How much does 4GB help?

Craig1287 · 11-21-2011, 10:36 PM

I have heard about the modded exe that allows the game to used 4GB of RAM, how much of a performance boost are people getting with it?

DIENER · 11-21-2011, 10:38 PM

I don't know about performance but it stops the game from crashing for unknown reasons.

SiberianPenguin · 11-21-2011, 10:43 PM

RAM lets the game memorize data without needing to dig inside the files and load whatever is needed on the spot. Letting the game memorize twice as much data as the game normally allows it to is huge.

Craig1287 · 11-21-2011, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SiberianPenguin

RAM lets the game memorize data without needing to dig inside the files and load whatever is needed on the spot. Letting the game memorize twice as much data as the game normally allows it to is huge.

Yea... I know what RAM does. I was asking if it made a significant difference in performance. I am at work right now and figured I would find out if it was worth it to do when I get back home. If it only results in roughly one frame per second for most people, then I would pass.

So again, what kind of performance boost are people getting?

Craig1287 · 11-21-2011, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DIENER

I don't know about performance but it stops the game from crashing for unknown reasons.

Ah, well my game has yet to crash, so I guess I'll pass and just go straight into playing it as I have been.

Kimori · 11-21-2011, 10:52 PM

Thr 4GB patch doesn't really speed things up, but it DOES prevent Skyrim from crashing when it loads more than 2GB of data into memory.

Espionage724 · 11-21-2011, 10:54 PM

- Skyrim can use 2GB of RAM total unpatched
- Skyrim (for me) uses 800MB system RAM and 500MB video RAM
- the VRAM is copied into system RAM for DX9 apps
- 800+(500*2)=1800MB or around 1.75GB
- Skyrim has a good chance of using a lot more then 500MB of VRAM (I run without AA or AF @ 1024x768 resolution with lowest Shadows)
- When 2GB limit is reached, either additional textures can't be put into VRAM which then leads to purple textures, or the game will just simply crash

(i could be wrong though, but I'm pretty sure that's all correct

)

Craig1287 · 11-21-2011, 10:56 PM

Ok. Well thanks for the posts. As my game has yet to crash and I have 40 hours into it, I think I'm good without it, or at least till some texture mods start coming out.

Arthur Sellers · 11-21-2011, 11:22 PM

I suspect that very few (if any) people will see any difference at all with an LAA binary unless they've modified the ini entries that determine the count of distant grids to load.

Edited to add that - from my experiences with e.g. Quarl's for Oblivion - the texture mods will hit your GPU's memory, not system RAM, so even when the mods do start to happen you will need to pay more attention to your graphics card than anything else.

There are applications out there that will track another application's usage of system RAM over time. If at some point in the future you get periodic (by which I mean consistently after N minutes of time playing) CTDs, you can empirically verify that the issue is an out-of-memory one (or that it isn't), and proceed accordingly.

BenKYS · 11-21-2011, 11:27 PM

Mine was crashing every 30 minutes to an hour or so because of the 2GB limit before, this was on Ultra settings and I have a more than capable PC with a gtx 590, i7 920, and 8GB of RAM.

After I used the LAA program my Skyrim never crashes anymore, and now I installed a bunch of HD textures and such and it's stable as a rock thanks to LAA.

voidster · 11-21-2011, 11:33 PM

you could simply use the original exe (modded with the LAA) and disable updates, OR..just simply turn the graphics settings down a notch and wait for a good working 3gb loader to come out. Thats the old school method i believe.

i really wish they would stop calling them 4gb loaders though, correct me here if im wrong but, a 32 bit app cannot exceed 3gb of mem access no matter what you throw at it or change. It would have to be 64 bit to access 4gb and if you have that option, there is no reason to use a loader in the first place.

would have been nice for the publisher/devs to simply make a x64 version. Heck ive got an INDY game that gave the users both versions of the exe, why couldnt a major developer do it? Just silly if you ask me.

Kimori · 11-21-2011, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by voidster

i really wish they would stop calling them 4gb loaders though, correct me here if im wrong but, a 32 bit app cannot exceed 3gb of mem access no matter what you throw at it or change. It would have to be 64 bit to access 4gb and if you have that option, there is no reason to use a loader in the first place.

3gb is the cap on memory space available to programs on 32 bit editions of consumer-grade Windows. The OS reserves the last gigabyte of address space for itself.

On 64 bit systems, the OS can give each 32 bit program a full 4GB playground to run around in, because the address space it holds for itself is waaaaaaaaaay out beyond that limit.

Lord Mordeth · 11-22-2011, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig1287

Ah, well my game has yet to crash, so I guess I'll pass and just go straight into playing it as I have been.

Yeah, have yet to crash myself.. but then again only played about 14 hours thus far, so guess i'll looking into this if/when the game starts crashing on me or summin.

Kimori · 11-22-2011, 12:14 AM

My most common crashes pre-LAA tweak were during Imperial Legion missions to assault forts. (These missions constantly respawn a zillion Imperials and Stormcloaks all at once and have you fight it out until X stormcloaks actually die.)

HUGE number of NPCs all in combat, doing combat processing... Yeah. After LAA, the huge fights no longer CTD'ed me.

-Veritas · 11-22-2011, 12:22 AM

I was using LAA before the patch and I could have sworn it made my game run better. I've been playing it since the patch without it and honestly can't tell the difference. Not saying this is the case for everyone, but I'm pretty sure in my case the apparent performance gain LAA gave me was a placebo effect.

11-21-2011, 10:36 PM	#1
Craig1287 Join Date: Jan 2009 Reputation: 83 Posts: 140	How much does 4GB help? I have heard about the modded exe that allows the game to used 4GB of RAM, how much of a performance boost are people getting with it?

11-21-2011, 11:22 PM	#9
Arthur Sellers Join Date: Oct 2010 Reputation: 0 Posts: 6	I suspect that very few (if any) people will see any difference at all with an LAA binary unless they've modified the ini entries that determine the count of distant grids to load. Edited to add that - from my experiences with e.g. Quarl's for Oblivion - the texture mods will hit your GPU's memory, not system RAM, so even when the mods do start to happen you will need to pay more attention to your graphics card than anything else. There are applications out there that will track another application's usage of system RAM over time. If at some point in the future you get periodic (by which I mean consistently after N minutes of time playing) CTDs, you can empirically verify that the issue is an out-of-memory one (or that it isn't), and proceed accordingly. Last edited by Arthur Sellers: 11-21-2011 at 11:31 PM.

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11-21-2011, 10:38 PM	#2
DIENER Join Date: Mar 2010 Reputation: 776 Posts: 3,269	I don't know about performance but it stops the game from crashing for unknown reasons.

11-21-2011, 10:43 PM	#3
SiberianPenguin Join Date: Sep 2006 Reputation: 366 Posts: 3,309	RAM lets the game memorize data without needing to dig inside the files and load whatever is needed on the spot. Letting the game memorize twice as much data as the game normally allows it to is huge.

11-21-2011, 10:52 PM	#6
Kimori Join Date: Oct 2009 Reputation: 9 Posts: 139	Thr 4GB patch doesn't really speed things up, but it DOES prevent Skyrim from crashing when it loads more than 2GB of data into memory.

11-21-2011, 10:54 PM	#7
Espionage724 Join Date: Jul 2008 Reputation: 11 Posts: 368	- Skyrim can use 2GB of RAM total unpatched - Skyrim (for me) uses 800MB system RAM and 500MB video RAM - the VRAM is copied into system RAM for DX9 apps - 800+(500*2)=1800MB or around 1.75GB - Skyrim has a good chance of using a lot more then 500MB of VRAM (I run without AA or AF @ 1024x768 resolution with lowest Shadows) - When 2GB limit is reached, either additional textures can't be put into VRAM which then leads to purple textures, or the game will just simply crash (i could be wrong though, but I'm pretty sure that's all correct )

11-21-2011, 10:56 PM	#8
Craig1287 Join Date: Jan 2009 Reputation: 83 Posts: 140	Ok. Well thanks for the posts. As my game has yet to crash and I have 40 hours into it, I think I'm good without it, or at least till some texture mods start coming out.

11-21-2011, 11:27 PM	#10
BenKYS Join Date: Apr 2009 Reputation: 24 Posts: 624	Mine was crashing every 30 minutes to an hour or so because of the 2GB limit before, this was on Ultra settings and I have a more than capable PC with a gtx 590, i7 920, and 8GB of RAM. After I used the LAA program my Skyrim never crashes anymore, and now I installed a bunch of HD textures and such and it's stable as a rock thanks to LAA.

11-21-2011, 11:33 PM	#11
voidster Join Date: Jul 2011 Reputation: 21 Posts: 59	you could simply use the original exe (modded with the LAA) and disable updates, OR..just simply turn the graphics settings down a notch and wait for a good working 3gb loader to come out. Thats the old school method i believe. i really wish they would stop calling them 4gb loaders though, correct me here if im wrong but, a 32 bit app cannot exceed 3gb of mem access no matter what you throw at it or change. It would have to be 64 bit to access 4gb and if you have that option, there is no reason to use a loader in the first place. would have been nice for the publisher/devs to simply make a x64 version. Heck ive got an INDY game that gave the users both versions of the exe, why couldnt a major developer do it? Just silly if you ask me.

11-22-2011, 12:14 AM	#14
Kimori Join Date: Oct 2009 Reputation: 9 Posts: 139	My most common crashes pre-LAA tweak were during Imperial Legion missions to assault forts. (These missions constantly respawn a zillion Imperials and Stormcloaks all at once and have you fight it out until X stormcloaks actually die.) HUGE number of NPCs all in combat, doing combat processing... Yeah. After LAA, the huge fights no longer CTD'ed me.

11-22-2011, 12:22 AM	#15
-Veritas Join Date: Feb 2010 Reputation: 104 Posts: 711	I was using LAA before the patch and I could have sworn it made my game run better. I've been playing it since the patch without it and honestly can't tell the difference. Not saying this is the case for everyone, but I'm pretty sure in my case the apparent performance gain LAA gave me was a placebo effect.