RAM Memory Maxed Out - Solved: Graphics Update

I recently got the game and have enjoyed it a lot so far. Unfortunately, quite a few of my matches have led to very laggy gameplay (<1 fps) or my entire laptop becoming unresponsive. Looking at the task manager, most games start up using 1 - 2 GB. But when the matches freeze or become laggy, planetary annihilation uses 5 - 6 GB. This seems unusual because nothing particularly resource intensive happens when the large RAM usage begins: no nukes, halleys, catalysts, or major army movement. It usually occurs somewhere in the middle of the game well after loading all the planets.

I understand that PA can take up a lot of resources. However, my laptop has 8 GB of RAM and pretty decent specs. I have attached a dxdiag file if you would like to look at that. I just find it unusual that the game runs fine most of the match but becomes unplayable for seemingly no reason because >95% of my RAM is being used, with most of it being PA. I went ahead and set my graphics to Low even though I can run the game fine in Medium. Also, when I play the game, I exit out of all other programs so the laptop can focus on just PA.

I think it is likely a hardware issue, such as a driver that needs updated, but I am not sure. I appreciate any help anyone can provide. If you need any more details on the situation, please ask and I will be happy to provide.
Thank you

UPDATE 5/27 - The game runs smoothly now that I updated my graphic's driver. Thanks everyone

Well, part of the trouble is that your Intel graphics card has no dedicated video memory. So whatever it needs, it will steal from the main memory. That being said though, you can try updating your Intel drivers, since those are two years old now. For your processor, you can get them here:
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/do...HD-Graphics-Driver-for-Windows-7-8-8-1-64-bit

First try the .exe to install the newer driver. Oftentimes it will complain about the driver not being validated for your computer. In that case, download the .zip instead and follow these instructions:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/233250/discussions/2/558749190911446231/

Other ways to save memory is to not use the local server. By default (with your specs anyway), PA will start a local server for your AI Skirmish or Galactic War games. You can however turn that off in Settings -> Server. With the local server set to off, PA will use Uber's servers instead. That does mean you need an Internet connection at all time, but at least your laptop won't lose memory to running the server as well as the PA client.

Thanks for the fast response. I haven't updated my graphic's driver yet but I did set PA to use the local server. That really helped keep singleplayer working well. However, when I went into multiplayer, PA quickly used all my available RAM resulting in my computer and game lagging significantly.

It could be that updating my graphic's driver would make a big difference, and I plan on doing so. However, what I find weird is that my brother was also playing the same multiplayer match on a different computer. Looking in the task manager on Windows, his game was only taking ~1.5 GB. Mine took ~6 GB. Also, his computer is older than mine with comparatively worse specs to mine. I uploaded his dxdiag file. Is there a reason his computer is running the same match better when technically mine should be superior? We were both in the same room using the same wireless network connection in the same multiplayer match.

You can also increase the size of your page file. . That helped me when i was having similar issues.

Could you explain how I could do this? Like I said, I am new so I have no clue of what you are talking about but I'd like to know

Lately I have been playing on multiplanet systems. I assume singleplanet systems would work better. I still find it odd that my brother with lower specs can play on a 4 planet system fine while my laptop struggles.

Hey sorry, I had looker at your friends dxdiag and not yours. Your page file size looks fine. :\ .

Can you create a save game when your memory usage is really high? With the local server off, it will store it on-line for you. Could you then quit PA and then load again from the save game? Is the RAM usage still that high?

If it is, can you then try logging in using your brother's computer and load the same save game? Is the RAM usage the same then?

I will try this. I have played many single player matches today and haven't encountered any issues. I'll try some multiplayer matches tomorrow because I think that is the problem. If the RAM gets high, I will do as you suggest and see what happens.
Thank you for everything