Better pc = less lag????

[Dimetime35c]

Okay so I've been wondering. Would upgrading your pc really help reduce in game lag on KSP or sense the game is capped at 2gb ram would it not really have much of an effect? Would going beyond adding more RAM really make a difference?

[MR4Y]

Okay so I've been wondering. Would upgrading your pc really help reduce in game lag on KSP or sense the game is capped at 2gb ram would it not really have much of an effect? Would going beyond adding more RAM really make a difference?

It only has an effect if you're running linux, as there's no x64 version of KSP for windows. A higher end pc allows you to run better graphics and have less delay on physics calculations. In this config:

-Core i3 3330.

-8GB RAM (1 stick)

-ATI Radeon HD 6770

-Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bits.

Is able to run KSP with everything on maximum at 1280x1024 fullscreen resolution and also using heavier mods, like B9, still providing 2GB for KSP to use. More RAM will only make a difference for your OS, not KSP, since it can only use a maximum of 2GB (which is a limitation of 32 bit apps, even while running under a 64 bit OS)

[Superfluous J]

KSP can utilize 4 Gig, not 2. Windows uses another Gig or so, and if you want to run anything else at the same time (Steam, recording software, web browser to check things on the wiki) you may want an extra Gig or two. I think once you get over 6 Gig, adding more ram won't help in most situations.

I have 12 and it runs fine

Edited February 25, 2014 by 5thHorseman

[LordOfTheOrbits]

Actually 32 bit applications can run with 4gb ram, so if you currently have 2gb ram it's worth upgrading. Also ksp takes a lot of CPU power for bigger ships, so you probably want to get a better CPU as well.

[MR4Y]

Actually 32 bit applications can run with 4gb ram, so if you currently have 2gb ram it's worth upgrading. Also ksp takes a lot of CPU power for bigger ships, so you probably want to get a better CPU as well.

No, they can't, unless they are Large Address Aware(which is not something you can simply turn on). If they're not, they can only access a maximum of 2 GB, regardless of the operating system being 64 bits or not.

[Red Iron Crown]

The virtual address space Windows allocates to each 32-bit application is 4GB, of which 2GB is reserved for the OS. So the most space KSP itself can use is 2GB. The /3GB switch can be used to reallocate this to 3GB for the app and 1GB for the OS, but I haven't tested to see if KSP can take advantage of this, but I doubt it as that's usually used for server apps.

For the OP, lag is caused by two things, both of which can be improved with a better PC. Low framerates are caused by too high a resolution/too many visual effects, this can be reduced by using a better GPU (or reducing resolution/effects). Lag is also caused by the physics calculations, which increases with part count. This can be mitigated with a more powerful CPU (or reducing part count).

[LowOrbit]

I probably haven't built anything big enough to get lag yet but I am running an i5 2500 (I think) OC'd to 4.5ghz, GTX660ti video card, 16gb ddr3 ram @1666 with triple monitors. I am running medium high settings in game as well.

[Guest]

The virtual address space Windows allocates to each 32-bit application is 4GB, of which 2GB is reserved for the OS. So the most space KSP itself can use is 2GB. The /3GB switch can be used to reallocate this to 3GB for the app and 1GB for the OS, but I haven't tested to see if KSP can take advantage of this, but I doubt it as that's usually used for server apps.

Well, I've turned it on and it helped tremendously. IIRC, KSP is Large Address Aware, meaning it can access up to about 3.5GB maximum. That would require a 64bit OS to fully exploit, since normally, you can only allocate 3GB to applications at most. If you have 4GB and a 64bit OS, then that's about how good it can get with memory right now. More memory is nice if you're running stuff in the background, but unless the OS takes up more than 0.5GB (Vista and 7 can do that, 8 is better about it), it won't be a significant improvement over just closing everything (unless you're on Steam, then it hogs a some memory, too).

[Blackstar]

No, they can't, unless they are Large Address Aware(which is not something you can simply turn on). If they're not, they can only access a maximum of 2 GB, regardless of the operating system being 64 bits or not.

Well, you can just turn it on by editing the PE header. It's usually safe to do so, unless the application uses tricks like stealing the high bit of a pointer to store a flag, but those are very rare, especially outside of low-level system programming.

You don't need to for KSP, though. I just checked its binary and it is already marked large address aware. That's consistent with my observations (typically see 2-3GB memory usage on my setup).

The virtual address space Windows allocates to each 32-bit application is 4GB, of which 2GB is reserved for the OS. So the most space KSP itself can use is 2GB. The /3GB switch can be used to reallocate this to 3GB for the app and 1GB for the OS, but I haven't tested to see if KSP can take advantage of this, but I doubt it as that's usually used for server apps.

It should work -- since KSP is large address aware it can use the extra 1GB of user address space if you're running the OS with /3GB. I'd only do that if you're stuck on 32-bit and are desperate though -- in nearly all cases you'd be better off just upgrading to a 64-bit OS.

In the past there have been occasional driver incompatibilities with /3GB, most often video drivers.

[Red Iron Crown]

It should work -- since KSP is large address aware it can use the extra 1GB of user address space if you're running the OS with /3GB. I'd only do that if you're stuck on 32-bit and are desperate though -- in nearly all cases you'd be better off just upgrading to a 64-bit OS.

In the past there have been occasional driver incompatibilities with /3GB, most often video drivers.

32-bit apps on 64-bit Windows are still limited to 4GB of virtual address space, so the /3GB switch should be helpful no matter which OS is used. So KSP would have more memory to work with if /3GB is used, even on a 64-bit system.

Edit: I did a bit of reading, turns out 64-bit Windows automatically gives a full 4GB of address space to 32-bit apps which are large address aware. My mistake.

Delighted to learn that KSP is large address aware, learn something new every day.

Edited February 25, 2014 by Red Iron Crown

[Blackstar]

You already edited your post, but yeah. The big difference on a 64-bit OS is that all the kernel code runs in 64-bit mode anyway, so it doesn't need to be 32-bit addressable. The user application can get the whole lower 4GB range to itself (minus a small stub for interfacing).

Executables that aren't marked as large address aware just aren't allowed to touch the upper 2GB no matter the OS. I'd have to check but I think LAA is the default on newer versions of MSVC.

I don't think /3GB is even a valid startup flag on 64-bit Windows, or if it is, it doesn't do anything.

Edited February 25, 2014 by Blackstar

[Linear]

A third/forth gen i3 is brilliant for ksp, an i5 is a good bit better, but an i7 advantage is much lower.

Even on my i3 550 and a 6670 with 7gb of ram (dont ask about the ram..) i get good frames even with larger ships and a few big mods! :-)

[TechnicalK3rbal]

KSP can utilize 4 Gig, not 2. Windows uses another Gig or so, and if you want to run anything else at the same time (Steam, recording software, web browser to check things on the wiki) you may want an extra Gig or two. I think once you get over 6 Gig, adding more ram won't help in most situations.

I have 12 and it runs fine

Actually its around 3.4 GB that KSP can use.