Only half of my RAM being utilized

[LekaLeksa]

I've had this problem for quite a while now. So basically, everything in my computer says that I have 16 GB RAM in my PC and it should all be usable, but in certain games, where the RAM usage should go higher than 8 GB, it just stops and my PC starts using the pagefile instead, creating stutter. In some RAM-heavy games I've seen the usage go to about 56%, but after time it slowly goes down to 50% and the stuttering starts again, almost like my computer doesn't want to believe that I have 16 GB RAM. Any help would be appreciated.

[BoNfiRe]

You could reduce the amount of page file or even disable it altogether?

Press the RMB on the windows start button and select system> on the right select advanced system settings> then under performance, click settings. IOn the top tab, select advanced> then under memory, press change... there you can change all you need or don't need.

[just.kamk /idle]

Coincidence != correlation. Low'ish Ram usage is normal for just gaming (in comparison to what one "can" use with different programs).

Something else causing the stutters. Could go the other way around, start some Ram heavy programs, then the same game, check usage before and after.

[[☥] - CJ -]

The pagefile will always be used, regardless of how much RAM you have.

Check Windows system information, make sure installed RAM says 16.0GB
You can check with CPU-Z as well.

32bit games only make use of up to 4GB of RAM, usually less than that. So unless you play a 64bit game you wont notice a large amount of usage.

[rotNdude]

Please post your computer specs and what OS you're running.

[LekaLeksa]

Originally posted by rotNdude:

Please post your computer specs and what OS you're running.

CPU: Intel Core i7 4770
GPU: Nvidia GTX 970 MSI
Motherboard: MS-7826
Drives: WD 1 TB 7200 rpm and 16GB mSATA Disk Caching SSD
RAM: 2 x 8GB Kingston
I'm currently running Windows 10 Home 64-bit.

[[☥] - CJ -]

Does the SSD Cache utilize any of the RAM?

I had an SSD cache and the software dedicated 1GB to it

[LekaLeksa]

Originally posted by ☥ - CJ -:

Does the SSD Cache utilize any of the RAM?

I had an SSD cache and the software dedicated 1GB to it

I'm not sure, but that might actually be the reason for my problems. How can I check it?

[[☥] - CJ -]

software manual for it, if there is one.. depends on the SSD and if it uses any software besides Intels

[DizzeeSpellz]

I dunno people here are talking bs tbh
I check everygame same thing
I look at benchmarks from youtube 16gb users all using only 8gb every single game
I check 32gb benchmarks on the same games and everytime their pc is using like 18gb of ram
Found this because I was looking for the same answers and to see if your games using more ram has any impact on peformance or whether the game using 8gb is no different to 18

[[☥] - CJ -]

Are you aware how old this thread is?

The amount makes a difference DEPENDING on the game AND other factors.

[nedney]

I would also like to know why this is happening. Seems like literally every game I play, the RAM usage tops out at 50% and the stuttering starts. Why does it not use the full 16 gigs, if I have nothing else running while playing it? It makes no sense.

[Kiwi {JESUS IS LORD}]

ur lucky im using about 10gb out of 16gb now

[Illusion of Progress]

Originally posted by nedney:

I would also like to know why this is happening. Seems like literally every game I play, the RAM usage tops out at 50% and the stuttering starts. Why does it not use the full 16 gigs, if I have nothing else running while playing it? It makes no sense.

I agree with what nullable stated, but let's start with these questions if you want to investigate, so regardless of if it is a case of "games are ignoring half the RAM" (I find this unlikely), you mention a stuttering issue which I would presume you want resolved.

What is your commit limit when this occurs (show both the currently commited amount and the current commit limit cap, both of which are showed in task manager)? Ignore "in use" RAM for a bit and look at the commit limit. if you want to dig slightly deeper, use resource monitor instead of task manager and look at the values there (namely, commit limit and working set).

What is the state of your page file for further clarity (system managed, or have you adjusted it)?

Don't only look at RAM. Don't forget VRAM too. Is this maybe being exhausted? Does the stuttering occur if you use lower game settings (shadow/texture ones are key ones to try lowering first for this regard). Task Manager will often be okay for a rough look at VRAM, and while it will show allocation and not necessarily "what something needs", that's a separate distinction, so it's still a good barometer to check in a case like this.

What are you temperatures? Stuttering isn't from throttling, is it?

Lastly, what GAMES are you playing? Many games will just stutter, either at times, under certain conditions (shader compilation stutter is a big modern one), or so on. Are you sure you're not just making the incorrect correlation that they aren't using half your RAM and stuttering as a result, when instead the situation might be that they only need around half, and are also stuttering for other reasons?

And what CJ said earlier is another good check. 32-bit applications have about a 4GB limit (or more like 2 GB at times I think?) and Windows itself can use in the area of 4GB plus or minus these days, so something hitting around 8 GB and then faltering wouldn't be too farfetched in such a case. Maybe the game is just hitting that internal limit and stuttering? If this is the case, something like "large address aware" might help. But if this is "every game" then this is unlikely to be it (older games might be 32-bit but wouldn't all hit that limit, and newer ones are more and more 64-bit).

[_I_]

if using a hdd for page file, it can cause stuttering when windows needs to use the drive space for ram

[[☥] - CJ -]

Regarding GPU VRAM usage
Up to HALF of your Physical RAM, lets say if you have 8GB then that would be 4GB can be used as Shared Graphics Memory by the system if your GPU doesnt have enough VRAM for a game you are playing. GPUs with 4GB+ of VRAM generally dont run into this with most games, but lower than 4GB can be common.

Being as GDDR5 and GDDR6 VRAM is generally faster than Physical RAM SOME stuttering may be encountered in situations that the Shared Memory is being used. This is especially true if your Physical RAM is being maxed out as a whole because of it.

Systems with 8GB or less this can commonly happen, but with systems having 16GB+ it'll basically never happen.
-

Either way, we need more info.