Are you currently playing SWTOR???

[serisscweald]

yes I am

[JEStucker]

Just ordered new (more) RAM for my computer, should have it Monday or Tuesday, so gaming experiences should improve.  been running 4gig DDR3, will be upping it to 12gigs (machine maxes out at 16)

[Krace]

Just ordered new (more) RAM for my computer, should have it Monday or Tuesday, so gaming experiences should improve.  been running 4gig DDR3, will be upping it to 12gigs (machine maxes out at 16)

Yes, you should see a significant improvement.  I have seen SWTOR take 2GB by itself.  I have 8 in my machine(4x2) and it has served me well so far.  Though recently I am seeing limitations on my graphics card as it would not support Star Wars Battlefront.

[ThreadJack]

I have 6 gigs in my laptop. It runs the game smoothly with an i5 processor.

[Vyk]

In my experience, you see diminishing returns as you go up in RAM.  Getting to 4GB from anything below that is a drastic improvement--faster loads, less stuttering, everything.  4GB to 6GB (on the same computer) cuts load times noticeably (although the networking part of the load time, where the bar just pauses for a while at around 25% through, is unaffected by any changes to your computer).  6GB to 8GB (same computer again) seems to help further, but it's much less of an improvement--in part because the network aspect isn't affected.  8GB to 12GB doesn't seem to do a whole lot; maybe a very slightly faster load and a little less stuttering on some planets, but I think those are probably from other factors instead of RAM (the 12GB computer is newer and faster than the 8GB one, and it loaded more quickly even when both had 4GB.  If anything, I think the increased RAM made the newer computer's faster disk not matter as much--the load times seem closer to each other now).

Basically, I'd readily suggest upgrading from 4GB--to 8GB, ideally, but 6GB will do.  TOR isn't very resource-hungry; I'd be happier spending my money on Doritos and Mountain Dew than I would be from any performance gains over 8GB. 

[Krace]

In my experience, you see diminishing returns as you go up in RAM.  Getting to 4GB from anything below that is a drastic improvement--faster loads, less stuttering, everything.  4GB to 6GB (on the same computer) cuts load times noticeably (although the networking part of the load time, where the bar just pauses for a while at around 25% through, is unaffected by any changes to your computer).  6GB to 8GB (same computer again) seems to help further, but it's much less of an improvement--in part because the network aspect isn't affected.  8GB to 12GB doesn't seem to do a whole lot; maybe a very slightly faster load and a little less stuttering on some planets, but I think those are probably from other factors instead of RAM (the 12GB computer is newer and faster than the 8GB one, and it loaded more quickly even when both had 4GB.  If anything, I think the increased RAM made the newer computer's faster disk not matter as much--the load times seem closer to each other now).

Basically, I'd readily suggest upgrading from 4GB--to 8GB, ideally, but 6GB will do.  TOR isn't very resource-hungry; I'd be happier spending my money on Doritos and Mountain Dew than I would be from any performance gains over 8GB. 

I'd say 8GB is a good place to be because you have enough to run a resource hungry game, as well as run your OS and anything you might be running in the background, like browsers.

[ThreadJack]

In my experience, you see diminishing returns as you go up in RAM.  Getting to 4GB from anything below that is a drastic improvement--faster loads, less stuttering, everything.  4GB to 6GB (on the same computer) cuts load times noticeably (although the networking part of the load time, where the bar just pauses for a while at around 25% through, is unaffected by any changes to your computer).  6GB to 8GB (same computer again) seems to help further, but it's much less of an improvement--in part because the network aspect isn't affected.  8GB to 12GB doesn't seem to do a whole lot; maybe a very slightly faster load and a little less stuttering on some planets, but I think those are probably from other factors instead of RAM (the 12GB computer is newer and faster than the 8GB one, and it loaded more quickly even when both had 4GB.  If anything, I think the increased RAM made the newer computer's faster disk not matter as much--the load times seem closer to each other now).

Basically, I'd readily suggest upgrading from 4GB--to 8GB, ideally, but 6GB will do.  TOR isn't very resource-hungry; I'd be happier spending my money on Doritos and Mountain Dew than I would be from any performance gains over 8GB. 

I'm not a huge gamer, so I don't run anything more resource hungry than TOR. That's why I didn't spend the money to go up in RAM, because I wouldn't see enough returns to justify an extra $100. I could have gotten 8GB on an i3 for cheaper, but I figured going down a processor would cancel out the gains of 2GB RAM. Plus the HP I bought has a slightly better graphics card, and I liked the way it was constructed better.

[Krace]

I meant to also add, once you get to 8GB, if you are looking to upgrade to more performance you are better off looking at a bigger graphics card or a SSD for your machine if you don't already have one.

[Lucianbloodwolf]

for me my computer is a 1 tb hardrive and a 16gb ram so im somewhat good but the game is very very laggy mainly due to ironically in some planets its still laggy but it mainly could be due to internet issues

[ThreadJack]

for me my computer is a 1 tb hardrive and a 16gb ram so im somewhat good but the game is very very laggy mainly due to ironically in some planets its still laggy but it mainly could be due to internet issues

Changing my router to get a better signal helped with the lagging IMMENSELY.

[Vyk]

I'm not a huge gamer, so I don't run anything more resource hungry than TOR. That's why I didn't spend the money to go up in RAM, because I wouldn't see enough returns to justify an extra $100. I could have gotten 8GB on an i3 for cheaper, but I figured going down a processor would cancel out the gains of 2GB RAM. Plus the HP I bought has a slightly better graphics card, and I liked the way it was constructed better.

Here's what I've found do and don't matter for TOR:

• Processor: Pretty much any quad-core 2.6GHz or faster will be similar.
• RAM: 6GB will do you, and 8GB is as high as I'd bother with.
• Storage: A decent 7200RPM disk is fine; with 8GB RAM, a SSD will pretty much help you when booting the computer and launching the game and not really beyond that.
• Graphics: A GTX 550Ti (or equivalent) or better will happily run the game both quickly and beautifully.  As you go down from there, you need to decrease either resolution, graphics settings, or both.  Going above a GTX 750 isn't really going to matter.
• Bus: You want PCIe 2.0 x16 or better.  Above that isn't really going to matter; below that, you'll cap your framerate.  In my experience, PCIe 1.0 x16 (or PCIe 2.0 x8 or PCIe 3.0 x4) is going to be stuck around 50fps no matter what proc or vidcard you have.  (Fortunately, this doesn't really matter unless you either have a really old motherboard or accidentally plugged your vidcard into the x16-wired-as-x4 slot that seems to be on a lot of motherboards.)
• Network: Surprisingly important.  They helped load times dramatically around the time KotFE was released, but network speed--both bandwidth and latency--is still a significant factor.

That last one is an important point.  Shortly before KotFE was released, I was doing some very important testing (which is definitely not the same as "playing games at work") and found that a 3.2GHz dual-core Dell OptiPlex 980 with 8GB RAM on a university's Gigabit Ethernet had much faster load times than a 3.3GHz quad-core Dell OptiPlex 990 with 12GB RAM and 50Mbps FiOS.  (They had identical 7200 RPM hard drives.)  I don't just mean an "I got in and moved a few steps while waiting for you" definition of faster--I mean an "I wandered a bit and killed this group of mobs while waiting for you" definition of faster.  Don't misunderstand me--I'm not saying I'd shell out a fortune for 500Mbps networking at home just so I could load levels in TOR more quickly.  I'm just saying that if your guildmate in a college dorm always loads faster than you at your suburban house, you're going to look pretty stupid when you brag about your new 32GB RAM and Samsung 950 Pro SSD and he and his budget rig are still waiting for you every time you enter a flashpoint.

TL;DR: It's very easy to buy way more computer than TOR needs.

[Vyk]

I meant to also add, once you get to 8GB, if you are looking to upgrade to more performance you are better off looking at a bigger graphics card or a SSD for your machine if you don't already have one.

I half agree and half disagree.

IMO, a SSD is one of the best things you can do for a computer overall, but for TOR it doesn't make that much of a difference compared to a decent conventional hard drive.  As far as TOR goes, I'd shell out for a SSD if I for some reason were limited to 4GB of RAM (but couldn't just buy a new computer).  With enough RAM, the game caches a lot of its resources so that your HD/SSD doesn't affect speed much aside from when you start it.  (Again, assuming a decent HD.  If you're using a 5400RPM disk, yank it out of there ASAP and beat it with a hammer to get revenge for all the anguish it has caused you.  You should probably back up your data before doing this. )

A better graphics card can be very helpful, but only up to a point.  IIRC, my wife's GTX 750 runs the game at 1080p with maxed graphics at around 50-60fps.  My work computer's GT 730 runs the same resolution with mid-range graphics at around 30fps.  (In both cases, the framerate is capped by the graphics card.)  If you're considering upgrading (or playing with graphics settings), hit ctrl-shift-F and watch the color of the numbers in the lower left corner.  If they're red, your graphics card is not the limit--its your CPU or bus speed.  If they're consistently green, your graphics card is what's holding you back.  If they alternate evenly between red and green, they're balanced.  If they alternate evenly between red and green and are much lower than you want, you're probably going to be a lot happier saving up for a new computer than throwing money at the one you have.

[Vyk]

...oh, and one more thought.  The system suggestions that I've given assume that you're running TOR and not a lot else--say, a couple browser tabs and TeamSpeak or something.  If you like to play games while leaving open 18 ad-heavy browser tabs, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, Acrobat, Uplay, and Steam, then you're a danger to yourself and those around you and I hope you will commit yourself to the nearest psychiatric ward before it's too late. 

[JEStucker]

I had just installed a new graphics card back in November of last year.  A new GeForce GT 740, which fixed a lot of my issues, but the RAM, especially when running AutoCAD (I'm a CAD Drafter) was killing me, it just couldn't keep the program running smoothly.  Games also experienced lag, especially in heavily populated areas.

Eventually I'll end up with an SSD Drive as well, but that will come with the next board and processor swapout when it becomes necessary.

[DarthVyral]

Currently playing as my Sith Marauder on the Jedi Covenant server.