How to reduce RAM usage?

[DIV1D3]

Hi all, I'm going to have a LAN party with my friends and one of them doesn't have a decent PC (has like dual core CPU, 32 bit Win, laptop btw) and I said he could use my other system, and thus the LAN would be a my place so I don't have to cart 2 PCs around.

So what I'd like to know is how I would be able to reduce the amount of RAM Windows uses (64 bit, Windows 7) as I only have 12GB (3 sticks of 4GB) and while playing Ghosts (mainly what we'll be playing) I saw that my system was using 4.2GB (while 8GB was installed), which is a problem. 

I know I can just set the appearance of Windows to "Best performance" but I'd like to know if there are any other ways of reducing the systems RAM usage. 

Cheers!

 

Specs:

Core i5 4670K

Gigabyte Z87X-OC Force

Gigbayte R9 280X 3x Winforce

Seagate Barracuda 1TB

Corsair Vengeance LP 2x4GB

 

Pentium G3220 

ASRock H81 Pro BTC

Giabyte R9 280C 3X Windforce

Toshiba 2.5' drive, 640GB

Kingston ValueRAM 4GB

[mapegl]

Stop using Chrome! ;-) just kidding.

 

Stop unneccessary programs running in the background.

 

Ask if anyone has a spare RAM stick? Does his old system use DDR3?

[seiny]

That 4GB + - usage while gaming is normal, how much do you expect it to use?

[DIV1D3]

That 4GB + - usage while gaming is normal, how much do you expect it to use?

I'm not saying it's unusual, I'd just like to know if there are any options to decrease RAM usage. 

 

Stop using Chrome! ;-) just kidding.

 

Stop unneccessary programs running in the background.

 

Ask if anyone has a spare RAM stick? Does his old system use DDR3?

He only has a single laptop and obv you can't use laptop RAM (SODIMM) in a normal sized RAM slot. 

Everyone else only has 8GB, only one other friend has 12GB but he is doing some RAM intensive tasks (idk what they are though, but he does produce YT content so it'd be safe to assume he is going to create and upload something). 

 

Also we postponed the LAN to next weekend (again) because of Father's day. 

I'll try out the system with the appearance of Windows set to the minimum and I'll be sure to shut everything other than Steam, Windows and it's processes and the game ofc. 

[mapegl]

I mean Windows uses the pagefile more when RAM is fully used. Just make sure that one is big enough. It will be slower than RAM, yes, but it should run ok.

 

EDIT: Found this for you as well: http://www.techbuyersguru.com/Ramgaming2.php

 

Really shows when managing your RAM, there is no bnig difference in many games beetween 4,8 and 16gb. I know some games will like to have more, but it will run fine on 4.

[RH00D]

Well, RAM not being used is literally RAM being wasted. So unless you're hitting 100% RAM usage and still need more then there isn't much to worry about.

 

Some things you can do though is switch to the "Classic" Windows theme (grey styling and no animations). Also close any programs that don't need to be running.

 

You can do more like disabling services but that's a bit much for the minimal benefit and not really worth the headache it can cause.

[DIV1D3]

Well, RAM not being used is literally RAM being wasted. So unless you're hitting 100% RAM usage and still need more then there isn't much to worry about.

 

Some things you can do though is switch to the "Classic" Windows theme (grey styling and no animations). Also close any programs that don't need to be running.

 

You can do more like disabling services but that's a bit much for the minimal benefit and not really worth the headache it can cause.

I'm not saying I'm wasting RAM, and with 8GB of RAM playing Ghosts uses 4.2GB, so....

4GB of RAM will all most certainly cause an error and make Ghosts crash. 

I already know about the appearance of Windows to reduce the RAM usage, and I don't have any unnecessary tasks running, only Steam, Ghosts and MSI Afterburner to graph the RAM usage. 

 

I mean Windows uses the pagefile more when RAM is fully used. Just make sure that one is big enough. It will be slower than RAM, yes, but it should run ok.

 

EDIT: Found this for you as well: http://www.techbuyersguru.com/Ramgaming2.php

 

Really shows when managing your RAM, there is no bnig difference in many games beetween 4,8 and 16gb. I know some games will like to have more, but it will run fine on 4.

Well I was just worried because while playing Ghosts it was using 4.2GB, and obv that would cause some sort of error and certainy crash Ghosts. 

With the pagefile does it fairly act the same as RAM?? If I just add another 2-4GB on the pagefile (Ik how to do so) than Ghosts should run fine, am I right??

Also I'm at work atm, so I'll check the link out when I get home. Thanks. 

[mapegl]

 

Well I was just worried because while playing Ghosts it was using 4.2GB, and obv that would cause some sort of error and certainy crash Ghosts. 

With the pagefile does it fairly act the same as RAM?? If I just add another 2-4GB on the pagefile (Ik how to do so) than Ghosts should run fine, am I right??

Also I'm at work atm, so I'll check the link out when I get home. Thanks. 

 

The link is just someone who tested that. Can't say how reliable it is, but I guess it should be mostly true.

 

Yes the pagefile is used similarly to your RAM. There are different philosophys on how big it should be, but when you only have 4gb RAM, maybe even set it to 8gigs just to be safe. If you don't have a pagefile and not enough RAM or both are too small, then your system will crash.

[DIV1D3]

The link is just someone who tested that. Can't say how reliable it is, but I guess it should be mostly true.

 

Yes the pagefile is used similarly to your RAM. There are different philosophys on how big it should be, but when you only have 4gb RAM, maybe even set it to 8gigs just to be safe. If you don't have a pagefile and not enough RAM or both are too small, then your system will crash.

Yeh, I'll try setting Windows appearance to minimum and increasing the pagefile with 8Gb first, then I'll try it out with 4GB. 

Cheers!