Help me! (Technical question about RAM)

[Swimfan]

So I only have 16GB Ram and the devs said somewhere that RAM usage was their only technical hurdle during development (graphics are really good compared to their requirements apparently).

Now it seems to be the case that POE accounts (and the ones linked with Steam) are interchangeable so that I could technically play here and with their original launcher. As Steam already uses up 10+% of my RAM on its own, I was thinking about "cutting out" the middle man and just opt for GGG's launcher from their original site.

Help a technically-not-so-versed bro out: Does that make sense? Do I actually save up on RAM by not also having Steam in the background while playing POE2?

I ask bc my internet connection can be a bit wonky so downloading 100GB isn't something I just do in between a cooffe break ^^"

[Caldrin]

You would of course save yourself some RAM usage without Steam running..

But you can probably launch it from Steam then close steam off anyway..

[Orb of Me]

Yes, using GGG's launcher instead of Steam can save some RAM, as Steam consumes resources in the background. By not running Steam, you free up RAM and CPU for POE2, which could help if you're resource-constrained. However, the performance boost might be minor unless Steam's background usage is significant.

As for your internet connection, using the original launcher could also improve download speeds, as Steam often uses bandwidth for background updates and syncing.

Overall, it makes sense to use the GGG launcher if you're looking to optimize RAM and bandwidth usage. However, POE2 itself will still use a lot of RAM, so the difference might not be huge.

[Swimfan]

Originally posted by Orb of Me:

Yes, using GGG's launcher instead of Steam can save some RAM, as Steam consumes resources in the background. By not running Steam, you free up RAM and CPU for POE2, which could help if you're resource-constrained. However, the performance boost might be minor unless Steam's background usage is significant.

As for your internet connection, using the original launcher could also improve download speeds, as Steam often uses bandwidth for background updates and syncing.

Overall, it makes sense to use the GGG launcher if you're looking to optimize RAM and bandwidth usage. However, POE2 itself will still use a lot of RAM, so the difference might not be huge.

Thanks :-)
Well 16GB isn't thaaaat bad but I'd like to save up wherever I can naturally and since I have the choice here I just want to go for the optimal route.

Also: Is it a good idea to install this game on my Windows SSD (does that make it faster) instead of my gaming SSD where I keep my Steam games usually?

[Arlen]

Originally posted by Orb of Me:

Yes, using GGG's launcher instead of Steam can save some RAM, as Steam consumes resources in the background. By not running Steam, you free up RAM and CPU for POE2, which could help if you're resource-constrained. However, the performance boost might be minor unless Steam's background usage is significant.

As for your internet connection, using the original launcher could also improve download speeds, as Steam often uses bandwidth for background updates and syncing.

Overall, it makes sense to use the GGG launcher if you're looking to optimize RAM and bandwidth usage. However, POE2 itself will still use a lot of RAM, so the difference might not be huge.

wouldn't Vram be utilized before Ram?

[Orb of Me]

Originally posted by Arlen:

wouldn't Vram be utilized before Ram?

Yes, VRAM is used before RAM for graphics. If VRAM fills up, the game will use system RAM. Closing Steam can free up RAM, but the impact might be small unless you have other heavy background processes.

[Orb of Me]

Originally posted by Swimfan:

Also: Is it a good idea to install this game on my Windows SSD (does that make it faster) instead of my gaming SSD where I keep my Steam games usually?

Installing POE2 on your Windows SSD may offer slightly faster load times, but the difference isn't huge. If you're looking to optimize performance, it could be worth doing, but it's not essential.

[Orb of Me]

By the way the game is well-optimized, so 16GB of RAM should be plenty for smooth gameplay. Lag in PoE and PoE2 is usually caused by the CPU, GPU, or network, not just RAM. In PoE1, for example, lag happens when there are a lot of effects or enemies on screen, which stresses the CPU and GPU more than the RAM.

Adding more RAM won’t really solve lag issues. If you’re experiencing lag, it's usually better to focus on upgrading your CPU or GPU, as they play a bigger role in handling the game’s processing and rendering.

[Swimfan]

Originally posted by Orb of Me:

By the way the game is well-optimized, so 16GB of RAM should be plenty for smooth gameplay. Lag in PoE and PoE2 is usually caused by the CPU, GPU, or network, not just RAM. In PoE1, for example, lag happens when there are a lot of effects or enemies on screen, which stresses the CPU and GPU more than the RAM.

Adding more RAM won’t really solve lag issues. If you’re experiencing lag, it's usually better to focus on upgrading your CPU or GPU, as they play a bigger role in handling the game’s processing and rendering.

Thanks for the clarification mate :-)

[butcher.8]

Close any web browsers, they use a surprisingly large amount of ram.

[moonfeast]

16gb ram should be sufficient imo...maybe not play witch if you're worried

[<color=#CD3210>Lunatic]

Just reduce particle effects, turn off shadows & reflections, set the fps limit to 60, and if your gonna use a build that spams heaps of effects lower the visuals for those effects.

All you really need are damage numbers to know your attacks are connecting and doing decent damage.