2 gigs

[jagabom 21]

So, I got FS9 loaded with basically all sliders maxed. LDS 767 & ASV running. My 1 gig of ram shows in the task manager as having only 90 megs left. When I change views the HD is running constantly. I guess that is the swap file working as the view loads very slowly. Task manager shows the swap file to be about 600 megs. It's neat. If I leave the task manager open as FS loads, you can see the swap file increase. Never had this swap file usage before. I will be putting in 2 gigs of ram in a month or two. I am getting about 14 FPSat Seattle with full AI and that's fine. I just want that swap file to no do anything and I beleive 2 gigs will do it. 200 bucks Canadian, gone. JimCYWG

[W2DR 1,860]

Jim - More memory is always a good thing. But, before you spend the $200 you may want to look at a couple of things. The PF numbers shown in Task Manager are not what they seem - they actually show the total commit charge, not the actual swapfile useage (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commit_charge ). You're probably not as short on physical memory as it may appear. I've advocated for a while now that most any system running 1GB of RAM can handle most FS9 situations with minimal, or no, swapfile involvement. For example, I just ran a short test flight from KMRY to KSFO in the LDS 767 with AS6 running and with no swapfile at all. The maximum memory used was 660MB. And that's with no shutdown of any Windows tasks and my firewall still running. It's really the Commit Charge numbers in Task Manager that matter. And the Peak number there is the critical value. Unless you have a very large number of other "stuff" running along with FS9 and ASV that number is probably less than 700MB - indicating that there is still some physical memory left to use. There is a neat little utility available from Doug Knox that will tell you exactly how much of the swapfile is actually being used. You can get it here: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_pagefilemon.htm . I think you'll be surprised how little, if any, space is actually occupied on pagefile.sys . Lastly, the final proof-of-the-pudding is to just eliminate the swapfile entirely and then fire up FS9. The task manager will still show a lot of PF use even though there is no pagefile available on the system. That's because XP will always use a "swapfile" - if there is no space allocated on disk, XP it will just place the swapfile data in the physical memory space. But, for sure, everything running will be assigned to the available physical memory thereby eliminating all potential swapfile accesses. Doug

[psolk 3,057]

Hey Doug,I agree but now load up the PMDG 744, UT, ASV6, FsPassengers and a good add-on scenery. Trust me you can easily push FS beyond 1 gig mem usage with all of these new add-ons. Times have changed. I would not disable your PF unless you want a CTD with FS if you go beyond your physical memory. Personally, I run 4 gigs of CL2 as of this Monday, just went from 2-4 for other apps I run...-PaulLiquid CooledAMD 4000 San Diego @2640 (FX-55)4 Gigs Corsair XMS CL2Dual 7800 GTX 24 inch widescreen dual 19 inch LCDRaid-0

[W2DR 1,860]

Yep. I agree with that Paul - you certainly can get past 1GB with a lot of add-ons active at the same time. I was just trying to make the point that it's really risky to rely on the PF useage info from Task Manager without understanding that it's a bit (I think a lot) misleading. And, I normally do run a swapfile. I just disabled it to prove that Jim could, indeed, run with the add-ons mentioned with 66% of his existing physical memory. If that's all he runs then, indeed, more physical memory isn't needed. I really like your system specs BTW. As soon as I get the new house finished I'm looking for something similar. And it'll have 4GB for sure - just because I can... :-) .Doug PS: I'll load up UT and the 744 also and see what happens with some scenery. It'll be an interesting experiment.

[jagabom 21]

Thanks for the replies gentlemen. Maybe the numbers in taskmanager arn't right, but I have never before seen the hard drive light up everytime I switch from from 2D to say any other view. I have read before about not trusting the taskmanager numbers. IE left, right rear. This just by hitting the number pad keys. I do admit that I really don't understand the task manager numbers but I do see them changing so that part means something. I really ppreciate the answers. Also 14 FPS with everything maxed is not bad. This is just at the default Seattle.I also have that AI program that I can't name here as it has caused a lot of problems. It's that PDF one. I should also mention that I have a second window on my second monitor open with spot view full screen. FPS goes up as soon as I takeoff. FPS is not the concern though.You know what the weird part is? I have my HD partisioned in to two drives. The HD for FS takes longer to boot up with nothing turned on then the drive with everything else on it when it boots up. Who knows. JimCYWG