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Game Tests Continued Page 4 of 4
Testing, Testing, 1... 2... 3... (continued):
We continue testing with Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, Half-Life 2: Episode 1, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Tomb Raider Legend.
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Running with 4GB of memory vs. 2GB of memory yields gains in every single game we tested. Improvements based on memory size alone ranged from 2% to 19% with some of the biggest gains coming from games that we had not expected. Below is a chart showing how much memory each game used with the system configured at 2GB and 4GB and how much extra performance we experienced with 4GB.
|
Game
|
Memory Used on 2GB System
|
Memory Used on 4GB System
|
% Improvement
|
|
Operating System
|
784MB
|
1.11GB
|
-
|
|
Age of Empires 3
|
1.03GB
|
1.53GB
|
6%
|
|
Battlefield 2
|
1.89GB
|
2.17GB
|
2%
|
|
Battlefield 2142 Demo
|
1.85GB
|
2.71GB
|
18%
|
|
Call of Duty 2
|
1.77GB
|
1.86GB
|
19%
|
|
F.E.A.R.
|
1.76GB
|
2.10GB
|
11%
|
|
Ghost Recon: AW
|
1.56GB
|
1.85GB
|
13%
|
|
Half-Life 2: EP1
|
1.50GB
|
1.93GB
|
4%
|
|
Oblivion
|
1.31GB
|
1.69GB
|
4%
|
|
Tomb Raider: Legend
|
880MB
|
1.18GB
|
13%
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The results above were a mixed bag of expected and weird. Games that we knew used lots of memory didn't see much improvement from doubling the memory size to 4GB and other games that used very little memory actually saw a decent increase in performance when we provided the system with extra memory that it didn't even use.
Conclusion:
At the end of this article we have discovered a few things that are as sure and death and fuzzy kittens.
- 1) Windows Vista is coming and with it come higher system requirements if you want a smooth enjoyable experience.
- 2) 2GB of memory will be enough to keep all of today's games running quite smoothly. However, in light of Battlefield 2, and the Battlefield 2142 Demo taking up over 1.8GB of a 2GB system, there isn't much room left for other programs running in the background.
- 3) I honestly won't be rushing out and buying Vista as it uses way more resources that Windows XP.
- 4) Eventually hardcore gamers will all own Vista as DirectX 10 is only available for this platform.
I have a feeling that memory companies are going to be pushing 4GB Gaming kits shortly after the launch of Vista.
If you have any feedback, questions or comments you'd like to leave regarding this article, please post them in our forum at the comments link below.  (9) Comments
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