I will soon be upgrading my computer's graphics card, and am also considering upgrading from 8 GB of RAM to 16 GB. With performance of Trainz/TANE and Train Sim World in mind, would this extra RAM likely make much of a difference in performance? I'm trying to decide whether the extra $60 or so would be justified.
Upgrade from 8 to 16 GB RAM... worth it?
- Thread starter d0g
- Start date
Well, look at it this way...
Did you always have 8GB of RAM when you were using TS2010 and TS12? More will not hurt anything, honestly. I remember the jump from 8 Megabytes to 16 Megabytes, back "in the day". You can always make use of it in the future. All computers are using more and storing more. Just the way it goes, funny isn't it?
Did you always have 8GB of RAM when you were using TS2010 and TS12? More will not hurt anything, honestly. I remember the jump from 8 Megabytes to 16 Megabytes, back "in the day". You can always make use of it in the future. All computers are using more and storing more. Just the way it goes, funny isn't it?
Spot on answer; extra RAM might not make much difference at the moment but it certainly will be in the future. RAM is not that costly and only takes a minute to insert. However, a word of warning, make sure that the RAM is compatible with your Mother Board.
Regards
Bob
blueodessey
Well-known member
I changed from 12meg to 16 meg, and it did make a difference, granted not all software will make use of it, depending on how well it was written?
Memory is cheap compared to cost of Video Cards, so I would suggest good quality RAM, Crucial, Corsair, Kingston, Etc........https://www.google.com/search?q=best+ram+for+computers&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
This link I posted should be of some interest, as another side to the story, Desktop Ram vs. Laptop is important, due to heat and cooling constraints based on your particular computer Ambient air distribution.
Hope this helps sir........
Memory is cheap compared to cost of Video Cards, so I would suggest good quality RAM, Crucial, Corsair, Kingston, Etc........https://www.google.com/search?q=best+ram+for+computers&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
This link I posted should be of some interest, as another side to the story, Desktop Ram vs. Laptop is important, due to heat and cooling constraints based on your particular computer Ambient air distribution.
Hope this helps sir........
nugget2225
Active member
kinda off topic but i have 32 gb for x-plane because it recommends 24gb of ram, i have 2 sticks with a total of 32gb and i plan on upgrading to 64gb, regardless of what you play, you can never have too much ram
johnwhelan
Well-known member
Well no not exactly there is a down side extra heat in the case and extra electricity costs. The extra heat can be expected to make the system slightly less reliable overall.
My thoughts on RAM would be look at perform. If it says TANE uses a max of 6.5 gigs then 8 is fine and allows a gig for the operating system.
Windows will try to use extra RAM to cache the drives but TANE doesn't do much disk activity once its loaded any way. Certainly not as much as a database program or other disk intensive software. CM might occasionally want to make use of a bit more but letting it take its time twice a year its that much of a hardship.
Cheerio John
Adding the additional RAM is also beneficial overall because we are now using a 64-bit operating system and T:ANE is a 64-bit application. This means the operating system will move out of the way and T:ANE will be able to use the remaining RAM, not all but a good chunk of it for its self. You can definitely see the difference if you go from 8 to 16 and really, really see the difference going to 32GB. This is unlike TS12 which was a 32-bit application and restricted to a 4GB memory space regardless of how much RAM you have installed.
As John said, the system will cache a lot of data as well so this means less disk access and better performance especially when doing a lot of disk activity.
As John said, the system will cache a lot of data as well so this means less disk access and better performance especially when doing a lot of disk activity.
nugget2225
Active member
i am using a thermaltake p5 with a delidded 7700k at a max temp of 62c, i don't have to worry about heat
i am using a thermaltake p5 with a delidded 7700k at a max temp of 62c, i don't have to worry about heat
I see about that when really pushing my system. My 32GB, was 64GB but downgraded due to a bad DIMM I need to send back and they're in pairs, doesn't add much to the heat either. The only time you'd worry about that is if you're an avid overclocking nut that has to squeeze the very last FPS and clock cycle out of every chip.
Getting back to d0g's original query - (would the extra $60 for upgrading the RAM for 8Gb to 16Gb be worthwhile?) - I'd say from my own experience with T:ANE and going from 8 to 16Gb was definitely helpful - and noticeable in many scenarios.
Gives you a lot more headroom, particularly if you're beta-testing and likely to be multi-tasking whilst running your current T:ANE build. (i.e. Typically, Browser, Process Explorer, T:ANE SP2, Notepad++, File Explorer and GPU monitoring software all open concurrently whilst you're tracking down a performance issue - these all take up threads and handles and a share of your available RAM.)
As it happens, even on big routes, T:ANE doesn't use a helluva lotta RAM (it's rare to see physical RAM use over 8Gb even in the biggest and busiest of T:ANE sessions) but the extra headroom saves the machine swapping out to virtual memory/ swapfiles and reduces lag associated with those multitasking demands.
So I say "Go for it!" - You're also anticipating your more demanding future processing needs when you do.
Gives you a lot more headroom, particularly if you're beta-testing and likely to be multi-tasking whilst running your current T:ANE build. (i.e. Typically, Browser, Process Explorer, T:ANE SP2, Notepad++, File Explorer and GPU monitoring software all open concurrently whilst you're tracking down a performance issue - these all take up threads and handles and a share of your available RAM.)
As it happens, even on big routes, T:ANE doesn't use a helluva lotta RAM (it's rare to see physical RAM use over 8Gb even in the biggest and busiest of T:ANE sessions) but the extra headroom saves the machine swapping out to virtual memory/ swapfiles and reduces lag associated with those multitasking demands.
So I say "Go for it!" - You're also anticipating your more demanding future processing needs when you do.
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