KSP hangs - lack of memory? (64Bit Linux, RSS/RO)

[Garek]

I'm running 64-Bit KSP on manjaro (Linux), using a lot of mods (including RSS/RO, most recommended Part Mods and a bunch of utility stuff). KSP reliably hangs the second time I go into the VAB, especially when reverting from flight. Since KSP in this configuration takes like 8 Minutes to load, this is a giant PITA. I suspect memory usage, because it hangs not only KSP but the whole system, and I know that having to do too much swapping because of high memory usage can do that.

relevant hardware configuration:

Manjaro 64Bit (openbox distribution)

AMD Athlon 2 x4 630 (4 cores @ 3 GHz)

12 GB RAM (2x 2GB, 2x 4GB)

Club 3D R9 270X

10GB Swap on a regular Harddrive (so slooow)

So my questions are as follows:

1) How can I find out how much memory KSP uses? According to top, KSP uses a bit above 10 GB (RES column), but also less then 50% (MEM column). Does the MEM column count swap?

2) Is memory actually the problem here, or are there other issues with KSP that could make it hang the whole System? Keep in mind, everything worked before RSS/RO and associated Mods.

3) Are there any tricks to make KSP run more reliable with my current setup? I don't want to remove mods, and I would like to avoid downgrades of visual quality (i.e. ATM). Sadly, LOD works on windows only.

4) Has anyone experience with throwing memory at KSP to make it work? I would specifically like to know if 16GB would be sufficient (changing the 2GB modules for 4GB ones) or if I would more likely need 24GB (changing the 2GB modules for 8GB ones)?