@tom31o What is your desktop specs? Here are the minimum requirements to run a server locally. - http://support.uberent.com/kb/faq.php?id=82
its ok, updated the driver and it doesnt crash straight away...though, if i try and load a game or the system creator (though system creator works as long as i dont move the mouse very fast) the game eventually dies (it crashes the entire pc so i can only sumarise that my laptop hasn't got enough RAM? and heres my laptop specs: https://forums.uberent.com/attachments/dxdiag-txt.22283/
4GB RAM is really not enough for large game in PA, but small systems and planets should work fine. What's you can try it's configure your virtual memory / page file size and set it's initial size to at least 12GB. PS: And your desktop have 2GB RAM which isn't enough for any game.
im sorry my desktop has 2GB? sorry i dont follow also how does one config the virtual memory/page file size to 12GB?
Yeah, it only has 2 GB according to your DxDiag.txt. Page file instruction for Windows 8, I found here. I also compared the Intel HD4000 in your laptop to the NVIDIA card in your desktop and the Intel HD4000 is almost twice as fast (source)! So playing on the laptop is actually you best bet. Apart from increasing the page file as SXX suggested, you might want to look into upgrading the amount of RAM for your laptop.
Correct, actually your desktop is pretty old. Though it's still run game somehow if there were more RAM, but there no reason to upgrade it because everything else is too old. You can check it HERE.
Try to increase page file size, set in-game "virtual texture" option to "low" and then start game on some very small planet.
ok - and on changing the virtual memory size, i know to set the maximum size to about 12gb but what should i set the initial size to? (set it to 16MB as per a recomendation)
Ok, so made the changes and the the system editor seems to work reasonably, though it still crashes if I try to generate terrain or make the systems too large (cant do much to check on gameplay asmy web Iis now down - sending this update using my phones 3g)
You can check memory usage following the steps outlined on this website. But yeah, it sounds like it still is limited by the amount of memory. By the way, I noticed from your DxDiag for your laptop that you are only at Windows 8 and not at Windows 8.1. You did mention that you were running updates though, so maybe that fixed itself already, but I've seen a few cases where an up-to-date Windows made crashes go away. I don't have Windows, so yet again I need to refer you to an external website, but here are the steps needed to upgrade to Windows 8.1.
ok, i'll get on installing 8.1 - also updated the drivers ad it no longer crashes - however it does crash when i go to load a game on anything other than a 2 planet system and even then it crashes relatively soon after loading, so unless 8.1 does something, i think im screwed by the ammount of RAAM i have, in which case i'll probably buy more and pay to have it installed
Yeah, more RAM seems like your best bet. I would occasionally run out with 8GB even on the really large systems.
Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was trying to make the point that 4 GB is really rather on the low side. Running out of memory with 8 GB is only with the larger systems of six planets or more depending on their radius. It wouldn't crash, but it would make the computer horribly slow because it was doing everything in virtual memory, but I use Linux instead of Windows, so the behaviour may be different. It's rare though. That's happened to me in about 1% of the games I've played. You'll be fine with 8GB. Especially when playing Galactic War or 1v1 ranking. You'll need a huge custom system to run out of memory. Obviously more RAM is always better. Unfortunately RAM costs money.
ah i see, well i opened up the task manager while the game was running and it was using 7/900MB while it was running, so does that mean the game itself needs to be updated to be compatible with my laptop or does my laptop just need more space?
though i'll probably get a RAM upgrade anyway to speed things up, its got the 4GB internal RAM but would it work running on 6GB or do i go straight to 8GB?
ok, im unsure though as an extra 4GB to get to 8 is £60... i dont know if i wanna pay that just for one game
Understandable. That's entirely up to you. I wouldn't view your decision in the light of just one game though. It will future proof your laptop to a certain extend as well, because future software/games will require more memory as well. I remember when I got the Commodore 128 with a whopping 128 KB of memory. Twice as much as the previous iteration! And here we are, faced with the fact that 4194304 KB (=4GB) isn't enough. Anyway, your call, obviously.
