How much is enough RAM?

[The Beastmaster]

I'm looking for some conversation and maybe some answers being that:
Civ 4 has been out a while now... and after scrolling through the threads, etc, I am still left with wondering, "How much is enough RAM?"

Does 1 GB of RAM really cut it, if you aren't playing on the largest maps and use a mid-grade 256 MB video card? Or is 512 enough, etc.



What have been your experiences?

 

[Zanmato]

With my current spec, my computer can handle Large maps with 7-9 other Civs on it without any problem. I haven't tried Huge maps or 18 Civs on a map but from a few of the other threads I have seen you need more than 1Gb to play Huge maps with alot of Civs on it as some others have experienced CTDs or it runs too slowly with 1Gb of RAM. I can't see it needing more then 1.5Gb RAM in any case. It's still way too much imho anyway.

 

[Snerk]

I've got 2 gig RAM and i still get a slow-down in late game on big maps. Havent tried a huge map after the patch but i suspect its the same.

 

[vilemerchant]

I just upgraded to 1gb of ram from 512 and it's like a completely different game. 1000% better performance. Can even alt-tab to the desktop and back instantly. For anyone that hasn't done it yet make it a priority as ram is dirty cheap atm

 

[football751]

Yah, same here. I upgraded from 512 to 1024 and it is way different. Circuit City (here in the US) has 512MB DDR400 desktop memory for $20 after rebates. You end up paying about $25 after tax, but $50 for 1GB of RAM is a great deal.

Now I just need to get the money to get an FX5500 to replace my MX4000.

 

[The Beastmaster]

Anyone else?

 

[crunch]

I have 512 MB RAM, my colleague has 1,5GB, but otherwise our computers are identical. The performance is not much better on his machine, but I guess memory is not the bottleneck on our systems (1.4GHz Centrino, Intel integrated graphics).

 

[The Beastmaster]

Or how much of it is the page size, cache, memory on the video card, etc. ??

 

[jimmiedee65]

Wow, i've been playing with 256 ram wondering what's wrong with my comp.
wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo *enlightenment*

thankyou for this thread.

How does RAM work, can you use 2 256 RAM chips to make 512 or do you have to buy the full 512?
i'm pretty useless at computers and stuff, i just click the button and hope the barbarians die. :-|

 

[malclave]

How does RAM work, can you use 2 256 RAM chips to make 512 or do you have to buy the full 512?

You can use two 256 MB to make 512. However, you'll want to know more about your computer before buying RAM... what kind of RAM you need, how many slots for RAM you have on your motherboard and how they're filled.

For example, when I bought my current computer, it came with 512 MB of RAM. The user manual told me what kind of RAM I needed to use and that I had two slots for RAM, but I had to open up and look to see that I had one 512 MB chip installed... which was a bonus for me, since I figured I'd probably gotten two 256 MB from the manufacturer.

 

[spider_hip]

I just upgraded to 1gb of ram from 512 and it's like a completely different game. 1000% better performance. Can even alt-tab to the desktop and back instantly. For anyone that hasn't done it yet make it a priority as ram is dirty cheap atm

+1 I completely agrre with vilemerchant . I lived the same things too..

And also I think Fraxis should change its system reqs. info.. I cannat talk about min reqs. Bet on recommended req. It should be 1gb rather than 512mb ram..

 

[jimmiedee65]

thanks malclave, how many different types of RAM are there?

 

[malclave]

I'm not really an expert... I think probably 3-4 types of RAM for the types of PCs operating today, and IIRC there are different speeds for each type.

 

[dlordmagic]

I have a 1 Gig of Ram and about 3 gigs of virtual Ram. I'm able to handle the Godsize map which is about 50000 plots of map squares. Dont know how it handles in the late game yet.

 

[Zanmato]

There is mainly 3 types of RAM in common use, DDR, DDR2 and SDRAM. Check your motherboard manual as this will tell you what type of RAM you need and what frequency it can operate at. Common speeds are usually 233, 333, 400, 533 and 667Mhz, this linked to the overall speed of the CPU. I don't think there is any harm in putting RAM that is capable of a faster clock speed then your motherboard can deliver, but I don't think it works the other way round correctly. Maybe someone will correct me if that is not the case.

 

[jimbob27]

Of course, it can be better value to remove whatever ram you have in there, and totally replace it with something better. Ram is so cheap these days, if you've got 2 ram slots and a single 256mb stick, it's probably better to replace the 256mb with 2 512 (or 1gb) sticks.

 

[DigitalD]

first played with 1GB... but in late games on "huge" maps the turn times really grows up to 60secs, now got 2GB - less crashes and a bit faster interface and turn time

233 mhz ram? never heard i thing u mean 266 mhz

the ram usage denpens on the mapsize and units/citysize-count
so if u only play small maps 2GB dont give an advantage

 

[Doom Train]

Playing standart maps with 512 ram(Medium quility settings). It runs fine.

 

[Comraddict]

1GB is enough. Late in game - it is more of a graphics and CPU issue than memory.

 

[Rockfang]

Wow, i've been playing with 256 ram wondering what's wrong with my comp.
wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo *enlightenment*

thankyou for this thread.

How does RAM work, can you use 2 256 RAM chips to make 512 or do you have to buy the full 512?
i'm pretty useless at computers and stuff, i just click the button and hope the barbarians die. :-|

Hi,

If you go to website for a company called "Crucial", they have a tool there that will scan your computer and tell you what type of RAM you need. They also report how much you currently have in your computer and the max amount you can put in. If you want to buy from them too (you don't have to) they have buttons you can push to automatically buy the right ones. This tool helped out a lot with my laptop. Hope it helps you.