System requirements question

[platinumranger 18]

It's been years since I've installed this game. I'm installing it on an old laptop with windows 7 and 3 gigs of RAM. It's old and new memory isn't available anywhere so I'm stuck with what it has. I've increased the virtual memory of the system up to 6000mb because I want to install NAM 48 but it recommends 4 gigs of RAM. Will the virtual memory be enough to run the game or should I just forget installing NAM and keep trying to find an obsolete memory chip? It's an old dell latitude d520 from 2006 I'm trying to setup for my grandson.

[platinumranger 18]

I found out I had a second memory chip under my keyboard and can buy a used 2 gig chip on amazon to replace the 1 gb chip limiting my game.

[rsc204 21,815]

How much RAM you need depends on exactly what you wish to use. Sure having 4GB is mandatory for using the RHW feature of NAM, but if RHW isn’t a deal breaker, that’s not necessary.

However that 4GB (upgrading a chip) would need to handle the OS needs too, only what remains can be used by SC4. In human terms, too many Plugins and this could cause problems.

Tip: don’t mess with Virtual Memory, let Windows handle it, unless you really understand what you are changing. VM is crazy slow compared to RAM and isn’t a substitute for it. If SC4 moved to VM then the app would crash because it couldn’t keep up.

With Win7 (64-Bit), provided the OS isn’t bloated with background processes, 4GB is probably OK. Restart your PC, when it boots leave it a few minutes and don’t do anything. Then open Task Manager (Right Click the taskbar and select Task Manager). This utility will show the amount of memory (RAM) in use. If it’s over 2GB before starting SC4, you may find you’ll need more than 4GB to have the full experience.