Ram causing stuttering on games/system?

[Guest]

Hello Forum Members!

In desperate need of help. I was wondering how to exactly read the "Windows Task Manager" Under Physical Memory (MB) -What does it mean by "Free" I feel the the system lagging when the its only at about 20 MB left under free. If this an issue?

By mrhamm at 2012-08-30

By mrhamm at 2012-08-30

I play on the Center Monitor only (Windows mode)

Left monitor for webpage(s)

Right monitor: I have Task Manager, GPU-Z, PrecisionX, Vent, Core Temp, CPU-Z running

When I'm playing games and it starts to stutter badly I look over and everything seems to be normal cept the "Free MB" is really low.

Regards

 

[jaquith]

You're not out of 'RAM' until your 'Available' is 0MB, if you have any 'FREE' memory then based upon your Physical Memory you're not being 'bottlenecked.'

However, many games perform better (ideally) with 8GB minimums.

Stuttering can happen for a variety of reasons including maxed vRAM (run FRAPS), bad drivers (try older or beta), background Apps (MSCONFIG disable non-Microsoft Services and Startup items), etc. Assuming it's a vRAM issue then lower your settings e.g. lower AA. Try different clocks on your GPU and instead of EVGA's app try MSI Afterburner. Assuming the GT640 is for PhysX Disable and try the CPU.

Make certain that your RAM isn't throwing errors -- run Memtest86+ overnight.

My first guess are vRAM and the EVGA App so start there.

 

[Guest]

Thank you Jaquith,

I don't think its a vram issues. GPUZ reads less then 700mb Memory used.

The GT640 is only to run the flanking monitor on the side. How do I check to see if its enabled for PhysX?

 

[jaquith]

You need to use FRAPS, GPU-z and similar apps pole every ~1 second, so unless the stuttering is longer than the poling time it might be missed.

Open the nVidia Control panel from the Taskbar (Configure SLI section); PhysX.

I'd try increasing or even decreasing the GPU OC. In the game Enable vSync this prevents 'tearing' which can be confused as 'Stuttering' and retry the 'Games.' /edit - if these are 'online' games then that opens up a whole 'can' of possibilities including: Game Server, Ping rates (ISP), WiFi vs LAN, Firewall settings, etc.

It's best to follow the recommendations I posted in my first response.

Q - What Games?
Q - Online or Local?

 

[ceh4702]

Who can read those miniature pictures? After using zoom I could read it a little better. 4 gigs of RAM is barely enough to run 64 bit windows. If running the game only 8 gigs would probably be about right. However multiple screens is a bit much. Trying to play a game and run other applications can cause problems, especially if yu have other things like skype or chat running in the background. Browsers often from time to time can use up quite a bit of RAM.

I use 8 gigs of RAM on my HTPC computer with an i-5 2500k. It is a little overkill but sometimes my wife uses it for browsing and what not. Her vision is not that good and she has it hooked up to a 40" HDTV.

I sometimes play the original version of HALO on my older PC with integrated video. So I think it might be possible to run just a game on 4 gigs of RAM. Some of the new games might just demand more resources. So it might be something else.

Things it might be is overheating or maybe a power problem with a power supply. The RAM, CPU, or video card or chipset could overheat.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Jaquith and che4702.

@ ceh5702: 6gig "should" be plenty but I could be wrong and that's what i'm trying to get at.

While the game does run smoothly 90%, it drops to like 1-5 fps.
Temps are good, Core temps are like 50C and Video card temps are under 70C underload.

@ jaquith: I do use FRAPS and GPU-Z. I look over and everything is normal. Only thing I found odd was the "Free" Physical Memory, but I still had around 2300mb avaiable. I never really paid attention to the "Free" before as I use Task Manager to monitor CPU and RAM usage.

I never had any issues with running out of RAM for the applications or games I run yet.

Game: GW2 (Online)

Don't think its my internet, because other games like WoW D3 don't cause this issues. And I have the same programs on, just a different game.

Main questions is: What is "Free" and when it gets really low, would it affect stuttering or huge FPS lost. From constant 60 to 5 fps?

Cards are not overheating and Power supply is a Corsair TX750w that I have no issues with any other game.

Note: Sorry about the picture, 1st time I used imageshack =)

Thanks for all your helps guys.