More RAM

[Guest]

Hi Guys,Would an increase in RAM boost my performance?I currently have 328 and I want an extra 512.Thank you.

[Guest]

yes up it to 512ddr if u can and update your video card....

[Guest jase439]

This is true if you're running Windows 2000 or XP. If you're running Windows 98 or ME, I would strongly caution you AGAINST anything > 512MB.512MB seems to be more than sufficient on my box as FS will typically gobble up around 300-350MB.

[Guest]

Doesn't Win98 only recognise 128 anyway?http://www.flightsimnetwork.com/westcoastair/sig.jpghttp://www.flightsimnetwork.com/westcoastair

[Guest]

I run 3 bars of 512 DDR, (1.5 gig) on XP, this means I can run every thing on full setting with no frame rate issues at all, even with lago mesh terrain and add on scenery installed.But is it worth it, NO! spend your money on a better CPU or MOBO, even get a better Grafic's card, memory works like this, once you reach about 516 in XP, the more you add the less you can see for your money! unless like me you need to run other programs in the back ground.Happy shopping

[Guest gasebah]

Do not go over 512MB even with XP. XP can handle more RAM but if you have 4-way overleave enabled the RAM gets excessively accessed especially by FS2002. The result is that it will get awefully hot and will make more problems than it does good. In order to let the rig run stable you have to slow down memory timings in a way that actually slows down the computer. I have been through it and I went back from 1024 MB to 512 MB. BTW the explanation I gave is not from myself and my surely limited knowledge but from a friend of mine who is with AMD.Alex

[Guest]

Thank you guys for your reply..... :-beerchug

[Guest russell]

I think one point that's been overlooked is whether or not you need extra ram. The thing to do is to find out how much free memory you have, with all of your normal programs running. If you have *any* free ram, then you don't need any more. It's as simple as that. It doesn't matter if you have 1 MB free, or 1000 MB free, your computer won't run any faster if it's not using all that extra ram. But if your computer is out of memory, it starts using your hard drive as though it were ram (swapping), and that's when things get slow, because your hard drive is *much* slower than ram. This is when you start hearing your hard drive grinding away every time you open a window, or click with the mouse, or whatever, because it's swapping all that memory back and forth between your ram and your hard drive.The main thing that controls how much ram you need is the number of programs running at the same time. The more programs running, the more ram you'll need. And FS2002 uses a lot of it, and seems to use more the longer you keep it running, especially if you're flying around different areas, and it's loading different scenery files.So start up all your normal programs while you're flying, and then check your free memory. If you're running XP or 2000, press ctrl-alt-del and open the Task Manager, and then change to the Performance tab. The "Total Physical Memory" is how much you have, and the "Total Commit Charge" is how much you're using. The "Available Physical Memory" is how much you have free, and that's the one that you want to watch.In Win9x or ME, go to Start / Programs / Accessories / System Tools / System Monitor, and add a new item for "Memory Manager" / "Free Memory". If you don't have the System Monitor installed, go to Control Panel / Add Remove Programs / Windows Components (or whatever it's called), and install it from the CD -- I think it's listed under System Tools in that Windows Components window.My guess is that your 328 MB might be just fine as long as you don't have a lot of other programs running, but you can check it and see.But as to whether it's going to increase your frame rate, that completely depends on one simple thing: whether or not you're swapping. If you're not swapping, then adding more memory won't help at all. The main thing that helps frame rate is your system CPU. A good graphics card will help make it look good, but as a lot of people are saying now, there's not that much difference in frame rates even with the best video cards.And just the opposite seems to be true for the video cards. FS2002 doesn't seem to care so much about the speed of the CPU on the video card, but it wants lots of memory on the video card. So you may be better off getting a GeForce-3 with 128MB video ram, than a GeForce-4 with 64MB of video ram, because the game will take advantage of that extra video ram, but most likely won't run much faster even though the video cpu is faster. (notice here that I'm talking about video cpu and video memory, which is on the card itself -- not the same as the system cpu and system memory on the motherboard)Hope that helps...Russell

[Guest christian]

To add to that,I have a 128MB geforce 4, and only 256MB system RAM. FS2002 runs perfectly fine (with 40m mesh!).Cheers, Christian

[golfbravo 0]

I currently use 128MB of RAM (but not all of my settings are maxed). However, I still get choppy frame rates after about an hour or so of flying (depending on what plane I use). I can't use the Cessna 421 at all, and the POSKY crj's get an average of about 8fps :-/. Would upgrading to 384MB or 512MB help this much? I can't afford a new video card, and from what I've heard, the video card I have (GeForce 2 32MB) is quite adequate. I also run a Pentium 4 WinME 1.5GHz processor. Any suggestions?George

[Guest russell]

golfbravo...If you only have 128 MB of ram, you're almost certainly swapping to the hard drive, and that's probably why you get choppy frame rates after an hour or so, because the swapping gets worse over time, as FS2002 uses more and more ram. The best thing to do is to check how much ram you're actually using, and how much you have free (if you have any free at all), using my directions above. You can also do the same check to see how much you're swapping, to get an idea of how much ram you need to add. Upgrading to 256 would certainly help get you out of the swapping problem, although I found that when I only had 256, I often went over because of other programs I had running at the same time. I had to shut down everything else, and reboot the machine, to stay under the 256 limit, and even then I'd eventually go over if I ran FS2002 for a long time. 384 would probably do the trick and 512 would certainly do it, but might be overkill, especially if you don't tend to run tons of programs at the same time.Your GeForce2 will do fine for the moment, and your 1.5 GHz CPU will be the biggest contributor to your framerates. Yes, I'd upgrade to at least 256 MB of ram, 384 if you can afford it, and you'll probably notice a big improvement in your whole system, not just FS2002, because you'll stop swapping.Russell

[golfbravo 0]

Russell, thank you so much for your help. I have indeed noticed the grinding noise associated with 'swapping' every time I use FS and wondered if the computer's fan was vibrating or something. I'll try the directions you suggested, although it sounds to me like I just need to upgrade my RAM. :) Thank heaven for Best Buy!!! I'll see what happens.George