Vista + Memory?

[xxll_martin_llxx]

This is a pretty new computer, with not much on it...However I'm just wondering....

Does this mean that, that amount of memory is being used right now?

Does the memory usage from the above screenshot come out of this memory? >>>

When I come out of Counter Strike or Football Manager it takes a while to get back to the desktop, is this down the memory usage? I want to be able to come out of Counter Strike and not have to wait for it to get back to the desktop would it help (or be worthwhile) if I got MORE memory?

Sorry, I'm a noob at all this type of thing so if you want other details use "english" (not tech talk!)

Cheers

 

[Sharky]

Hi,

One of the new Vista features is SuperFetch that uses unused memory to speed up the launch of commonly used programs, which will use up a chunk of that memory. But if you click Processes at the top of the task manager, then you can sort by the amount of memory being used by each process, and see exactly what is using all your memory up.

When my PC is doing nothing but the stuff running in the background (MSN, Antivirus ,etc), it sits there at just above 1GB (out of 2), but if I then do something that needs a lot of memory, it becomes available again.

You say it takes a while to get back to the desktop... how long is 'a while'?

 

[Smith6612]

Well, one thing for sure is, you need MORE than 1GB of RAM. If you are gaming, 2GB is minimum for pretty much anything, including Windows XP. I have 3GB in my Vista gaming machine and the desktop and everything comes up immediately, no matter what load the system is under, even in Crysis with Very High settings or if I ever do happen to have those very rare times when I max my quad core processor out or eat up the entire amount of RAM I have. Right now, the system has an uptime of 9 months and the RAM is sitting short of 32% usage (and of course I'm installing updates and rebooting). As for SuperFetch, that only runs when the computer is booting up or is idle. It'll use up any available memory to help make launching programs launch faster, rather than leaving the RAM free, burning up power (and wasting speed!). Should I call up a program such as a game that SuperFetched cached, it'll clear the extra SuperFetch data from the RAM and give high priority to Vista, and the game/program.

Also, update your Vista score. A system with a low Vista score of 1 or 2 isn't made for games, 3 is OK, 4 and 5 is what you want to shoot for though. My gaming system is a 5.7. and the only thing that is bringing it down by .2 points from perfect is just my RAM. Getting 1066MHz RAM will give me 5.9, which is the max for Vista

 

[xxll_martin_llxx]

Around 30 seconds to a minute (60 seconds) I guess compared to my Dad's computer (XP) where you click Exit on Counter Strike or Football Manager and it exits straight to the desktop, ready to be used all within a second or two.

Is the SuperFetch a download add-on or is it actually found on the system somewhere? - Where?

Thanks for your quick reply!

 

[Smith6612]

It's a feature in Vista. Really, one thing that may be causing the RAM usage is Aero (the glass feature). If you shut that off, that may improve performance, but I say you still should get another gigabyte of RAM. 1GB cards are practically $10-20 these days. If your system only has 2 RAM slots and it has 2 512MB cards, see if eMachines says the system can take 1GB sticks, and if it can, replace those cards with 2 1GB sticks. If it already has a 1GB stick in there, get another one and stick it in. Believe me, it will make a difference with an extra GB in there. It's key to stay away from the paging file, and to have a S-ATA HD as well.

 

[xxll_martin_llxx]

I'm planning on getting another gig or two of memory.

What's this "glass feature"? Or Aero and how do I shut it off? Also, where do I find the SuperFetch and allow that?

Thanks.

Been helpful, will leave rep. also!

 

[Smith6612]

Aero is how you can see through the toolbar, windows, and other things in Vista. Here's some nice pictures from my system. (see attached). I cut off my second monitor's screen since nothing's on it right now, so be happy for that . I cut a bit off of the second picture since that was just some unneeded stuff. You should be able to see it clearly in these screenshots. Though it may appear right now I'm not a hard core gamer, wait until I open my games folder lol.

To shut it off, go to Start > Right click Computer > Properties > Advanced System Settings > Do UAC Prompt (if it appears) > Settings button under Performance > On Visual Effects, select Adjust for Best Performance, click apply and reboot.

Once you get the extra GB of RAM, Vista won't harm anything even with Aero on.

 

[xxll_martin_llxx]

Oh of course! Sorry my bad, I've only just realised what you meant by the glass look! I've done that, kept one option ticked though otherwise it's wayyy too ugly looking!

 

[Smith6612]

Yeah. Otherwise, once you get that extra GB of RAM, Vista should run nicely. My system is a beast, so of course it's going to run nice (especially since I hand built it and it costed me around $3,500). So yeah, let us know when you get that extra GB of RAM!

 

[xxll_martin_llxx]

WOW

I've just tested it out exitting from CS and it loads back up nice and quickly!!

Will still be getting the extra ram though.

Cheers for that

$3,500!? I would hope it runs nicely for that amount of money!
Edit:
Sorry for the double post, just in case you miss it - I've just seen one of your editted posts.

How do I upgrade my "vista score"?

 

[Sharky]

In http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j80/xxll_martin_llxx/memory2.jpg , click where it says 3.2 Windows Experience Index: Unrated , then you can press Refresh.

 

[xxll_martin_llxx]

You beat me to it! I was just going to edit it out. Yep, I got it. It's 3.5 now. Would the score improve further with another gig? Or is that not the point of the scoring system?

 

[Sharky]

I'm not sure what emphasis is placed on size, and on speed, for memory. But sure, another gig can't hurt

 

[Sohail]

Vista is a RAM eater! I suggest you get a Macintosh which is good for graphics and power, it hasn't everything you need, looks good, and hardly uses up any of the resources it has. it really is worth it.

 

[Smith6612]

Vista may be a RAM eater, but you can make it more efficient. Just shut off half of the things like Aero, Windows Defender, File Indexing and the rest of that stuff and you can have Vista running well near XP's memory usage. Otherwise, can you post your updated score, the details of it? It should say something such as Processor Score, RAM Score, Video card score, and Hard Drive score. When you're checking your score, click the link on the right hand side of the 3.5 score image for the details, then post back a picture. Vista rates your system on the lowest score there, it doesn't average things out, much like my system. On my system, everything is 5.9 which is the highest you can get on Vista, except for the RAM which is 5.7 . If I average the 5 results, I get 5.86, which is my true Vista score. So yeah, post it up, and if you want a higher score, we can tell you what you can do, but a score of 3.5 is pretty good, especially for eMachines.

Now, you should consider installing Vista Service Pack 1 after you update your system drivers .

Otherwise, make sure you get at least 2GB of RAM. SuperFetch is on automatically, and my PC does run very nice for the cost. It does boot up from the time it reboots to the time I'm completely logged in in about 20 seconds, and has all of my gaming programs/IM programs open within 30 seconds from the time I see the system BIOS screen. The system has been on for 9 months non-stop.

 

[like2program]

Vista is a RAM eater! I suggest you get a Macintosh which is good for graphics and power, it hasn't everything you need, looks good, and hardly uses up any of the resources it has. it really is worth it.

You will not be able to play Counter Strike if you get a mac. The only game for Mac is world of warcraft.

You will need a whole lot more RAM if you want to play games though, vista just eats it all up. I am running with 4Gb right now and I wish I could add some more. If you want to play games though you need 4Gb along with a nice (8800 GT) graphics card too. The processor can be bottom of the line as long as you have RAM and a nice graphics card. I'm running a dual core bottom of the line Intel 2.00GHz processor and Crysis runs great with all of the settings set to High ( and a few very high).


@Smith6612

It does boot up from the time it reboots to the time I'm completely logged in in about 20 seconds, and has all of my gaming programs/IM programs open within 30 seconds from the time I see the system BIOS screen. The system has been on for 9 months non-stop.

My boot time is around 30-40 to be completely logged in but I never keep my computer on for more than a few days. Are you running a server on your gaming rig?

 

[xxll_martin_llxx]

Vista may be a RAM eater, but you can make it more efficient. Just shut off half of the things like Aero, Windows Defender, File Indexing and the rest of that stuff and you can have Vista running well near XP's memory usage. Otherwise, can you post your updated score, the details of it? It should say something such as Processor Score, RAM Score, Video card score, and Hard Drive score. When you're checking your score, click the link on the right hand side of the 3.5 score image for the details, then post back a picture. Vista rates your system on the lowest score there, it doesn't average things out, much like my system. On my system, everything is 5.9 which is the highest you can get on Vista, except for the RAM which is 5.7 . If I average the 5 results, I get 5.86, which is my true Vista score. So yeah, post it up, and if you want a higher score, we can tell you what you can do, but a score of 3.5 is pretty good, especially for eMachines.

Now, you should consider installing Vista Service Pack 1 after you update your system drivers .

Otherwise, make sure you get at least 2GB of RAM. SuperFetch is on automatically, and my PC does run very nice for the cost. It does boot up from the time it reboots to the time I'm completely logged in in about 20 seconds, and has all of my gaming programs/IM programs open within 30 seconds from the time I see the system BIOS screen. The system has been on for 9 months non-stop.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j80/xxll_martin_llxx/perfomance.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j80/xxll_martin_llxx/perfomance2.jpg

(Click for screenshots otherwise it makes the forum go wide)

I already have service pack one. How does one tell or know if the drivers are out-of-date, then if they are out-of-date how do you upgrade? How do you know that upgrading them will still keep everything stable?

 

[Smith6612]

OK, so it's just the video card that brings you down slightly (It is one of the lower 8 series cards, so I can see why lol). Otherwise, it seems to be a good system, a quick one as well. Let us know how more RAM will work when you get it!

 

[xxll_martin_llxx]

Cheers

Certainly noticed a difference in performance coming out of the games.

I very much doubt it'll be this month that I get to buy it as I've already spent out nearly £300 on school prom things.

My average score totalled out is 4.68 so only 1 different to yours even though you have 5.9's I think you said except one.

Thanks to all for tips and information, much appreciated.

 

[xxll_martin_llxx]

Finally managed to look into this a little more.
Found I got two 512 mb sticks for 1gb so I'm going to get two 1 gig sticks for now, for around £30 - is that a decentish price or can I get more for less ££?

(Sorry for bumping a slightly, older but newer thread!)