Game Crash due to lack of memory

[SammyBusby]

Ive been playing a game on my PC called STALKER: Call of Pripyat. Ive played the previous 2 games on this very computer with no problems. However this one is giving me fits!! Anyways Ive posted my crash to desktop problems on the games Forum where I was advised how to find the logs of the crash. I posted them as requested. I was informed that I needed more RAM. I had 1.5GB RAM and the game only requires 768MB. I broke down and bought a stick of Rendition 1GB DDR2 PC2-5300. I installed it along with what was already in my computer and..... you guessed it. Still crashes randomly. It works a little better since I took out the 512MB Stick but its still crashing. What can I do to free up memory in Vista?? Something thats easy. And if you happen to have some DDR2 PC2-5300 your not using or dont need, let me know. Here are my specs.

AMD Ahtlon 64 3800+ (I know. Im working on saving for an upgrade)
Motherboad is some type of ACER
160GB SATA HDD
ASUS Geforce 9800GT 512MB
Windows VISTA (Which Im starting to hate)

 

[Scotteq]

768 is the bare minimum for the game - if/when you turn up detail the game takes a LOT more. Modern games can use 2GB, 3GB and sometimes more if the OS supports it (64bit). And don't forget that your operating system *also* requires a certain amount of memory itself.

In short: You are getting a low memory error because you don't have enough RAM for what you're trying to do. Short of spending more money, turning game detail down is the most straightforward approach. Less Textures to Load = Less Memory Usage.

 

[SammyBusby]

768 is the bare minimum for the game - if/when you turn up detail the game takes a LOT more. Modern games can use 2GB, 3GB and sometimes more if the OS supports it (64bit). And don't forget that your operating system *also* requires a certain amount of memory itself.

In short: You are getting a low memory error because you don't have enough RAM for what you're trying to do. Short of spending more money, turning game detail down is the most straightforward approach. Less Textures to Load = Less Memory Usage.

Thanks for the reply. I have the settings turned way down. That was one of the first things that I did. Sometimes the game will run fine for an hour or three, sometimes only a few minutes. Its definately aggravating to say the least. What else can I do to free up more RAM within Vista? I know closing background programs through the Task Manager but do you know anything else I can try short of Upgrading right now??

Also, I only have one profile for Vista but in the Task manager when Im closing said background programs, when I click the box that says show proccesses for all users, the processes double. One process in particular is using alot of memory. SVHOST(?) I think its called or something very similar. What programs in that are system required that I cant close out?

 

[SammyBusby]

Best answer selected by SammyBusby.