How much RAM can W98SE use?

[Guest]

After updating my CPU, I'm now thinking of 768 megs of RAM (256x3) PC-133 CAS 2 for my ABIT BM6 based system.I tried to find on the Microsoft site for W98SE any reference to how much ram the OS will identify and actually use. I know that there is general opinion that W98SE can only 'see' up to 512, but I have never seen that in hard data.So...the question is: Can you use up to 768 megs of RAM with this OS?ThanksMitch R.

[Guest flightpro08]

If memory serves me right, Windows 98/98SE and Windows ME can only handle up to 512MB of RAM.Ryan-Flightpro08 :-cool VATSIM Pilot/ControllerZLA ARTCC Senior Controller (C-3)ASRC (Advanced Simulated Radar Client) Beta Tester-----------------------------My "Home Made" System Specs:Intel Pentium 4 2.2GHz ProcessorTurbo Gamer ATX Mid-Tower with 420W Power SupplyEPoX 4G4A Motherboard with Intel 845G ChipsetVisiontek XTASY GeForce4 128MB Ti4600 (Det 42.01 Drivers)512MB PC2100 DDR RAM40GB Matrox 7200RPM Hard DriveWindows XP Home Edition SP1*No CPU or GPU Overclocking*3dMark2001SE Score: 11298-----------------------------Click Here to Download my American Eagle POSKY CRJ-200!

[Guest rogue1]

I thought it was 256mb. But anyhow, 256 or 512, over that you are just putting money in a hole. You won't see any performance improvements.

[Guest PaulL01]

Mitch,Win98 can use up to 1.5gigs of ram, however there are some changes that need to made to the maxfileVcachesize of the system.ini file.I cant give you the MS link right now, but it should be easy enough to find through a search. >Vcache

[Cruachan 705]

Hi Mitch,If you are only thinking of this in relation to the needs of FS2k2 then 512MB is all you need to be comfortable and still have headroom to spare. I know, I was there ;) Save your money!Regards,Mike :-wave

[Guest abent]

I use WinMe. I just did an upgrade (new mobo, P4, TI4200) and I previously had 786MB PC-133 Micron ram. I now have 512DDR and I can tell you that it is NOT enough ram, on my system, for FS2K2 when you also run RadarContact v.3 and ActiveSkywxRE. I use FreeRam to monitor ram useage and I frequently run out of ram (down to 0 MB) causing stuttering and sound problems. My old system never ran out of ram. I'm buying a 256MB stick of DDR333 tomorrow. Thanks to the poster who referred to the Vcache. If need be, I will look into this.FreeRam also allows "cache tuning" . I really think more ram is going to help me out. Hopefully it will you too.Adam

[Guest Kurt]

A couple of links to get you started, several more articles at MS listed.http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/ar...s/Q253/9/12.ASPhttp://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/ar...s/Q304/9/43.ASPKurt M

[W2DR 1,859]

Mitch - Yes, you can. The theoretical stability limit is 1GB but the practical limit is 768MB with some allowance for cache difficulties. See http://www.aumha.org/a/memmgmt.htm for the definitive word on Win98 memory management. While it is possible to run with more than 512MB the actual effect with FS2002 is nil. You won't see any difference in performance beyond what you have now.Doug

[N562Z 4]

Hi Everyone:I have 640 MB SDRAM at 133MHz presently on my 1 GHz Windows 98SE OS and things seem to be running fine, including FS 2002. I have been toying with replacing that 128 MB stick with another 256MB to the point where I have purchased it already. The problem was the system did not seem to want to run with 768MB and would crash intermittently on reboot. It is interesting to read about the MaxCacheSize settings entry in the sytem.ini file, and the technical explainations seem to make sense as well. I'll experiment with that setting a bit and get back to you if I notice any improvements or experience any problems. Gonna try 768 once more with the updated limitations on the VCache.Alex ChristoffN562ZMinneapolis, MNThermobulb@aol.com

[Guest abent]

Hi DougMaybe I am interpreting things incorrectly. Though I did not have problems before running 786MB and I do now with 512. I have been attributing the problems I've had to being out of RAM. FreeRam says 0 MB. I certainly would not expect to see better performance in FPS or visuals, but is it possible that the extra ram will reduce the liklihood of the stuttering and HDD access problems? What do you think?Thanks, Adam

[W2DR 1,859]

It's hard to say, for sure, Adam. When I was running Win98SE I found very few situations where the physical memory utilization exceeded 512MB. In fact, with the default aircraft and scenery I could fly for hours and never use the swapfile at all - everything was resident within the 512MB of physical memory. When flying with 38-meter mesh, a complex aircraft like the DF737 or PSS A320, and dense scenery like World Airports, the memory requirement would occasionally exceed 512MB but, even with that "heavy" stuff it wasn't all that often. For the default scenery with default aircraft 384MB works fine with Win98SE. But, yes, if you are in fact, running out of physical memory you'll start to get the stutters and pausing from the accesses to the swapfile on the HDD. I'm not familiar with FreeRam but have you tried checking the memory being used with the Win98SE System Monitor? A "second opinion" wouldn't hurt just to be sure that you are, in fact, using more than 512MB. And if you do, indeed, exceed 512MB often then, yes, adding back the extra memory (and making the vcache adjustments needed) should eliminate all the stuttering from the HDD accesses.Doug