Win 7 vs Win XP

Soul_Rider

As the title suggests, I want to know how performance compares in NS2 on those OS's. Has anyone else made the change?

I am considering upgrading to Win 7, but would like to know how NS2 performs before I do. Any assistance would be appreciated. Please don't suggest Win 8, that OS is the death of PC gaming, but with Win XP coming to EoL I need an upgrade choice :D

Kouji_San

Well I've run NS2 on winXP back at around build200 I think it was and switched to win7 on my old rig


<i>Intel C2D E6420 @3.4Ghz, Sapphire HD4850 512Mb and 2Gb OCZ DDR2-800 @ 425Mhz</i>


I can tell you that the game ran a tiny bit smoother from what I could tell with less hitching. With just 2Gb of RAM and running it on Low back than, the rest of the RAM was used for video memory. Win7 has this memory thing it does for 3D applications, if you have free sytem memory it allocates it towards extra VRAM so it doesn't have to swap textures and materials between the HDD and the 3Dcard as much...

For example running NS2 on Low back at around build200:

<!--c1--><div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain'><!--ec1-->Approximate values from memory on Summit ~build200. I think the latest builds are a bit less in memory usage, especially when using the experimental texture streaming. Which works for some people and doesn't for others :(

NS2.exe                     1000Mb
NS2 VRAM                     700Mb to 800Mb -> 512Mb VRAM + 200Mb to 300Mb win7 allocated RAM
System memory usage          500Mb to 600Mb
Free win7 allocated "VRAM"   300Mb to 100Mb

Sometimes going over the system memory of 2Gb, kinda negating the win7 memory allocation a bit, as it did have to involve the HDD again<!--c2--></div><!--ec2-->


All I can say is that the hitching was a tad bit less on win7, but overall performance was the same. There is a limit to what software can do to increase per clock cycle efficiency on the CPU, I guess... It wasn't until I tested it with a HD5870 1Gb (~build 215 I think vs HD4850 512Mb), to see hitching close to gone on Low, heck I could even run it on Medium for gaming and on High for ###### and giggles. And I was also able to run it on CPU stock speeds (2.13Ghz) with no more than 6 people in one room, not sure if this was related to win7, Spark optimizations or the HD5870 1Gb, I think it was a combination of all three with the bigger part being the new 3Dcard :P


So this magic trick win7 does with memory allocation, does indeed help a bit with loading and unloading stuff on the fly, negating the HDD to some extent. But in the end, more true dedicated VRAM and more system memory is always going to be better. Win7 works best with at the very least 4Gb of system memory. It keeps stuff previously loaded in memory and its overall much more efficient using the memory compared to winXP. But that only starts to show with at least the before mentioned 4Gb.



All this stuff aside, I've found win7 to be nicer to work with than winXP, once you get past the "OMG ITS DIFFERENT" bit :P

-Besides, you can make it look and feel like good ol'winXP on the surface if you really wanted to and still benefit from all the new age stuff <i><!--coloro:#696969--><span style="color:#696969"><!--/coloro-->*waves cane*<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--></i>

Soul_Rider

Thanks for the reply Kouji :)

I make my Win XP look like Win 98, because I hate all that wasted resources on fancy buttons etc, so good to know!

I have 4GB Ram installed, so that should work fine :) I appreciate the detail in your reply. Going to break contact with the world for a bit and see how Win7 works :)

Kouji_San

<!--quoteo(post=1986615:date=Oct 3 2012, 05:32 PM:name=Soul_Rider)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Soul_Rider @ Oct 3 2012, 05:32 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1986615"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I make my Win XP look like Win 98, because I hate all that wasted resources on fancy buttons etc, so good to know!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>*Bro Fist*</b>

Soul_Rider

WoW, I know I made a separate thread in Gen Disc, but hey, ALL my hitreg issues have disappeared with this update. I can now hit and kill skulks!! I just went 6-0 in a game, and was so excited I had to leave the game and post on the forums...

Anyone who has gamed with me in NS2 knows my score is normally 0-6, 1-17, 2-24 etc. Finally, I can prove to people that I can aim!!!

I can't understand why, my framerate is exactly the same, maybe DX11's way of running DX9 is better than running DX9, anyway, who cares, I made the upgrade and I am absolutely delighted with the results!!!

Now for some serious gaming. Also, despite running exactly the same settings, the game looks better on win7 than on XP, very weird, but hey, I'm a happy bunny. There is no client hitching when firing, everything seems super smooth in comparison to what I have been used to!!

GISP

<!--quoteo(post=1986617:date=Oct 3 2012, 07:34 PM:name=Kouji_San)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kouji_San @ Oct 3 2012, 07:34 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1986617"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><b>*Bro Fist*</b><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Heh i to have everything turned of in my windows, no fancy shinies slowing my puter down :P

Zaggy

I'd like to add that Windows XP is _very_ old and that Microsoft is going to stop releasing new patches in 2014.
If you're on XP now, upgrade!