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 :P. 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"?