System Memory - P3Dv4.x

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WB_FlashOver
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System Memory - P3Dv4.x

Post by WB_FlashOver »

Hello all simulator techies,
I peruse on-line topics, threads and YouTube videos on computer setups and from what I can gather the recommended amount of system memory for gaming and general use is in the 16GB range. Gamers Nexus, JayzTwoCents, Pauls Hardware, Actually Hardcore Overclocking, and more always recommend 16GB @ 3200MHz for gaming. The only time they recommend more is if the user is doing video editing, live steaming, Auto-Cad, and other resource intensive programs. They suggest that anything more is a waste and can even effect performance in the negative. For this reason I installed 16GB DDR4 3200MHz 14-14-14-34 memory in my current build.

My question to you all... how does P3Dv4.x handle memory? I never see more than 7.5GB total of my 16GB being used during flights. Commit for P3D runs around 6.5GB with working set around 3.8GB. So is the system reserving 8GB just in case it needs it? If I were to install another 16GB set would P3D be allowed to use more?

I know it sounds great to say "I have 32GB installed memory" but does it really make a difference? :?:

Thanks
Roger
-- Fly Well, Be Nice, Have Fun ! ! !

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Buffy Foster

Re: System Memory - P3Dv4.x

Post by Buffy Foster »

Well my P3D doesn't use tons, but I always have lots of other stuff running too (I dont' have a PD3-only PC [yet?]), so I end up needing my 32GB which is what Dad said I should have. Before I even start up P3D, I have like 56% used already, according to Task Manager. :shock:

So a P3D-only PC maybe 16GB is good for now? Dad says get 32GB anyway cuz it's not that much more and then you dont' have to mess with it in a year or two. If your water cooling tubes go over the memory slots, that would be an extra pain, too?

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WB_FlashOver
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Re: System Memory - P3Dv4.x

Post by WB_FlashOver »

Thanks Buffy,
That's interesting to me. I have never seen my system run over 50% even during flight. I suppose if I were to record video or stream it would be a different story.

Yes, adding more DIMMs would be a chore. :roll: But It is doable.

Ram is supposed to come down more during 2019 so I may wait a bit and see what happens.

Cheers
Roger
-- Fly Well, Be Nice, Have Fun ! ! !

Z390 FTW | i9 9900K @ 5.2 | 32GB 3333 CL14 | 3080 Ti FE
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Buffy Foster

Re: System Memory - P3Dv4.x

Post by Buffy Foster »

Using the video capture built into NVidia GeForce Experience works real nice and without hogging lots of resources. \o/

I think lots of regular programs (Firefox, etc.) aren't written to be real efficient? Mine always use lots of memory. :'( If I was making a P3D/XPlane only PC I wouldn't have lots of other stuff running on it for sure. I think some programs use the GPU a bit too, and don't clean up after themselves or even share nicely. I turned off hardware acceleration on Firefox cuz it was always causing problems...

IDK that much about hardware so I went by what Dad suggested, then he supervised me building mine, which was lots of fun. :)

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WB_FlashOver
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Re: System Memory - P3Dv4.x

Post by WB_FlashOver »

I tried GeForce Experience a year or so ago and it did not support P3D or FSX recording at that time. I found it more trouble than it was worth so I don't install it anymore. Maybe I should give it another go. I did try Action! recording software a while back and talk about smooth and clean capture but it did not support P3D or FSX either. It did not understand the fullscreen mode of taking control of both monitors. Fraps works but seems to not play well on 2K monitors and it really hammers my FPS so I've not been able to record for a while.

I used to use FireFox but found it a troublesome product. Google Chrome has been my go-to for quite a while now.

You are correct about building your own system. It is very fun and satisfying, plus you can build it the way you want. I've looked at the on-line system builders and they never use the brands I want or models I want for the parts. By the time you upgrade to the system you want it costs more than if you built it yourself. Then there is no satisfaction factor. :mrgreen:

Cheers
Roger
-- Fly Well, Be Nice, Have Fun ! ! !

Z390 FTW | i9 9900K @ 5.2 | 32GB 3333 CL14 | 3080 Ti FE
970 Pro 512GB (OS)| 970 Evo 1TB | 850 Evo 500GBx2 Raid0
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Re: System Memory - P3Dv4.x

Post by Lewis - A2A »

I am a big gamer I delve into all sorts and never go anywhere near 16, this is why its always suggested that for gamers 16 is fine. However in dev land its possible for me to run out of my 32GB i have installed on my main system. So its all use case based. If I just gamed and simmed I would only have 16.

thanks,
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Buffy Foster

Re: System Memory - P3Dv4.x

Post by Buffy Foster »

Yeah Unreal Engine 4 likes memory and Blender too when you load a bigger model. Even just learning like I'm trying to do. :P

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dvm
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Re: System Memory - P3Dv4.x

Post by dvm »

I have a dedicated FS rig with only 8 gigs and never have any trouble with P3DV4. I am sure that if I had a lot of other crap running I would probably need more RAM. My next machine will have 16 gigs. I can't emphasize how trouble free a dedicated FS PC is. When I build a new FS rig my previous rig becomes my every day machine for mundane tasks. Been doing this for close to twenty years. One last thought my last three rigs have used "ultra durable" Gigabyte MB. They have 2x copper traces (twice as thick as standard) on the board and they use the best caps available. Capacitor deterioration is a major cause of board problems and failure. My everyday PC with one of these boards is ten years old it runs 12 hrs a day since I retired it from FS duty. My newest FS rig has been going four years. To bloviate is an old mans duty. :D

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Re: System Memory - P3Dv4.x

Post by WB_FlashOver »

I suppose it would also depend some on your pagefile. In the past I have always set virtual memory manually for my SSD's. On this build Windows is doing it and keeping it around 2400MB. Its nice to not have to mess with that.

What Lewis is saying is the same as I understand it too so will just enjoy not spending more cash. I don't run a dedicated sim-system as I browse the net and other general use as well as skinning my planes. I play Call of Duty series some too. However, none of those programs run unless I tell them to so they shouldn't effect ram usage.

I can't imagine 8GB being enough sense my P3Dv4 has been seen to use over 5GB all by itself.

Thanks for the replies folks.
Roger
-- Fly Well, Be Nice, Have Fun ! ! !

Z390 FTW | i9 9900K @ 5.2 | 32GB 3333 CL14 | 3080 Ti FE
970 Pro 512GB (OS)| 970 Evo 1TB | 850 Evo 500GBx2 Raid0
3TB HDD | Define S2 | EKWB Dual Loop


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Jarek
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Re: System Memory - P3Dv4.x

Post by Jarek »

My 3c here - it may be a good idea to take a look at your system architecture. The key thing is to maximize bandwidth between your CPU and memory. For example i9 9900K has 2 memory channels. If you occupy just one slot, your performance will be impacted. Many default configurations from famous big brands use just one memory chip. General rule is to avoid configurations with odd number of occupied slots. If your system has 4 channels (Xeons and some older CPUs), then it is better to occupy all 4 than 2, but in this case gain would be just few percent. This is the case where you may consider 32GB = 4 x 8GB rather than 2 x 8 that with still reasonable price per module. For modern dual-channel i5/i7/i9 configurations, 2 x 8GB is just fine for P3D.

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Re: System Memory - P3Dv4.x

Post by WB_FlashOver »

Jarek wrote:My 3c here - it may be a good idea to take a look at your system architecture. The key thing is to maximize bandwidth between your CPU and memory. For example i9 9900K has 2 memory channels. If you occupy just one slot, your performance will be impacted. Many default configurations from famous big brands use just one memory chip. General rule is to avoid configurations with odd number of occupied slots. If your system has 4 channels (Xeons and some older CPUs), then it is better to occupy all 4 than 2, but in this case gain would be just few percent. This is the case where you may consider 32GB = 4 x 8GB rather than 2 x 8 that with still reasonable price per module. For modern dual-channel i5/i7/i9 configurations, 2 x 8GB is just fine for P3D.
Hello Jarek,
I scientific approach, I like that. I installed 16GB (2x8GB) set in my EVGA Z390 FTW board. There are only 4 DIMM slots so another set like the one I have would be a nice addition but not necessary.

I've seen single sticks installed and on brand new/brand name machines. It makes me smile at what some will try to sell you and at what some will accept at OK.

Cheers
Roger
-- Fly Well, Be Nice, Have Fun ! ! !

Z390 FTW | i9 9900K @ 5.2 | 32GB 3333 CL14 | 3080 Ti FE
970 Pro 512GB (OS)| 970 Evo 1TB | 850 Evo 500GBx2 Raid0
3TB HDD | Define S2 | EKWB Dual Loop


P51civ - T6 - P40 - B17 - B377 - L049 - Comanche - Spit - Bonanza

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WB_FlashOver
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Re: System Memory - P3Dv4.x

Post by WB_FlashOver »

Talking about memory brings me to a funny that I pulled. I'll just post my build video and see if anyone catches the errors of my ways. :mrgreen:



-- Fly Well, Be Nice, Have Fun ! ! !

Z390 FTW | i9 9900K @ 5.2 | 32GB 3333 CL14 | 3080 Ti FE
970 Pro 512GB (OS)| 970 Evo 1TB | 850 Evo 500GBx2 Raid0
3TB HDD | Define S2 | EKWB Dual Loop


P51civ - T6 - P40 - B17 - B377 - L049 - Comanche - Spit - Bonanza

Jarek
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Re: System Memory - P3Dv4.x

Post by Jarek »

Ok :-) one clarification needed here - number of memory channels supported by CPU is not the number of DIMM slots on your motherboard. You may have 2 channel cpu and 4 dimm slots, so populating all of them does not bring much value comparing to just 2. Key thing here is to populate all memory channels (different dimm slot colors used generally), even with one dimm per channel and then double entire configuration if more RAM is needed.

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Re: System Memory - P3Dv4.x

Post by AerialShorts »

I was discussing this with an online friend just the other day and did some digging. It seems there can even be a detriment from populating all four DIMM slots on a motherboard and CPU with only two memory channels from the impedance of the two extra DIMMs affecting the signals at higher frequencies. It’s apparently pretty dependent on motherboard and DIMMs. I populated my board with four DIMMs and it won’t hit full rated speed. Close but not quite. I haven’t done the experiment to see if just two DIMMs will so it’s only half the anecdotal evidence at this point and should be taken with a grain of salt. I found the discussion at a reputable website but forget which one. If anyone is looking at a new build, might want to search about and see what you find before making the 2/4 DIMM decision.
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Buffy Foster

Re: System Memory - P3Dv4.x

Post by Buffy Foster »

WB_FlashOver wrote:Talking about memory brings me to a funny that I pulled. I'll just post my build video and see if anyone catches the errors of my ways. :mrgreen:
Hmmm...shouldn't the DIMM sticks be in alternate slots?

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