memory usage question

[xenon8]

Is it possible to allow Civ to consume more memory?

I have noticed a serious slowdown in perfromance of the game as I go into the future.

the memory usage is usually around 1.3Gb, I am seeing high number page faults and I have more memory available.

further, I know it is a 32 bit application but is it high address space aware? so can it up to 4GBs of memory?

 

[timtofly]

What is your current system diag? The game will slow down even on systems with 16 GB of RAMM. There is nothing that you can really do to change how the Civ5 software itself accesses memory though.

With the info you give, it is hard to tell though why you are getting page faults. The game is notorious for corrupted files, if the OS is relying heavily on a swap file, instead of using the higher memory itself, but that is an OS issue and not the game.

 

[xenon8]

hi timtofly,

thanks for getting back to me. maybe I should have re-phased my question.

My system currently has 4GB of RAM and a mid range graphics card, I am wondering if it is worth buying more memory (cheap) or having to purchase a very good graphics card (expensive).

Windows 7 has a different Memory management system to Windows XP (better but very complex) and I am wondering if memory that is seen as "available" it is not being used by the game. - This could be a OS or game issue. As my system has, when playing the game, 0 Free memory but 1GB in available but I am seeing a very large amount of page faults.

IE if I up the memory to 8GB would be worth it if the game still uses 1.3GB and page faults? I respect the fact that game would limit itself to 2GB/4GB (if it is allowed to use higher address space) as it is a 32 bit process.

 

[timtofly]

Unless you are running a 64 Bit OS, having more than 4 GB of RAMM will not make a difference. Both XP and 7 can come in 32 bit and 64 bit. A 64 bit OS will handle more memory and will also run 32 bit programs just fine in the memory it controls. I am pretty sure that Civ5 will take advantage of a 64 bit OS and will run smoother than if it was just running in a 32 bit system.

You have not said if your OS is 32 or 64, so it is hard to answer your question.

 

[xenon8]

TimToFly: my machine is a 64bit operating system. I am sorry that I did not mention this before.

Have you seen CivV use more than 1.3GBs of memory? Or more than 3GBs of memory?

 

[timtofly]

I have never checked to be honest. If you have a single 4GB DIMM, then I would advise to add another one, and try putting the new one where the old one was. Depending on your system board, it may work better in pairs. I would say that if you have a 64 bit system only using 4 GB is a bottle neck.