RAM Upgrade causes CIV to Lag

[frisbee]

I just upgraded my (new) Thinkpad T420 from 2GB-->8GB of RAM. The game ran well before the upgrade, but now it gets laggy after about 2minutes, and the CPU fan kicks into overdrive. If I minimize the game (eg: open Firefox), things return to normal, which makes me wonder if there is some problem with the graphics chip using the new oodles of memory??

Anyone have any thoughts on why a simple RAM upgrade (the only change) would cause this? I posted this question on a Thinkpad forum also.

I've run a bunch of tests that appear to rule out a problem with the memory sticks (memtest86+, etc). Additionally, this problem hasn't manifested itself with other programs.

Specs:
Thinkpad T420
Intel HD3000 GPU
Intel i5-2510M CPU
8GB Ram DDR-1333
Windows 7 64-bit

I'm basically ready to downgrade back to 2GB (probably try one DIMM of 4GB also).

Thanks in advance - Frisbee

 

[frisbee]

Let me ask another question:

Is there anyone running CIV4 on a Sandybridge Laptop with an HD3000 GPU? If so, do you have good performance?

I've tested a bunch of different RAM configurations. Basically my CPU runs 25-30% on a standard map / low graphic settings with 8GB, and 15-20% with 2GB.

I'm tried running in Win7 native & XP compatibility mode, but couldn't detect a difference.

 

[mintegar]

Try limiting the framerate in the config file.

 

[frisbee]

Try limiting the framerate in the config file.

I'm not sure how to do that - I found some setting in the Civilization.ini file, but I'd appreciate if you can point me to the specifics.

Thanks in advance-Frisbee


***************************************************

; Disable PAK memory mapping (May affect performance)
DisablePAKMemoryMapping = 0

; Don't skip frames if falling behind
BinkNoSkip = 1

; Copy entire image each frame, not just dirty pixels
BinkCopyAll = 1

; Show movies using hi-color, not true-color (may be faster)
Bink16Bit = 0

; Copy ever other scanline during movie playback (faster)
BinkInterlace = 0

; Specify whether to play in fullscreen mode 0/1/ask
FullScreen = 1

; Set max frame rate clamp (0 means none)
SetMaxFrameRate = 0

; Set to 1 to put PitBoss to sleep when no players are connected
PitBossSleep = 1

; Set to 1 to page units out when non-visible
DynamicUnitPaging = 1

; Set to 1 to page unit anims out when the unit is non visible
DynamicAnimPaging = 1

; Set to 1 for no on-screen event messages
NoEventMessages = 0

; Set to 1 for no tech splash screens
NoTechSplash = 0

; Set to 1 for no intro movie
NoIntroMovie = 0

; Set to 1 for no python exception popups
HidePythonExceptions = 1

 

[mintegar]

; Set max frame rate clamp (0 means none)
SetMaxFrameRate = 0

Look more carefully

Also make sure you editing the right config file. As there is one for vanilla, one for BTS.. You can test if you have the correct file by editing a setting where you very easily see the result (i.e. the Fullscreen 0/1 setting).