Identifying the performance bottleneck

[Tek7]

Symptoms: I get frequent stuttering in Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and StarCraft II. All games are running on medium graphics settings. Unreal Tournament 3 does not produce the same issue. Load times in SC2 seem excessive, though I don't have any frame of reference. Stuttering in SC2 is most severe immediately after a map loads and on larger maps. Stutter tends to subside as the match continues.

System specifications: Dell Studio 1737

• Intel Core2 Duo T6400 @ 2.00GHz 2.00GHz
• 2.0GB RAM
• ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 (running latest reference drivers)
• Onboard audio (running latest available drivers)
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Samsung 160GB 5400 RPM 2.5" hard drive (ST9160310AS)

Budget: Minimal. Before I spend any money on upgrades, I need to do everything reasonable to ensure that the upgrade will resolve the issue.

Commence posting theories!

 

[Tek7]

Below are results from HD Tune diagnostics:

Benchmark

Test capacity: full

Read transfer rate
Transfer Rate Minimum : 16.6 MB/s
Transfer Rate Maximum : 69.6 MB/s
Transfer Rate Average : 51.5 MB/s
Access Time : 26.8 ms
Burst Rate : 106.3 MB/s
CPU Usage : 8.3%

File Benchmark

Spoiler

Drive C:

File Size: 64 MB

Block size Read speed
0.5 KB 502 KB/s
1 KB 1210 KB/s
2 KB 3428 KB/s
4 KB 783 KB/s
8 KB 4395 KB/s
16 KB 1827 KB/s
32 KB 2913 KB/s
64 KB 3977 KB/s
128 KB 6749 KB/s
256 KB 7070 KB/s
512 KB 8582 KB/s
1024 KB 5818 KB/s
2048 KB 9699 KB/s
4096 KB 16124 KB/s
8192 KB 24027 KB/s

Block size Write speed
0.5 KB 193 KB/s
1 KB 2213 KB/s
2 KB 2332 KB/s
4 KB 6469 KB/s
8 KB 14918 KB/s
16 KB 32653 KB/s
32 KB 37705 KB/s
64 KB 37716 KB/s
128 KB 14667 KB/s
256 KB 28367 KB/s
512 KB 25209 KB/s
1024 KB 13658 KB/s
2048 KB 31059 KB/s
4096 KB 27928 KB/s
8192 KB 34625 KB/s

Random Access

Test capacity: full

Read test

Transfer size operations / sec avg. access time avg. speed
512 bytes 33 IOPS 29 ms 0.017 MB/s
4 KB 40 IOPS 24 ms 0.157 MB/s
64 KB 39 IOPS 25 ms 2.494 MB/s
1 MB 22 IOPS 45 ms 22.070 MB/s
Random 27 IOPS 36 ms 14.038 MB/s

Health

Spoiler

ID Current Worst ThresholdData Status
(01) Raw Read Error Rate 118 99 6 175458352 ok
(03) Spin Up Time 99 99 85 0 ok
(04) Start/Stop Count 98 98 20 2468 ok
(05) Reallocated Sector Count 100 100 36 0 ok
(07) Seek Error Rate 81 60 30 165057750 ok
(09) Power On Hours Count 95 95 0 4779 ok
(0A) Spin Retry Count 100 100 97 0 ok
(0C) Power Cycle Count 98 98 20 2458 ok
(B8) End To End Error Detection 100 100 99 0 ok
(BB) Reported Uncorrectable Errors 100 100 0 0 ok
(BC) Command Timeout 100 99 0 38 ok
(BD) (unknown attribute) 100 100 0 0 ok
(BE) Airflow Temperature 62 52 45 672661542 ok
(BF) G-sense Error Rate 100 100 0 64 ok
(C0) Unsafe Shutdown Count 99 99 0 2424 ok
(C1) Load Cycle Count 94 94 0 13002 ok
(C2) Temperature 38 48 0 38 ok
(C3) Hardware ECC Recovered 56 48 0 175458352 ok
(C5) Current Pending Sector 100 100 0 0 ok
(C6) Offline Uncorrectable 100 100 0 0 ok
(C7) Ultra DMA CRC Error Count 200 200 0 0 ok
(F0) Head Flying Hours 100 253 0 4629 ok
(F1) (unknown attribute) 100 253 0 1098183296 ok
(F2) (unknown attribute) 100 253 0 -230094127 ok

Health Status : ok

Extra Tests

Spoiler

Test capacity: full

Random seek 41 IOPS 24.2 ms 0.020 MB/s
Butterfly seek 34 IOPS 29.2 ms 0.017 MB/s
Random seek / size 64 KB 43 IOPS 23.5 ms 0.654 MB/s
Random seek / size 8 MB 10 IOPS 105.2 ms 38.553 MB/s
Sequential read outer 1103 IOPS 0.9 ms 68.920 MB/s
Sequential read middle 834 IOPS 1.2 ms 52.113 MB/s
Sequential read inner 542 IOPS 1.8 ms 33.889 MB/s
Burst rate 1710 IOPS 0.6 ms 106.859 MB/s
Cache
0.5 MB 111.177 MB/s
1.0 MB 45.028 MB/s
1.5 MB 48.630 MB/s
2.0 MB 60.055 MB/s
2.5 MB 56.288 MB/s
3.0 MB 58.688 MB/s
3.5 MB 63.039 MB/s
4.0 MB 60.036 MB/s
4.5 MB 61.713 MB/s
5.0 MB 64.308 MB/s
5.5 MB 64.901 MB/s
6.0 MB 62.896 MB/s
6.5 MB 65.035 MB/s
7.0 MB 63.041 MB/s
7.5 MB 64.644 MB/s
8.0 MB 65.496 MB/s
8.5 MB 63.815 MB/s
9.0 MB 64.764 MB/s
9.5 MB 62.763 MB/s
10.0 MB 64.317 MB/s
10.5 MB 60.787 MB/s
11.0 MB 56.186 MB/s
11.5 MB 64.726 MB/s
12.0 MB 63.568 MB/s
12.5 MB 66.213 MB/s
13.0 MB 63.037 MB/s
13.5 MB 65.285 MB/s
14.0 MB 64.803 MB/s
14.5 MB 65.288 MB/s
15.0 MB 65.877 MB/s
15.5 MB 64.589 MB/s
16.0 MB 65.493 MB/s
16.5 MB 66.024 MB/s
17.0 MB 64.890 MB/s
17.5 MB 65.677 MB/s
18.0 MB 65.798 MB/s
18.5 MB 65.004 MB/s
19.0 MB 65.811 MB/s
19.5 MB 65.936 MB/s
20.0 MB 64.306 MB/s
20.5 MB 65.931 MB/s
21.0 MB 66.151 MB/s
21.5 MB 65.628 MB/s
22.0 MB 66.050 MB/s
22.5 MB 65.361 MB/s
23.0 MB 65.482 MB/s
23.5 MB 66.143 MB/s
24.0 MB 66.535 MB/s
24.5 MB 65.603 MB/s
25.0 MB 66.213 MB/s
25.5 MB 66.321 MB/s
26.0 MB 65.752 MB/s
26.5 MB 66.287 MB/s
27.0 MB 62.939 MB/s
27.5 MB 65.183 MB/s
28.0 MB 65.314 MB/s
28.5 MB 66.688 MB/s
29.0 MB 65.287 MB/s
29.5 MB 66.413 MB/s
30.0 MB 66.726 MB/s
30.5 MB 66.067 MB/s
31.0 MB 66.467 MB/s
31.5 MB 66.518 MB/s
32.0 MB 66.043 MB/s
32.5 MB 63.621 MB/s
33.0 MB 66.036 MB/s
33.5 MB 66.325 MB/s
34.0 MB 65.692 MB/s
34.5 MB 66.100 MB/s
35.0 MB 66.343 MB/s
35.5 MB 66.599 MB/s
36.0 MB 66.160 MB/s
36.5 MB 66.281 MB/s
37.0 MB 65.807 MB/s
37.5 MB 64.940 MB/s
38.0 MB 66.335 MB/s
38.5 MB 66.032 MB/s
39.0 MB 66.264 MB/s
39.5 MB 66.351 MB/s
40.0 MB 66.704 MB/s
40.5 MB 66.765 MB/s
41.0 MB 66.521 MB/s
41.5 MB 66.040 MB/s
42.0 MB 65.580 MB/s
42.5 MB 66.632 MB/s
43.0 MB 66.761 MB/s
43.5 MB 66.392 MB/s
44.0 MB 66.038 MB/s
44.5 MB 66.787 MB/s
45.0 MB 66.893 MB/s
45.5 MB 66.086 MB/s
46.0 MB 66.818 MB/s
46.5 MB 66.465 MB/s
47.0 MB 66.679 MB/s
47.5 MB 66.842 MB/s
48.0 MB 67.053 MB/s
48.5 MB 66.637 MB/s
49.0 MB 66.856 MB/s
49.5 MB 67.077 MB/s
50.0 MB 67.201 MB/s
50.5 MB 66.875 MB/s
51.0 MB 66.565 MB/s
51.5 MB 67.212 MB/s
52.0 MB 67.286 MB/s
52.5 MB 66.979 MB/s
53.0 MB 67.215 MB/s
53.5 MB 67.280 MB/s
54.0 MB 67.154 MB/s
54.5 MB 67.229 MB/s
55.0 MB 67.440 MB/s
55.5 MB 66.643 MB/s
56.0 MB 66.684 MB/s
56.5 MB 67.412 MB/s
57.0 MB 67.538 MB/s
57.5 MB 67.246 MB/s
58.0 MB 66.112 MB/s
58.5 MB 65.855 MB/s
59.0 MB 67.253 MB/s
59.5 MB 67.313 MB/s
60.0 MB 67.538 MB/s
60.5 MB 67.606 MB/s
61.0 MB 66.182 MB/s
61.5 MB 67.537 MB/s
62.0 MB 67.266 MB/s
62.5 MB 67.314 MB/s
63.0 MB 67.539 MB/s
63.5 MB 67.687 MB/s
64.0 MB 65.772 MB/s
64.5 MB 67.538 MB/s

Information

Firmware version : DE05
Capacity : 160.0 gB (149.0 GB)
Buffer size : 8192 KB
Sector size : 512 bytes
Standard : ATA8-ACS - SATA II
Supported mode : UDMA Mode 6
Current mode : UDMA Mode 6
Avergae speed : 48 MB/s
Rotation speed : -

S.M.A.R.T : yes
48-bit Address : yes
Read Look-Ahead : yes
Write Cache : yes
Host Protected Area : yes
Device Configuration Overlay : yes
Firmware Upgradable : yes
Automatic Acoustic Management: yes
Power Management : yes
Advanced Power Management : yes
Interface Power Management : yes
Power-up in Standby : no
Security Mode : yes
Native Command Queuing (NCQ) : yes

Volume : ( C: )
Capacity : 142235 MB
Free : 27627 MB
Usage : 81%
File system : NTFS

Volume : RECOVERY ( D: )
Capacity : 10239 MB
Free : 4214 MB
Usage : 59%
File system : NTFS

 

[Keero]

I'm guessing it's your RAM or possibly you're running in Power Saver mode. Try kicking it up to "Let's drain the planet" mode, worked on my old crappy laptop. Also may want to disable Aero since I've seen it slow down some older games on this machine.

Edit: If lowering your game's graphics to low doesn't help, it'll be the CPU as Source games use that more so than the GPU for running games.

 

[Tek7]

I'm guessing it's your RAM or possibly you're running in Power Saver mode. Try kicking it up to "Let's drain the planet" mode, worked on my old crappy laptop.

I have my laptop set to Balanced power mode. I checked and there's no options I could find that would increase performance.

Also may want to disable Aero since I've seen it slow down some older games on this machine.

I switched to the Windows Classic theme and it didn't seem to free up any RAM. Do I need to reboot to see a difference?

Edit: If lowering you're game's graphics to low doesn't help, it'll be the CPU as Source games use that more so than the GPU for running games.

I haven't lowered graphics settings to low often, but I remember when I tried it in Left 4 Dead 2, it did seem to reduce the stuttering. I haven't done any structured diagnostics other than running HD Tune yet.

 

[Tek7]

Additional notes: I ran a full defrag on my hard drive last night using Defraggler.

Forcing TF2 and L4D2 to run using an older version of DirectX (by using the -dxlevel 81 command line argument) may see a slight increase in performance (it's been a while since I've tried it and don't recall), but it doesn't address the issue of stutter in StarCraft II, which does not run on the Source engine.

 

[RyanB]

Kind of hard to pinpoint the exact cause here - all three (CPU, RAM, Video) look a tad questionable. The stuttering after level load could be rolling a bunch of stuff in and out of RAM, or it could be the CPU trying to keep up with all the initial commands for units. L4D2/TF2 are probably a bit more Video intensive, and less CPU, as RTS games tend to be more CPU-intensive.

I'd try checking task manager while the game is running. You can either have the game windowed or just run it in the background while it logs and see what's happening. It won't tell you about your video card, but it should show RAM or CPU spiking.
Start -> Run -> taskmgr -> performance tab

PF = RAM + the page file (fake, slow ram on the hard drive)...and you don't want this to be at your limit. Obviously you don't want the CPU hanging at 100, either.

 

[Hescominsoon]

The only things i would suspect in your machine is the ram and cpu. SC2 just like it's previous kin is VERY cpu intensive. Also if you are running vista/7 you are at the edge of the ram envelope. 2 gis is the MINIMUM for the system to operate decently. If you don't have 64 bit copy of windows then add another gig if you can. If you DO have 64 bit edition throw in 2 gigs. Just in everyday usage I routinely spend my days at 40-50% ram usage. That obviously spikes up when i game. In terms of the cpu SC2 is optimized for dual core cpu's as they are the most common installed at the time of release. It's also entirely possible your cpu is getting taxed by SC2 and other games. Source is heavily optimized for at least dual cores as well. Since you can't realistically upgrade the cpu I would go for the ram. You may also just have to drop the quality settings on SC2 to make it playable if you don't have any upgrade options due to finances..

 

[Tek7]

I'd try checking task manager while the game is running. You can either have the game windowed or just run it in the background while it logs and see what's happening. It won't tell you about your video card, but it should show RAM or CPU spiking.
Start -> Run -> taskmgr -> performance tab

PF = RAM + the page file (fake, slow ram on the hard drive)...and you don't want this to be at your limit. Obviously you don't want the CPU hanging at 100, either.

Is there some way to get Task Manager or Resource Monitor to output performance measurements to a file? Or is there a program that will do that?

If not, I can just run Resource Monitor while I play StarCraft II then take screenshots of RM once I'm out of the game.

Just in everyday usage I routinely spend my days at 40-50% ram usage.

Aye, I see the same (~50% RAM usage) just while browsing the web, chatting, and checking e-mail.

Since you can't realistically upgrade the cpu I would go for the ram.

That's what I'm leaning toward. I just wish there was a way to test and see if 4GB really makes a difference before dropping the money.

You may also just have to drop the quality settings on SC2 to make it playable if you don't have any upgrade options due to finances..

I messed with graphics settings during the beta and dropping from Medium to Low didn't result in a significant performance gain. I can try again, but even if it works, it would only be a temporary measure (as Low graphics settings look rather bleh).

 

[RyanB]

Is there some way to get Task Manager or Resource Monitor to output performance measurements to a file? Or is there a program that will do that?

I personally prefer just watching it so that you can see an immediate impact, but for long-term logging you can use performance monitor (start -> run -> perfmon).

System Monitor is basically an advanced version with logging capabilities.

More info:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/248345


Man, probably trolling for saying this on this thread, but this is why I prefer consoles, lol. Can't wait for you guys to save up and join the ranks of PS3 elitists.

 

[Tek7]

Just updated my Windows Experience Index and decided to copy/paste the system specs it recorded:

More details about my computer


Component Details Subscore Base score
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T6400 @ 2.00GHz 5.5 5.3
Determined by lowest subscore

Memory (RAM) 2.00 GB 5.5
Graphics ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 5.3
Gaming graphics 1021 MB Total available graphics memory 6.0
Primary hard disk 26GB Free (139GB Total) 5.6
Windows 7 Home Premium

System
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manufacturer Dell Inc.
Model Studio 1737
Total amount of system memory 2.00 GB RAM
System type 64-bit operating system
Number of processor cores 2

Storage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total size of hard disk(s) 149 GB
Disk partition (C: ) 26 GB Free (139 GB Total)
Disk partition (D: ) 4 GB Free (10 GB Total)
Media drive (E: ) CD/DVD
Media drive (F: ) CD/DVD

Graphics
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Display adapter type ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650
Total available graphics memory 1021 MB
Dedicated graphics memory 256 MB
Dedicated system memory 0 MB
Shared system memory 765 MB
Display adapter driver version 8.753.0.0
Primary monitor resolution 1440x900
DirectX version DirectX 10

Network
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Network Adapter Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100 AGN
Network Adapter Broadcom NetLink (TM) Gigabit Ethernet

Notes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The gaming graphics score is based on the primary graphics adapter. If this system has linked or multiple graphics adapters, some software applications may see additional performance benefits.
Caution: Based on the results of the WinSAT Disk assessment, your system drive may have slower response times under some workloads. Performance results will depend on the specific applications used and the amount of memory available. If your experience is satisfactory, no action is needed.

Only 256MB dedicated graphics memory.

I personally prefer just watching it so that you can see an immediate impact, but for long-term logging you can use performance monitor (start -> run -> perfmon).

System Monitor is basically an advanced version with logging capabilities.

More info:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/248345

I'll check out the link. Thanks.

Man, probably trolling for saying this on this thread, but this is why I prefer consoles, lol. Can't wait for you guys to save up and join the ranks of PS3 elitists.

PS3 doesn't have StarCraft II.

</story>

 

[RyanB]

PS3 doesn't have StarCraft II.

</story>

I may be going way, way out on a limb here, but I am not sure that will be the case forever. It's Activision, Blizzard has been talking more about "not being console-centric" (big surprise), and if any game could sell PS3/360 keyboards, it's Starcraft 2. But I won't be holding my breath, and PC is definitely the only one that has it today.

 

[Tek7]

I may be going way, way out on a limb here, but I am not sure that will be the case forever. It's Activision, Blizzard has been talking more about "not being console-centric" (big surprise), and if any game could sell PS3/360 keyboards, it's Starcraft 2. But I won't be holding my breath, and PC is definitely the only one that has it today.

Indeed it is. Even if it were released on the PS3, I would still rather play SC2 on a computer at a desk than on a PS3 in a living room.

Back to the main topic: I think I found the bottleneck. And it does indeed seem to be excessive paging (and thus not enough RAM).

I ran Performance Monitor while playing through a StarCraft II mission and received the following warnings:

Symptom: The system is experiencing excessive paging
Cause: Available memory on the system is low.
Details: The total physical memory on the system is not capable of handling the load.
Resolution: Upgrade the physical memory or reduce system load

Here are a few more details:

Memory

Spoiler

Process Process ID Commit (KB) Working Set (KB) Shareable (KB) Private (KB)
SC2 4648 2,164,864 1,458,084 19,096 1,438,988
svchost##3 312 259,228 117,272 2,316 114,956
MsMpEng 832 362,916 49,008 4,640 44,368
Steam 1404 384,596 42,824 6,828 35,996
mmc 2272 277,392 43,960 17,756 26,204
perfmon 2332 152,492 19,940 5,656 14,284
audiodg 1364 51,360 14,556 3,324 11,232
csrss##1 532 135,008 11,996 780 11,216
StarCraft II 5068 148,772 32,428 21,332 11,096
svchost##4 764 497,688 17,456 6,428 11,028

counter Mean Minimum Maximum
% Committed Bytes In Use 84 37 91
Available Bytes 196,347,708 58,216,448 1,583,759,360
Cache Bytes 69,274,203 5,742,592 112,939,008
Cache Faults/sec 132 0 10,048
Commit Limit 4,284,260,352 4,284,260,352 4,284,260,352
Committed Bytes 3,589,863,945 1,597,259,776 3,880,923,136
Demand Zero Faults/sec 443 1.001 58,739
Free & Zero Page List Bytes 42,619,562 0 1,402,032,128
Free System Page Table Entries 33,555,797 33,555,373 33,556,851
Modified Page List Bytes 2,096,545 184,320 51,695,616
Page Faults/sec 702 7 59,053
Page Reads/sec 30 0 792
Page Writes/sec 0.652 0 69
Pages Input/sec 146 0 11,912
Pages Output/sec 86 0 13,257
Pages/sec 232 0 13,268
Pool Nonpaged Allocs 109,469 75,367 122,519
Pool Nonpaged Bytes 71,789,479 70,422,528 74,022,912
Pool Paged Allocs 130,280 85,690 149,202
Pool Paged Bytes 192,956,340 189,739,008 196,874,240
Pool Paged Resident Bytes 48,424,393 41,611,264 66,551,808
Standby Cache Core Bytes 61,956,671 46,620,672 77,864,960
Standby Cache Normal Priority Bytes 84,013,004 6,713,344 456,343,552
Standby Cache Reserve Bytes 7,755,719 0 207,462,400
System Cache Resident Bytes 69,274,179 5,742,592 112,939,008
Transition Faults/sec 115 0 7,412
Transition Pages RePurposed/sec 187 0 8,525
Write Copies/sec 6 0 3,771

Performance

Spoiler

Resource Overview

Component Status Utilization Details
CPU Normal 50 % Normal CPU load.
Network Idle 0 % Busiest network adapter is less than 15%. Nic Intel[R] WiFi Link 5100 AGN using 8,568 bits and has 54,000,000 bits capacity.
Disk Idle 36 /sec Disk I/O is less than 100 (read/write) per second on disk 0. Reads 30.5/sec + Writes 5.8/sec
Memory Busy 91 % 187 MB Available.

Files Causing Most Disk IOs

Spoiler

The system is experiencing excessive paging

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Available memory on the system is low.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The total physical memory on the system is not capable of handling the load.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upgrade the physical memory or reduce system load

Disk File Reads/sec Kb/Read Writes/sec Kb/Write
0 C:\pagefile.sys 11.5 19 0.7 529
Image Name Process ID Reads/sec Kb/Read Writes/sec Kb/Write
SC2.exe 4648 3.8 28 0.0 0
MsMpEng.exe 832 1.5 25 0.0 0
System 4 0.5 7 0.7 529
svchost.exe 312 0.9 14 0.0 0
Steam.exe 1404 0.7 25 0.0 0
svchost.exe 704 0.5 6 0.0 0
SearchIndexer.exe 1876 0.3 11 0.0 0
explorer.exe 1852 0.3 11 0.0 0
GameOverlayUI.exe 4176 0.2 13 0.0 0
CCC.exe 3756 0.2 12 0.0 0
svchost.exe 108 0.2 8 0.0 0
perfmon.exe 2332 0.2 13 0.0 0
mmc.exe 2272 0.2 16 0.0 0
wmpnetwk.exe 2932 0.1 8 0.0 0
SearchProtocolHost.exe 4348 0.1 11 0.0 0
svchost.exe 764 0.1 8 0.0 0
rundll32.exe 4628 0.1 8 0.0 0
svchost.exe 1556 0.1 6 0.0 0
taskhost.exe 332 0.1 5 0.0 0
svchost.exe 1124 0.1 6 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4492 0.1 14 0.0 0
services.exe 564 0.1 8 0.0 0
nmSvc.exe 3304 0.1 8 0.0 0
svchost.exe 2676 0.1 8 0.0 0
svchost.exe 1216 0.1 9 0.0 0
SearchProtocolHost.exe 4692 0.1 5 0.0 0
dwm.exe 1916 0.0 4 0.0 0
lsass.exe 588 0.0 6 0.0 0
audiodg.exe 1364 0.0 5 0.0 0
SearchProtocolHost.exe 4956 0.0 12 0.0 0
taskmgr.exe 4672 0.0 8 0.0 0
SearchFilterHost.exe 4848 0.0 17 0.0 0
svchost.exe 2136 0.0 12 0.0 0
svchost.exe 768 0.0 9 0.0 0
lsm.exe 596 0.0 6 0.0 0
SearchProtocolHost.exe 4864 0.0 6 0.0 0
SearchFilterHost.exe 2480 0.0 4 0.0 0
SetPoint.exe 932 0.0 9 0.0 0
SearchFilterHost.exe 3984 0.0 36 0.0 0
csrss.exe 532 0.0 6 0.0 0
csrss.exe 440 0.0 8 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 5068 0.0 5 0.0 0
WmiPrvSE.exe 1396 0.0 8 0.0 0
SearchFilterHost.exe 4704 0.0 20 0.0 0
MOM.exe 3384 0.0 8 0.0 0
svchost.exe 2648 0.0 8 0.0 0
taskhost.exe 1004 0.0 11 0.0 0
atieclxx.exe 1304 0.0 5 0.0 0
spoolsv.exe 1508 0.0 8 0.0 0
SearchFilterHost.exe 444 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 3816 0.0 4 0.0 0
atiesrxx.exe 900 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 200 0.0 4 0.0 0
Apoint.exe 2580 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4028 0.0 6 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 3060 0.0 7 0.0 0
svchost.exe 3808 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4884 0.0 4 0.0 0
quickset.exe 2972 0.0 6 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4068 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 3560 0.0 4 0.0 0
msseces.exe 2376 0.0 4 0.0 0
WmiApSrv.exe 3716 0.0 30 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 1668 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 332 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 676 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 2144 0.0 10 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 2128 0.0 11 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 512 0.0 11 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4112 0.0 11 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4644 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 3264 0.0 4 0.0 0
taskeng.exe 5028 0.0 29 0.0 0
svchost.exe 3600 0.0 13 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 2268 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 3704 0.0 18 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 2836 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 864 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 3628 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 3136 0.0 13 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 1740 0.0 18 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4548 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4236 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4048 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 280 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 1136 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 3264 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 3252 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 996 0.0 4 0.0 0
ReflectService.exe 1776 0.0 8 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 1480 0.0 4 0.0 0
ApMsgFwd.exe 2728 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 2880 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4028 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 3000 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 5116 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 2992 0.0 4 0.0 0


0 C:\Program Files (x86)\StarCraft II\Mods\Liberty.SC2Mod\base.SC2Assets 7.0 15 0.0 0
Image Name Process ID Reads/sec Kb/Read Writes/sec Kb/Write
SC2.exe 4648 7.0 15 0.0 0
System 4 0.0 80 0.0 0


0 C:\Program Files (x86)\StarCraft II\Campaigns\Liberty.SC2Campaign\base.SC2Assets 4.6 23 0.0 0
Image Name Process ID Reads/sec Kb/Read Writes/sec Kb/Write
SC2.exe 4648 4.6 23 0.0 0
System 4 0.0 86 0.0 0


0 C:\$LogFile 0.1 26 1.3 5
Image Name Process ID Reads/sec Kb/Read Writes/sec Kb/Write
System 4 0.1 25 0.7 6
nmSvc.exe 3304 0.0 31 0.5 4
taskhost.exe 332 0.0 40 0.0 4
SC2.exe 4648 0.0 24 0.0 14
Steam.exe 1404 0.0 0 0.0 4
rundll32.exe 4628 0.0 0 0.0 7


0 C:\Program Files (x86)\StarCraft II\Versions\Shaders14513\deltaCache.bin 1.2 8 0.0 0
Image Name Process ID Reads/sec Kb/Read Writes/sec Kb/Write
SC2.exe 4648 1.2 8 0.0 0


0 C:\Program Files (x86)\StarCraft II\Versions\Shaders14513\baselineCache.bin 1.1 10 0.0 0
Image Name Process ID Reads/sec Kb/Read Writes/sec Kb/Write
SC2.exe 4648 1.1 10 0.0 0


0 C:\$Mft 0.6 15 0.2 4
Image Name Process ID Reads/sec Kb/Read Writes/sec Kb/Write
SC2.exe 4648 0.3 4 0.0 0
System 4 0.0 7 0.2 4
GameOverlayUI.exe 4176 0.0 4 0.0 0
taskhost.exe 332 0.0 45 0.0 0
Steam.exe 1404 0.0 4 0.0 0
svchost.exe 312 0.0 4 0.0 0
svchost.exe 704 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 2268 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 1656 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 3340 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4048 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 280 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 2836 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4116 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 2204 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4300 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 5068 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 1376 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 3628 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 1668 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 3260 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4040 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4720 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 676 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4884 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 3060 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4644 0.0 48 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 3264 0.0 43 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4068 0.0 40 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 5068 0.0 33 0.0 0
SearchFilterHost.exe 4704 0.0 54 0.0 0
SearchProtocolHost.exe 4956 0.0 52 0.0 0
SearchFilterHost.exe 444 0.0 63 0.0 0
SearchProtocolHost.exe 4864 0.0 55 0.0 0
SearchProtocolHost.exe 4692 0.0 65 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4492 0.0 65 0.0 0
wmpnetwk.exe 2932 0.0 4 0.0 0
SearchFilterHost.exe 4848 0.0 25 0.0 0
svchost.exe 3808 0.0 14 0.0 0
services.exe 564 0.0 4 0.0 0
SearchFilterHost.exe 2480 0.0 4 0.0 0
SearchFilterHost.exe 3984 0.0 4 0.0 0
svchost.exe 2676 0.0 4 0.0 0
MsMpEng.exe 832 0.0 4 0.0 0
SearchProtocolHost.exe 4348 0.0 26 0.0 0
perfmon.exe 2332 0.0 4 0.0 0
svchost.exe 1556 0.0 4 0.0 0
SearchIndexer.exe 1876 0.0 4 0.0 0
rundll32.exe 4628 0.0 4 0.0 0
svchost.exe 764 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 3560 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmSvc.exe 3304 0.0 0 0.0 4
explorer.exe 1852 0.0 4 0.0 0
nmStk.exe 4548 0.0 4 0.0 0


0 C:\Users\USERNAME\ntuser.dat.LOG1 0.0 0 0.7 2
Image Name Process ID Reads/sec Kb/Read Writes/sec Kb/Write
nmSvc.exe 3304 0.0 0 0.5 2
System 4 0.0 0 0.2 2


0 C:\Users\USERNAME\ntuser.dat 0.0 16 0.7 2
Image Name Process ID Reads/sec Kb/Read Writes/sec Kb/Write
nmSvc.exe 3304 0.0 16 0.5 2
System 4 0.0 16 0.2 2


0 C:\PerfLogs\Admin\New Data Collector Set\COMPUTER_NAME_..\Performance Counter.blg 0.1 40 0.5 61

So I think it's safe to say that upgrading to 4GB RAM would improve performance. Do you all agree?

 

[Odale]

...So I think it's safe to say that upgrading to 4GB RAM would improve performance. Do you all agree?

256mb of dedicated memory for a video card is pretty hefty, imo... especially for a laptop; also, 2gb total memory is tiny, no matter what. Whenever I upgraded my ram I always noticed a difference. I think it is also the cheapest thing you can do (assuming you are running your laptop at preferable settings for SC2 and the other games).

 

[Hescominsoon]

actually 256 megs of ram to a vid card is tiny for today. 512 megs is the absolute minimum with 1 gig becoming the average size. My 4830 has 512 megs in it and this is towards the low end of the 4800 line.

 

[Hescominsoon]

Ram is your friend these days..

 

[Keero]

256 is tiny if you're trying to max games out but my both of my brother's PCs run fine with them.

/has a 5850 anyways

 

[Odale]

/shrug

I'm pretty sure my HD4870 has 256mb of ram of ram and it runs every very well.

 

[ewoksrule]

/shrug

I'm pretty sure my HD4870 has 256mb of ram of ram and it runs every very well.

I thought they didn't make a 4870 with 256mb of ram of ram
I think 512mb was the lowest and then 1gb.

 

[XionTawa]

One thing I don't think anyone has said yet, is you have an awfully slow HDD...I was having some major issues running games and everything was running slow now and then...I had something very similar to your Samsung 160GB 5400 RPM 2.5" hard drive...it was Samsung, and it was a 5400RPM...I upgraded then to this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320 and the performance boost was AMAZING!!! 2GBs of RAM might be limiting you...but I am running 4 and have never passed 50% RAM...

 

[Tek7]

One thing I don't think anyone has said yet, is you have an awfully slow HDD...I was having some major issues running games and everything was running slow now and then...I had something very similar to your Samsung 160GB 5400 RPM 2.5" hard drive...it was Samsung, and it was a 5400RPM...I upgraded then to this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320 and the performance boost was AMAZING!!!

I ran HD Tune (and posted the diagnostics results) for that very reason. The diagnostics didn't return any (obviously) worrisome results, but Performance Monitor did. That's why I prioritized upgrading the RAM over upgrading the hard drive.

That being said, I would like to upgrade the hard drive (both for capacity and speed) in the future. Dell lists multiple 7200 RPM as potential upgrades for my system, so I believe I'm in the clear to pick up this drive for $61 shipped as my next upgrade.

And if I don't see any significant performance boost with the RAM, I'll likely return it and spend $61 of the $85 I spent on RAM on the hard drive upgrade. But given the information available, I think I made the right call.

Of course, if I had a job, I may have just bought both the RAM and the hard drive at the same time.