.

Vista 64 handles memory better than 32. I know that as fact. I'm more interested, and this is my fault for the way I approached the first post, but I'm more interested in real-life experiences with it.

I know if I upgrade to a 64 bit OS, it's going to better utilize the Q6800 I have. That's good.

I dunno .. I also have this voice in the back of my head screaming at me:

IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT!!!!

And when I don't listen to that voice, I tend to get myself into trouble. :5

Don't listen to it, 64-bit is maturing very well.

We are having massive problems, red bar connection all the time. Client host does not work any better just disconnects the game two minutes in! Been looking forward to l4d2 for so long and now we can't even play it! Any other Europeans having this problem? more importantly when are valve going to fix it?!!

I want to know this too. I live in the US and the lag is terrible.

I agree I live in the UK and I cant play the game for the lag. I am a big fan of left 4 dead and valve but the xbox360 version of l4d2 seems broken. Is there a problem with the servers in general? :-(