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DethAdder
DethAdder
Join Date 02/2004
+73

A Question of RAM

September 30, 2006 11:58:14 PM from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
I had a question bout more RAM , verses faster Ram . My Asus A7V8X-X can have up to 2GB of PC-2100, or 1GB of PC-2700, or 512 MB of PC-3200. I was wondering which option is best. Right now I have 512 and have to turn a lot of graphics settings down to play huge or gigantic maps in GCII. I was thinking of just going middle of the road til I get another motherboard. Any insights? Many Thanks.  
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DethAdder
Moosetek13
Join Date 03/2006
+48
Reply #1 October 1, 2006 1:21:07 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Sounds like a video card upgrade may be in order, as much or more so than ram.

Given the choices your mb supports, I would probably go for the 2GB of PC-2100.
It may be slower ram, but it is still much faster than paging to and from a hard drive. And this game, especially on the larger maps, gets well above 1GB in usage.
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DethAdder
DethAdder
Join Date 02/2004
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Reply #2 October 1, 2006 1:51:08 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Thanks for the reply. I've actually got a better vidoe card on the way. Be here Tuesday . I can't wait.    I was thinking the same on the ram. seems more is always better.
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DethAdder
Drengin
Join Date 09/2003
+17
Reply #3 October 1, 2006 2:44:24 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
A bigger video card may not be the answer here. I am currently running a GeForce 6600 which should handle the game with ease, however on gigantic maps i still get the slowdown issue. This i worked out was to do with the age of my processor and the fact that i only have 1.2Gb of memory, which still causes the game to use the page file to a large degree and slows doen the game. I too have mor memory winging its way to me soon
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DethAdder
Moosetek13
Join Date 03/2006
+48
Reply #4 October 1, 2006 3:56:18 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Well, I have 3GB of ram and I still see slow downs with the larger maps.
And I have an Evga Nvidia 6800 GS SE CO, which is nearly the fastest in the 6800 series (and much faster than any 6600).

And I am running on a Pentium D 2.8Ghz.

Video card.

It would take a top of the line video card to run the game much faster.
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DethAdder
luckyirishguy25
Join Date 07/2006
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Reply #5 October 1, 2006 10:26:47 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
I run an Amd 64 live 2.2 ghz dual processors, with 4.0GB of pc3200 daul channel,
and Nvida 6100 with 512mb of video ram... game runs smooth never slows or crashes.
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DethAdder
eride
Join Date 02/2006
+39
Reply #6 October 1, 2006 1:13:39 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
I am running a 3.4 ghz P4 Duel Core Processor, 2 GB of 800 mhz DDR2 Ram, and a 6800 Ultra, I can play gigantic maps with zero slow down.
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DethAdder
Magnumaniac
Join Date 02/2004
+18
Reply #7 October 1, 2006 1:55:32 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
All RAM is not equal...

Always check out the CAS values for the RAM you are buying - most "value" options will be CAS 5-x-x-x. The first of the 4 numbers is the most important, as that is the number of clock cycles (at the specified RAM speed) that it takes to get the first bit moving in each request. You want to be getting CAS 2-x-x-x in whatever speed RAM you buy.

PC2100 is 133Mhz or 7.5 nano-seconds per clock cycle
PC2700 is 166Mhz or 6ns
PC3200 is 200Mhz or 5ns

Multiply the time per cycle by the CAS latency number to get the total time before your information is moving for each request, and you can easily see that it can be a big difference between CAS2 and 5 - especially if using PC2100.

I would check with ASUS tech support, but I think the A7V8X can support 1Gb of PC3200 if it's a single module, or 2Gb of PC2700 in 1Gb modules - in which case, the 2Gb low CAS PC2700 is the way to go.
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luckyirishguy25
Join Date 07/2006
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Reply #8 October 1, 2006 2:17:42 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
great info Magnumaniac.
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DethAdder
DethAdder
Join Date 02/2004
+73
Reply #9 October 1, 2006 2:30:02 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Thanks Magnumaniac.
I remember the manual saying something about the the single or dual module memory,(can't find the man. at the moment) so I'll definately check that out. Would be awesome if it could handle more high speed RAM. Trying to get this mobo and Processor(XP 3000)to make it to early next year before I do the major upgrade. I can see GCII needs high end resources to run at peak performance, but I'm also pushing my current hardware pretty hard with it running at 2560x1024 across two monitors.
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DethAdder
CraigHB
Join Date 06/2006
+12
Reply #10 October 1, 2006 4:15:43 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Motherboards are cheap. You'll spend less on a good motherboard than a set of memory modules. Dual channel memory provides a 20% increase in memory throughput. You want a motherboard supporting that first. Then get a good set of matched modules. Buy name brand memory like Corsair, Mushkin, etc. You don't need to waste money on a huge amount of memory. I'm running 1GB total with no problems. That's probably a little low. 2GB should be fine if it's within your price range.

BIOS settings can make a big difference in memory performance. Use a benchmark like Sandra to check it. Verify your BIOS settings are running at the memory manufacturer's tolerance. Often, default settings are much lower. They do that for compatability reasons. Don't go over tolerance. Memory problems are nasty and it's not worth the small improvement you'll get. Use a memory burn test like MemTest to verify your memory is healthy.

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