Ram Disks

[JimmyGiro]

Hi folks, I've just bought this software:

 

http://dimmdrive.com/

 

Since I was looking for something to do with that extra ram [16gb installed]. I'm using it presently for browsing; It's a spectacularly simple program to use, for games primarily, and programs with large data files and caches, in general.

 

Last night, I tried it on ArmA 3, and was struck by the potential for stutter elimination. Had to configure it a bit, as to fit all of Arma in ramdisk, required a ramdisk of size 13 gb (I can only use 10gb with a 16gb ram install; blessed is he who has 32 gb of ram). The solution is that you can configure Dimmdrive to load only the texture files, rather than the whole game package. I'm mightily impressed with the results.

 

I will try it out on IL2 this weekend.

 

If anybody is using Occulus Rift, I suspect a ramdisk implementation would benefit, by removing said disk stutters, that I imagine would be more than a nuisance in VR as opposed to an untethered flat screen.

 

Needless to say, games won't run faster, they will run smoother.

[reddog=11blueleader*]

Sounds great, may be good for all flight sims like P3D, FSX ect.

[6./ZG26_Emil]

Is it going to make that much difference compared to a SSD?

[steppenwolf]

Moved ROF to SSD and Arma on RamDisk, vs reg disk drive, and the difference was only in game loading. CPU and GPU are about the only things that ever made a big difference in actual gameplay.

[JimmyGiro]

Any game, whereby you move quickly from scene to scene, including level changes and high-speed travel, such as in vehicle or aircraft sims, will involve loading on the fly, from 'disk' to graphics memory.

 

My experiments with ArmA 3, are positive, in that they eliminate stutter. My game disk is a Samsung 830 256 GB, and that was a great improvement over the HD; but the ramdisk is eliminates all the residual stutters.

 

Take a look at the videos on the site, in the link above; they are what sold the software for me. It's quite cheap (£28), and if you do have 16GB or more of ram, it's a great way of utilising it.

[FuriousMeow]

Any game, whereby you move quickly from scene to scene, including level changes and high-speed travel, such as in vehicle or aircraft sims, will involve loading on the fly, from 'disk' to graphics memory.

 

That's not true. Yes when loading new levels, not so much in aircraft sims or even ArmAII.

[6./ZG26_Emil]

I tried ram disks for some other sims and I got no benefit. I do like my SSDs though.