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Lemon_King

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    [HOWTO - RAMDRIVE] Increasing SWTOR System Performance

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    All well and good... this post and all... except one glaring omission:

     

    This game's "hitching" isn't caused by the data path traversing the SSD/HDD, RAM --> CPU pathway. It's caused in the processor due to duplicate and erroneous instruction being sent by the plague-ridden code this game's engine runs on.

     

    A RAM drive will only be effective if the game can in fact sequentially, and orderly buffer data logically for processing. SWTOR... eh. I don't know why I even bother. I'll get flamed for saying anything I've already said.

     

    I would love to see some numbers from this.

    [HOWTO - RAMDRIVE] Increasing SWTOR System Performance

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Lemon_King

    Did you not disabling caching on the SSD?

    You really should as caching on it can actually cause problems, especially later down the road.

     

    You need to minimize all the background writes to your OS drive as much as possible if it happens to be an SSD. All those mini writes to cache can be like throwing gas on a fire if you're having drive performance issues.

    I have 3 drives within my system each with a different role.

    C:\ - OS & General Apps

    D:\ - General Game & Scratch Space

    S:\ - SSD with WoW, TOR & a game bound by NDA.

     

    Lastly, caching is not active. :p

    [HOWTO - RAMDRIVE] Increasing SWTOR System Performance

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Lemon_King

    OP, you might want to mention at the top that this is for Windows 7 and Vista only, specifically 64-bit versions. First, a user wouldn't want to do this with only 4GB of RAM or less (ie: just over limits of 32-bit operating systems). Second, you use AppData paths in your walkthrough which is very different on Windows XP.

     

    If you mention that first then you can get right of your other mention of Windows 7/Vista further into the walkthrough.

     

    Also, you might want to refine what you mean by hitching on an SSD. In good quality second and third gen SSDs there is no hitching. Only first gen and crappy low-end SSDs suffer hitching.

     

    My first OP stated that it was recommended that the user at least have 6gigs of ram.

    The hitching is caused by the engine pausing to flush data then creating and saving said data in the cache. :p

     

    I know, you link to it in the OP.

    What I don't understand is, why are you not utilizing the installation location lookup?

    Much easier for the average Joe, than figuring out where the game installed.

    Might sound as weird to you as me, but there are plenty of gamers that don't even know where explorer.exe is located neither how to find it.

    And that lookup really doesn't cost anything extra regarding processing time.

    Since your thread gets a lot of views, and since we know that the method works (for free), make it easy for people that are PC handicapped, that is all I ask. ;)

     

    Problem is, its been hit or miss with some machines. Especially if the user has moved the install folder around before.

    [HOWTO - RAMDRIVE] Increasing SWTOR System Performance

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Lemon_King

    The imdisk method posted by the OP is missing several line from the original version.

    As example:

    :SETVARS
for /F "skip=2 tokens=3,*" %%i in ('reg query "hklm\software\bioware\star wars-the old republic" /v "Install Dir"') do set installloc32=%%j
for /F "skip=2 tokens=3,*" %%i in ('reg query "hklm\software\wow6432node\bioware\star wars-the old republic" /v "Install Dir"') do set installloc64=%%j
IF NOT DEFINED installloc32 IF NOT DEFINED installloc64 GOTO ERRnoinstloc
IF DEFINED installloc32 IF DEFINED installoc64 GOTO ERRinstloc
IF NOT DEFINED installloc32 set installloc=%installloc64%
IF DEFINED installloc32 set installloc=%installloc32%

    All checks are there for a reason, to make it simple and easy for everyone to use it, don't just throw them out.

    That batch in your post came from this posting by mrkitethreeeight: http://www.swtor.com/community/showpost.php?p=1965652

     

    Anything special need to be done if one decides to remove the Ramdisk? Say I've installed ImDisk, but would like to remove it and the changes I've made.

     

    Do I need to remove the mklinks I've made? Re-name the _Original back, and carry on?

    Correct. The client will regenerate the missing DiskCacheArena.

     

    Going somewhat off topic...

    There is one thing that gives a bigger drop in fps, down to 35fps, that is when I move trough the door from the docking bay to the fleet center.

    Which looks more like an issue with amounts of requests and calculation, somehow I got the idea that BW has done the n00b thing making requests for all stored data from the DB for every other client that roams in the same area.

    I wonder what the internal server latency is up at, since latency to the server looks just fine, same can be said for available bandwidth.

    Bottleneck in the engine itself maybe? Since DPC Latency looks very good too, no crazy spikes there at all.

    Its the client generating Atlas Textures of other players as they come and go from the Fleet.

     

    So, struggle to keep this process going or shell out $270 for SSDs in a RAID 0 to get lightning fast performance. Personally, I'd rather skip the ramdrive caching tricks and choose a process that will not be easily broken by updates. Even a single SSD with 525 MB/s bandwidth smokes good hard drives anywhere from 70 to 100 MB/s on top of the latency of 3-10ms and head seek time.
    There is no struggle to keep it working between patches, as Patches don't break the basic DiskCacheArena Ramdrive setup.

    I just explored other means for a small performance boost.

     

    Secondly, I'm trying to give players a cost effective way for a performance boost when it comes to loading times and not going to demand they fork out 250+ bucks for it.

    [HOWTO - RAMDRIVE] Increasing SWTOR System Performance

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Lemon_King

    Did some more testing, and I gained a huge performance boost by moving the following files to memory - Requires a 4gig RamDrive.

     

    As for the performance gain, character loading goes from a long series of dragged out bursts to one quick burst with characters popping in at extremely fast speeds.

     

    swtor_main_art_dynamic_cape_1.tor
swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_1.tor
swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_tight_1.tor
swtor_main_art_dynamic_hand_1.tor
swtor_main_art_dynamic_head_1.tor
swtor_main_art_dynamic_lower_1.tor
swtor_main_art_dynamic_mags_1.tor
swtor_main_art_fx_1.tor

    Hooray Atlas Generation, being slow. :p

     

    Junction Script - Aimed at Advanced Users: USE THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK

     

    copy "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_fx_1.tor" T:\
rename "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_fx_1.tor" swtor_main_art_fx_1_ORIG.tor
mklink "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_fx_1.tor" "T:\swtor_main_art_fx_1.tor"

copy "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_cape_1.tor" T:\
rename "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_cape_1.tor" swtor_main_art_dynamic_cape_1_ORIG.tor
mklink "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_cape_1.tor" "T:\swtor_main_art_dynamic_cape_1.tor"

copy "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_1.tor" T:\
rename "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_1.tor" swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_1_ORIG.tor
mklink "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_1.tor" "T:\swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_1.tor"

copy "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_tight_1.tor" T:\
rename "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_tight_1.tor" swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_tight_1_ORIG.tor
mklink "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_tight_1.tor" "T:\swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_tight_1.tor"

copy "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_hand_1.tor" T:\
rename "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_hand_1.tor" swtor_main_art_dynamic_hand_1_ORIG.tor
mklink "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_hand_1.tor" "T:\swtor_main_art_dynamic_hand_1.tor"

copy "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_head_1.tor" T:\
rename "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_head_1.tor" swtor_main_art_dynamic_head_1_ORIG.tor
mklink "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_head_1.tor" "T:\swtor_main_art_dynamic_head_1.tor"

copy "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_lower_1.tor" T:\
rename "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_lower_1.tor" swtor_main_art_dynamic_lower_1_ORIG.tor
mklink "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_lower_1.tor" "T:\swtor_main_art_dynamic_lower_1.tor"

copy "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_mags_1.tor" T:\
rename "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_mags_1.tor" swtor_main_art_dynamic_mags_1_ORIG.tor
mklink "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_mags_1.tor" "T:\swtor_main_art_dynamic_mags_1.tor"

     

     

    Junction Reversal

     

    del "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_fx_1.tor"
rename "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_fx_1_ORIG.tor" swtor_main_art_fx_1.tor

del "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_cape_1.tor"
rename "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_cape_1_ORIG.tor" swtor_main_art_dynamic_cape_1.tor

del "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_1.tor"
rename "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_1_ORIG.tor" swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_1.tor

del "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_tight_1.tor"
rename "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_tight_1_ORIG.tor" swtor_main_art_dynamic_chest_tight_1.tor

del "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_hand_1.tor"
rename "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_hand_1_ORIG.tor" swtor_main_art_dynamic_hand_1.tor

del "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_head_1.tor"
rename "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_head_1_ORIG.tor" swtor_main_art_dynamic_head_1.tor

del "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_lower_1.tor"
rename "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_lower_1_ORIG.tor" swtor_main_art_dynamic_lower_1.tor

del "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_mags_1.tor"
rename "<SWTOR Install Path>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\Assets\swtor_main_art_dynamic_mags_1_ORIG.tor" swtor_main_art_dynamic_mags_1.tor

     

    [HOWTO - RAMDRIVE] Increasing SWTOR System Performance

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Lemon_King

    fraid it didnt work out for me :/

     

    same fps problem as befor

     

    This doesn't magically fix FPS issues, thats another ballpark. This works around underlying issues with HDD Cache speeds for loading worlds and/or objects/dynamic character models & textres (atlas).

     

    Why this is going to fail:

     

    Some of you got all technical and stuff, but you are forgetting one fundamental thing: the game is still writing/reading from the hard drive, meaning, it has to go all over the communication process. And where SSD shine, combination of hdd and ramdrive will fail.

     

    I've seen someone saying, even two hdds are gonna make a difference - sir, you are simply wrong. The game isn't writing just because it likes to do it. No, it's writing to read it in the future. What you are doing, by linking two drives, is making the path from one hdd sector to another, a whole lot larger and more complicated.

     

    While using one hdd, those sectors on a hdd, of cache file, are very narrow, so the hdd will have a short path between them.

     

    When using two drives, you essentialy, are reading, communicating, and then writing and then communicating back, while with only one hdd, you are using simple read/write functions.

     

    It would be a fine idea if those hdds were good at multitasking, but they aren't. Each operation is really just one big process divided in groups.

     

    Think about a writer and a single book situation. If there's one writer, he writes and changes pages without having to stand up. If there are two, one writes, stands up, another one sits down, changes page, stands up to make room for the first one to sit down and write another page.

     

    Again, this is a viable solution BUT if all of your game was on a ramdrive, and even then, your game would have to communicate with dx files so it wouldnt be as fast as you wish it to be.

     

    My conclusion on this matter - either buy a SSD or don't bother.

     

    Honestly, I've tried it, it doesn't help with anything on my end.

    Full stop, I'm running the game on an SSD (Asset Files with Executable) with all the cache files in the RamDrive.

    DX Files are loaded into system memory at runtime so it doesn't have to reload those files during gameplay if for some reason they are not already loaded. (Seriously go read up on API programming for game engines)

    Third, go back and read what you're saying. Its like you've never worked with hardware & software before.

     

    Lastly, your Pentium C2D E5200 is your biggest problem. ;)

    [HOWTO - RAMDRIVE] Increasing SWTOR System Performance

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Lemon_King

    when doing the

     

    mklink "<SWTOR Install Location>\Star Wars-The Old Republic\SWTOR\DiskCacheArena" "T:\DiskCacheArena"

     

    it says i do not have the right to do so allthough im looged in as admin.

     

    any advice?

     

    thanks in advance

    Make sure when you've opened the command prompt with admin privileges, and that you've replaced <SWTOR Install Location> with the location for SWTOR>

     

     

    @MartinSPT: Dude, chill out a bit. :p

    DiskCacheArena isn't a standard cache file, its closer to a VHD considering it has its own file system.

    [HOWTO - RAMDRIVE] Increasing SWTOR System Performance

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Lemon_King

    I wonder...

    I can't help but notice that my DiskCacheArena file seems to cap around 1 Go.

     

    Wouldn't you think this cap is kind of arbitrary ? Is 1 Go really enough if you switch planets and environments regularly ?

    I confess I have no idea.

     

    Also, do you think it could somehow improve game performance to delete the RAM'ed DiskCacheArena everytime before launching swtor ?

     

    As I said, just wondering.

     

    The cap is defined by the software (SWTOR), it used to be 2gigs during SWTOR's beta testing until the last two weekend previews when it was decreased to 1gig.

     

    I just choose the size for the ramdrive at 2gigs due to the unknown size of Stream and Static when holding data.

     

     

    I don't think it does matter much if you keep the cache between sessions or not. I already dismount my ramdrive after a session to free the memory, as I only have max 6GB.

     

    The game loads just as fast/normal as without clearing (as I didnt noticed anything).

     

    With the capping on 1GB can explain the reason that a ramdrive of 1.5GB still works for me. I don't know if it can be even more lowered, but I don't know what the other 2 files are acting at during gameplay.

     

    Also after the latest patch, my fps seems to be unstable again and even with 60-70 fps I get some hitching now and then again :s

    Framerate has bit somewhat hit or miss for people with the past 2 major patches.

    How they're handling data under the hood needs a good bit of work.

    TorHead just posted some interesting Patch 1.x info.

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Lemon_King

    Flashpoints, flashpoints, dailies, flashpoints... Is this serious? Zero new feature? How accurate is this? Looks like a joke or better be.

    Its not everything, some data gets pushed when it shouldn't be.

    What you're seeing is a portion of the stuff that goes into the patch, not the entirety.

     

    Heck, even expansion 1 info has been in the game as of the final beta weekend.

    [HOWTO - RAMDRIVE] Increasing SWTOR System Performance

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Lemon_King

    Sadly this did nothing noticeable for me. Balmorra still runs like crap. I'm forced to put everything down to low when I can play Crysis 2 on ultra, cause that makes sense. Thanks EA.

     

    Side Note: Try installing the DX9 Runtime files if you can run Crysis 2 on Ultra. ;)

     

    Still stuttering. Is there anything else I could try?

    Try installing the DX9 runtime too, if you're on Vista/7 if you have not installed it before.

    http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=35

    Developer Blog: Busting Bugs and Fixing Exploits

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=154568

    You will want to alter how DiskCacheArena / DiskCacheStatic / DiskCacheStream are utilized.

    Or at least allow users with more than 6 gigs of system ram to have DCA / DCSs to all be stored in memory.

     

    Because right now when DCA begins to flush data, SWTOR will beging to hitch badly and degrade performance greatly.

    On the otherside having those 3 files will speed up loading a bit going from planet/zone to another area.

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