Oblivion And Physical Memory Usage : IV - Oblivion

» Sat May 28, 2011 10:21 am

Both file probably do the same thing.
Actually the LAA patch changes only 1 byte into the PE header of the exe file, yes 1 byte

.

Well, actually the FO3 LAA patch used to receive complaints about it's lack of OBSE support.
But I think that has been resolved.

But it's good to know that the patch linked on the OP only changes 1 byte! Didn't even check that myself.

EDIT- 1 bit, ahem

@DarklyDreaming - Did you happen to see the update on the OP?

» Sat May 28, 2011 1:44 am

Both file probably do the same thing.
Actually the LAA patch changes only 1 byte into the PE header of the exe file, yes 1 byte

.

I think that if you examin the before and after values of that byte in binary, you'll find that it changed exactly 1 bit. All it's doing is marking the executable as compatible with >2GB addresses.

» Sat May 28, 2011 10:01 am

It is threads like this one that keep me addicted to the Oblivion Mods Forum and allow me to tear myself away from The Game at times.

Thanks, far327...........and thanks as well to all who contributed to this thread. :tops:

» Fri May 27, 2011 9:11 pm

It is threads like this one that keep me addicted to the Oblivion Mods Forum and allow me to tear myself away from The Game at times.

Thanks, far327...........and thanks as well to all who contributed to this thread. :tops:

Really appreciate your positive feedback garx! Yeah, the modding community here is amazing!

EDIT - Working on that next video now guys. Hopefully will have it up within an hour or two.

» Sat May 28, 2011 12:11 am

I must say I just knew it was a flag in the PE, so I assumed, with knowledge of microsoft infamous optimization prowess, that it would be a full byte.
But one could argue that the program actually write a whole byte even if it only change 1 bit of it. Yes one could argue that if one didn't like being wrong and one talked in the third person.
Hopefully I'm not one

.

@DarklyDreaming - Did you happen to see the update on the OP?

If you mean your discovery that LAA actually change video memory limitations I must say I'm surprised.
All LAA is supposed to do is give the process full access to its 32 bit address space.
The video memory is obviously not mapped in the address space of the program(it would be complete chaos otherwise) but handled by drivers.
Those drivers are completely independant from the program that call them and should have access to a full address space(4GB on Vista/Win7 32bit, not sure on XP, and 256 TB on 64bit os).
Saying that a LAA patch change the behavior of a driver is impossible since the drivers are loaded when you boot the os...
I must be missing something...

» Fri May 27, 2011 9:42 pm

I must say I just knew it was a flag in the PE, so I assumed, with
If you mean your discovery that LAA actually change video memory limitations I must say I'm surprised.
All LAA is supposed to do is give the process full access to its 32 bit address space.
The video memory is obviously not mapped in the address space of the program(it would be complete chaos otherwise) but handled by drivers.
Those drivers are completely independant from the program that call them and should have access to a full address space(4GB on Vista/Win7 32bit, not sure on XP, and 256 TB on 64bit os).
Saying that a LAA patch change the behavior of a driver is impossible since the drivers are loaded when you boot the os...
I must be missing something...

Have a look at this article... http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/display/graphicsmemory.mspx
This was what gave me the idea to try it out. It sounds like since the Aero display effect was added to Vista, Microsoft had to think of a way that would allow users with low graphics memory to still be able to use the Aero function. I mean, that was one of the main draws for Vista when it came out. It was pretty. I think that is partially why Vista also had ridiculous memory requirements. They didn't want to shoot themselves in the foot if people couldn't use the Aero function if they're computers were ancient.

Just a thought really... No proof to support any of the statements...

EDIT - Video postponed because the size ended up being 10gb!!! Anyways, I hope to have it up Friday sometime. Just as a teaser.... I got my video memory all the way up to 1407mb on a 1024mb card!!! Will post more tomorrow. It's late here. Thanks all.

» Sat May 28, 2011 10:01 am

An easy-to-use /LAA enabler that I've been using, is available at http://www.musikbanken.se/TechLaaTiDo.aspx. It's called LaaTiDo.

I like how it enables you to check .exe files to see if they're /LAA enabled.

» Fri May 27, 2011 11:07 pm

An easy-to-use /LAA enabler that I've been using, is available at http://www.musikbanken.se/TechLaaTiDo.aspx. It's called LaaTiDo.

I like how it enables you to check .exe files to see if they're /LAA enabled.

Nice find Valamoor! Sounds like a great alternative to what I posted on the OP. If you get a chance, could you double check that your physical
memory usage for Oblivion.exe process is in fact exceeding past the ceiling point (1.75gb) when using that patch? If not, I will try testing as soon as I get a chance.
if it all checks out ok, I will add this to the OP

Would be good to hear what SkyRanger-1 thinks too since he was the one that originally referred the NTCore LAA patch I have on the OP. Want to make sure OSR will be compatible :hubbahubba:

thanks

» Sat May 28, 2011 2:00 am

Simply a shocking difference. OSR was already around for me, and was decently happy with my set up. Not a CTD beast, but a every once in awhile situation. However I previously had dismissed using a purge cell buffer mod, and had only vaguely heard about the LAA 4gb patch. Not really expecting much I went to go game for a bit. As I just started a new game, I figured a test for my own entertainment was in order. So the idea was set: see how far I can get in a 'world tour' sort of speak.

Anvil Docks -> Kvatch -> Skingrad -> Imperial City (at a glance, if I can make the tour, I'll return) -> Chorrol -> Bruma -> Cheydinhal -> the long way around to Leyawiin -> Bravil -> Imperial City tour to celebrate.

Asking way to much? Yeah, I sure thought so. A good test? Perhaps not. But it was a fun test... A few hours of constant play later, and yes, getting side tracked a few times, I'm shocked to find myself... touring the the Imperial City. :rock:

Bonus points? FCOM and more installed. CTD sense I've added a buffer purge and the LAA patch.... I don't want to say are non existent (surely a curse) but so far, so good.

Thank you for making this topic, all the testing, and to adding to the vast enjoyment of my Oblivion experience. :foodndrink:

» Fri May 27, 2011 9:18 pm

Yeah, adding my voice to the chorus here. . . thank you for this thread! I was aware that the 4GB patch existed, but kind of figured it didn't do much (I thought it was a placebo, akin to the various INI tweaks). Until seeing this thread, it never occurred to me that my random CTDs might just be a matter of over-running my RAM limit. I always thought they were due to general instability or mod conflicts.

Anyway, after reading this and trying the 4GB patch -- I'm a believer. Between this change and getting the updated UL Dark Forest esp, my game is now solid as a rock.

» Sat May 28, 2011 5:19 am

A couple points of info (happy to be corrected if I'm wrong):

There's no difference between the various 3GB and 4GB hacks. They all simply add a flag to the EXE to make it Large Address Aware (the LAA mentioned throughout the thread).
Since all these hacks only add the one flag, none of them will make your game incompatible with OSR, OBSE or anything else.
A 32-bit OS can only make use of 4GB physical memory total. So, with such a system (notably almost all Windows XP users - There is a 64-bit version of XP, but hardly anyone has it), you're not going to see the 3.8GB RAM usage that the first post mentions. (I realize there's a caveat there, but this spells out one of the reasons people can experience less of a boost.)
32-bit systems are also not likely to be able to supplement the VRAM usage by stealing RAM.

gothemasticator

» Sat May 28, 2011 4:43 am

Wow video size is 10 Gb?! :blink: You either recorded as an .avi file, or you have a big-ass monitor ^_^

» Fri May 27, 2011 11:08 pm

A couple points of info (happy to be corrected if I'm wrong):

A 32-bit OS can only make use of 4GB physical memory total. So, with such a system (notably almost all Windows XP users - There is a 64-bit version of XP, but hardly anyone has it), you're not going to see the 3.8GB RAM usage that the first post mentions. (I realize there's a caveat there, but this spells out one of the reasons people can experience less of a boost.)

gothemasticator

Actually I think the total ram available(not just to any given process but in totality) to windows xp is originally 2GB and 3GB If you add a parameter to the bootline of xp.
It may have changed with SP2 but I couldn't certify it.

» Sat May 28, 2011 12:33 am

Actually I think the total ram available(not just to any given process but in totality) to windows xp is originally 2GB and 3GB If you add a parameter to the bootline of xp.
It may have changed with SP2 but I couldn't certify it.

That's the /3GB switch. It's not recommended, as many drivers get unhappy with it.

» Fri May 27, 2011 7:56 pm

I'm liking this discussion and have a question that http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1071809&view=findpost&p=15682522 in the OBSE thread last night.

I thought that maybe it would be less political and more open a forum to ask here. If any group would seem to know the answer this be them.

I quote myself:

Well my weeks long run of having a solid game has slipped away.

Now it is a crashing mess. Switching OSR to heap mode 1 form 5 helped some, but it is crashing near constant now. (IMG:http://style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) I've not even really added mods just updated existing ones (of the OBSE 18+ variety at that).

Recently I had been playing around with Morrowind and installed it with MGE and just taking my time with learning how to operate it. I didn't like the instructions that I had to run MGE, Morrowind Launcher, and Morrowind.exe with administrator privileges on my Vista 64 system. Didn't use to be that way and it was explained that MGE did not use to have to access the registry.

Not so patiently I went back and forth and tried many settings and Vstatek and I found that you could run MGE by just running the Morowind Launcher once with admin privileges. I thought great no passwords ... I've beaten Vista again! Then he pointed out that although MGE ran it did not run at max resolution as set by MGE. So I'm back to running Morrowind.exe as admin and it does look and function better.

This got me thinking about Oblivion and my ups and downs with it. Does the OBSE loader or OBSE whatever need to access the registry? If so might there be an advantage to running the Oblivion.exe or the OBSE Loader or even the Launcher as admin thereby granting that access and possibly (feels like a long shot) address some of the crashing.

If there is how would I do that? If I wanted to test - is it OK to run the OBSE loader as admin? If I did would I also need to run the exe as such?
Probably the easiest way to test this is to simply change the user profile to admin.

Or am I out in left field here? thoughts?

Sorry if this is off topic, not trying to threadjack, but this seems related to me.

Or as I wrote - am I just out in left field?

» Fri May 27, 2011 9:17 pm

That sounds like it's on crack to me.

» Sat May 28, 2011 8:14 am

Psymon, you could solve all that hassle with UAC by putting the game somewhere other than your Program Files folder. Then you won't need to worry about admin rights, passwords, or any of that.

» Sat May 28, 2011 7:26 am

Skyranger - are you saying I'm on crack, that idea is on crack, or that MGE is?

Arthmoor - I've never had oblivion installed in the default location once I started modding it. One of the first things I ever learned. It, along with Morrowind and F3, are installed on a separate hard drive.

So even with Morrowind installed in a non-default location because MGE needs to read/write the registry for resolution overrides and so it needs the exe to have Admin privileges. Trying without and the resolution does not become 'lush' like MGE can provide.

I admit I'm ignorant and perhaps I'm way way off target here but thought it might be worth asking if there is anything about modded oblivion that needs these same privileges?
Does that make sense?

» Fri May 27, 2011 10:32 pm

I'm not sure which, but at least one of the above. Add windows to the possible list of candidates too, though I don't see how it could be that difficult for MGE to work around any issues that windows created in this regard.

If this is related to windows pretensions of security, I've heard that OBSE can have trouble on win7 if Oblivion is installed to Program Files, but that's the worst of it as far as I've heard.

» Sat May 28, 2011 10:10 am

Well if you look over the close of the previous MGE thread - looking for link http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1074308&view=findpost&p=15642014 and the conclusion http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1074308&view=findpost&p=15669045 ... you will see the dialogue about it.

To be clear though - it isn't just a 'have admin privileges' or crash issue - it is that by giving those priviliges to the launcher MGE seemingly worked, but not the way it was supposed to.

My, admittedly muddled thinking, then got me wondering if that could be happening with OBSE or anything oblivion related - that would be the case only if something tried to change oblivion functioning that was stored in the registry (like Morrowind graphics are stored in the registry). So it would appear to be working but actually lacking.

Sorry I'm uneducated - I should probably shut up - out the door to see Shutter Island - bye for now.

» Fri May 27, 2011 7:59 pm

(Sorry for the text size etc.. It seems like my word pad jacked it all up.)

Ok, here is that video I promised..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgPsdraKyBQ

It's going to be a bit hard to sit thru because I was limited to 15fps with the capture soft. Sometimes the frames drop lower due to the extreme stress on my CPU. Camtasia used about half my CPU resources, so I think that accounts for some of the slowness. (See the test settings below and you'll understand)

Windows 7 clearly allocates system memory to the graphics card for VRAM if needed. It's nice to know that our VRAM now has some headroom that can be relied as a buffer thanks to the 4gb LAA patch! NOTE that you will see an obvious point where system memory is being used for VRAM at 1:20 - 1:45 on the video.

A NOTE OF CAUTION...
Since I stayed in a single cell for the whole test, a lot of data was cached within that cell. I noticed once the texture memory filled up very high (1.3gb or so) in a single cell with out being purged or refreshed, the game would crash on the next cell change or pcb attempt. (That 1.3gb limit will be different for others.)
Keep in mind that with a good PCB mod installed, or normal cell switching that would occur from normal game play, the cell crash I experienced shouldn't occur. This test was really to show that system memory is used as VRAM once dedicated VRAM runs out. I will post another video showing the stability of exceeding dedicated VRAM within normal game play soon. But from what I have tested on my own during normal game play, stability is good. The only thing I haven't tried is a PCB mod.

Here are the settings I tested with...

Windows7 64bit
4gb of ram and
2 GTX285 video cards in SLI (1024mb VRAM)
CPU - Intel e8600 @4.44ghz
Resolution - 2048x1536 with 16xAF and 16xAA. Nvidia textures processing set to High quality. Nvidia driver version 196.21
uGridDistantTreeRange=25
uGridDistantCount=25
iShadowMapResolution=4096
*No OSR installed, Only had Fast Exit 2 loaded for OBSE plugins (Will test with OSR another time)

TEXTURE MODS -
* QTP3 FULL (not redimized, this was the full blown memory eater!)
* Improved Trees and Flora, Doors and Flora, Signs, Fruit and Meats (Major memory eater too)
* QTP High Detail LOD and Qarl's LOD normals 4096 Compressed (Ridiculous memory hog!)
* Enhanced Vegetation - High Res distant tree textures

OTHER MODS -
* FCOM
* Better Cities
* Unique Landscapes (Full)
* XEO 5
* RAEVWD (Full)
* All Natural
* Animated Window and Lighting System
* Enhanced Water HDMI
* MEAT
* CNRP

Here was the load order used...

Active Mod Files:    00  Oblivion.esm    01  All Natural Base.esm  [Version 0.9.8]    02  Francesco's Leveled Creatures-Items Mod.esm    03  Francesco's Optional New Items Add-On.esm    04  Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esm  [Version 1.34]    05  Mart's Monster Mod.esm  [Version 3.7b3p3]    06  FCOM_Convergence.esm  [Version 0.9.9MB3]    07  Armamentarium.esm  [Version 1.35]    08  Artifacts.esm    09  Better Cities Resources.esm    0A  Colourwheels sixy Female NPCs.esp    0B  Unofficial Oblivion Patch.esp  [Version 3.2.4]    0C  UOP Vampire Aging & Face Fix.esp  [Version 1.0.0]    0D  Oblivion Citadel Door Fix.esp    0E  DLCShiveringIsles.esp    0F  Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch.esp  [Version 1.4.0]    10  MOBS SI.esp  [Version 1.2.2a]    11  Better Cities .esp    12  Francesco's Optional Chance of Stronger Bosses.esp    13  Francesco's Optional Chance of Stronger Enemies.esp    14  Francesco's Optional Chance of More Enemies.esp    15  Francesco's Optional Leveled Guards.esp    16  FCOM_Francescos.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    17  FCOM_FrancescosItemsAddOn.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    18  FCOM_FrancescosNamedBosses.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    19  All Natural - Real Lights.esp  [Version 0.9.8]    1A  All Natural.esp  [Version 0.9.8]    1B  All Natural - SI.esp  [Version 0.9.8]    1C  All Natural - EW + NW + AWS.esp  [Version 0.9.6]    1D  Enhanced Water v2.0 HDMI.esp    1E  WindowLightingSystem.esp    1F  ImprovedSigns.esp    20  DLCHorseArmor.esp    21  DLCHorseArmor - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.5]    22  DLCOrrery.esp    23  DLCOrrery - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.3]    24  DLCVileLair.esp    25  DLCVileLair - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.5]    26  DLCMehrunesRazor.esp    27  DLCMehrunesRazor - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.4]    28  DLCSpellTomes.esp    29  DLCSpellTomes - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.1]    2A  MaleBodyReplacerV4.esp    2B  Colourwheels sixy Stock Armor & Clothing Replacer.esp    2C  Colourwheels sixy SI Armor & Clothing Replacer.esp    2D  CNRP Brumav02.esp  [Version 0.2]    2E  CNRP Cheydinhal.esp  [Version 1.0]    2F  CNRP Chorrol.esp  [Version 1.1]    30  CNRP FightersGuild.esp  [Version 1.0]    31  CNRP DB.esp  [Version 1.0]    ++  Slof's Horses Base.esp    ++  Slof's Horses Essential.esp    32  DLCThievesDen.esp    33  DLCThievesDen - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.5]    34  DLCThievesDen - Unofficial Patch - SSSB.esp  [Version 1.0.4]    35  Slof's Oblivion Robe Trader.esp    36  Bob's Armory Oblivion.esp    37  FCOM_BobsArmory.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    38  Oblivion WarCry EV.esp    39  FCOM_WarCry.esp  [Version 0.9.9MB3]    3A  Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esp  [Version 1.34]    3B  ArmamentariumLLVendors.esp  [Version 1.35]    3C  ArmamentariumArtifacts.esp  [Version 1.35]    3D  Mart's Monster Mod - Additional Enemy NPC Vars.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]    3E  FCOM_Convergence.esp  [Version 0.9.9Mb3]    3F  FCOM_EntropicOrderRebalance.esp  [Version 0.9.9beta2]    40  FCOM_RealSwords.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    41  FCOM_DurabilityAndDamage.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    42  FCOM_SpawnRatesReduced.esp  [Version 0.9.9Mb3]    43  Mart's Monster Mod - More Wilderness Life.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]    44  Mart's Monster Mod - More Passive Wildlife.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]    45  FCOM_SaferRoads.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    46  FCOM_LessRats.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    47  FCOM_NoWyverns.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    48  FCOM_LessReaversInGates.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    49  Mart's Monster Mod - Extra Wounding.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]    4A  Mart's Monster Mod - Looting NPCs & Creatures.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]    4B  Mart's Monster Mod - Less Reavers.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]    4C  Mart's Monster Mod - Dungeons of MMM.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]    4D  Mart's Monster Mod - Gems & Gem Dust.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]    4E  Mart's Monster Mod - Hunting & Crafting.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]    4F  Mart's Monster Mod - Farm Animals.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]    50  Mart's Monster Mod - Diverse WaterLife.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3f]    51  Mart's Monster Mod - Slof Horses Complete.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]    52  Mart's Monster Mod - Diverse Runeskulls Loot G&GD.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]    53  FCOM_DiverseGuardUnity.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    54  FCOM_BobsGuardUnity.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    55  FCOM_HungersUnitySI.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    56  FCOM_Archery.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    57  FCOM_FriendlierFactions.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    58  FCOM_MoreRandomSpawns.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    59  FCOM_MoreRandomItems.esp  [Version 0.9.9]    5A  Mart's Monster Mod - Shivering Isles.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]    5B  ArmamentariumLL4OOO.esp  [Version 2.01]    5C  ArmamentariumLLMagicOOO.esp  [Version 1.35]    5D  OOO-WaterFish.esp  [Version 1.34]    5E  Artifacts.esp    5F  Artifacts - ArmaCompleteAddon.esp  [Version 0.20]    60  DLCBattlehornCastle.esp    61  DLCBattlehornCastle - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.4]    62  DLCFrostcrag.esp    63  DLCFrostcrag - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.4]    64  Knights.esp    65  Knights - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.9]    66  SM Plugin Refurbish(Merged).esp  [Version 1.21]    67  FCOM_Knights.esp  [Version 0.9.9Mb3]    68  xuldarkforest.esp  [Version 1.0.3]    69  xulStendarrValley.esp  [Version 1.2.1]    6A  xulTheHeath.esp    6B  MMMMWL-TheHeath patch.esp    6C  XulEntiusGorge.esp    6D  xulFallenleafEverglade.esp  [Version 1.3.1]    6E  xulColovianHighlands_EV.esp  [Version 1.2.1]    6F  xulChorrolHinterland.esp  [Version 1.2.2]    70  xulBeachesOfCyrodiilLostCoast.esp  [Version 1.6.3]    71  xulBravilBarrowfields.esp  [Version 1.3.2]    72  xulLushWoodlands.esp  [Version 1.3]    73  xulAncientYews.esp  [Version 1.4.2]    74  xulAncientRedwoods.esp  [Version 1.6]    75  xulCloudtopMountains.esp  [Version 1.0.3]    76  xulArriusCreek.esp  [Version 1.1.3]    77  xulPatch_AY_AC.esp  [Version 1.1]    78  xulRollingHills_EV_withoutWheat.esp  [Version 1.3.2]    79  MMMMWL-RollingHills patch.esp    7A  xulPantherRiver.esp    7B  xulRiverEthe.esp  [Version 1.0.2]    7C  xulBrenaRiverRavine.esp  [Version 1.0.2]    7D  xulImperialIsle.esp  [Version 1.6.3]    7E  xulBlackwoodForest.esp    7F  xulCheydinhalFalls.esp  [Version 1.0.1]    80  xulAspenWood.esp  [Version 1.0.1]    81  xeoex.esp    82  Slof's Oblivion Better Beasts.esp    83  Better Cities Full.esp    84  BCBravilFULL-Barrowfields patch.esp    85  BCChorrol-ChorrolHinterland fix.esp    86  BCCheydinhalFULL-CheydinhalFalls patch.esp    87  Better Cities - No LEYAWIIN Flooding.esp    88  Better Imperial City.esp    89  Better Imperial City FPS Patch.esp    8A  Better Cities Full FPS Patch.esp    **  All Natural - Indoor Weather Filter For Mods.esp  [Version 0.9.8]    8B  Bashed Patch, 0.esp    8C  TamrielWorldspaceCompleteWorldMap.esp

» Sat May 28, 2011 1:19 am

I've been trying to follow this thread and since I'm only moderately technical-minded, am not understanding everything completely. I have a few questions if you please...

I'm getting the impression that this 4G patch will not help in any way for systems running WinXP 32-bit. Is that pretty much true?

If it is possible that it would help on systems with 32-bit OS, if the Oblivion .exe is patched, would it help with performance/fps any or just with CTD's?

Also, would something like Photoshop benefit from being patched? (again... on a 32-bit OS)?

TIA

» Fri May 27, 2011 8:26 pm

@Inotknow & CardTrick - Really great to hear you're both experiencing a more stable and nearly headache free Modblivion!

A couple points of info (happy to be corrected if I'm wrong):

There's no difference between the various 3GB and 4GB hacks. They all simply add a flag to the EXE to make it Large Address Aware (the LAA mentioned throughout the thread).
Since all these hacks only add the one flag, none of them will make your game incompatible with OSR, OBSE or anything else.
A 32-bit OS can only make use of 4GB physical memory total. So, with such a system (notably almost all Windows XP users - There is a 64-bit version of XP, but hardly anyone has it), you're not going to see the 3.8GB RAM usage that the first post mentions. (I realize there's a caveat there, but this spells out one of the reasons people can experience less of a boost.)
32-bit systems are also not likely to be able to supplement the VRAM usage by stealing RAM.

gothemasticator

1. hey if it works, it works!
2. My last comment about this was a re-hash of something I read on another LAA topic. I do remember reading that the FO3 patch had incompatilities with OBSE. Actually, I think it says it on the FalloutNexus downlod page. Though they have been fixed since. I'm just saying it's better to be cautous and go with what you know works. If you've had zero issues, than it must be a workng solution. :foodndrink:
3. this is true. thanks for providing clearer details. I will update the OP with this info

4. I haven't tested XP 32 bit or 64 on whether or not it will use system memory as VRAM when it runs out, but I agree with you. There might be some system memory left to utilize for VRAM, but it wouldn't be much if it's even supported under XP.

» Sat May 28, 2011 10:02 am

On the same thing, #2 - incorrect. Adding that one flag would make the patch incompatible with anything that does a hash check on the executable (pretty typical thing for patches, for example). OBSE also does such a check, but they specifically check that flag and don't count it in the check if it's set, so LAA executables will work without issue. So OBSE will work, but only because they've specifically prepared for LAA, and anything similar that did not would be incompatible with the check.

» Fri May 27, 2011 7:43 pm

I've been trying to follow this thread and since I'm only moderately technical-minded, am not understanding everything completely. I have a few questions if you please...

I'm getting the impression that this 4G patch will not help in any way for systems running WinXP 32-bit. Is that pretty much true?

If it is possible that it would help on systems with 32-bit OS, if the Oblivion .exe is patched, would it help with performance/fps any or just with CTD's?

Also, would something like Photoshop benefit from being patched? (again... on a 32-bit OS)?

TIA

I personally don't think you can benefit from LAA patching no.
As Oblivion is limited to 2gb to start with and windows XP too, there is no benefit to patching it in my opinion.
Only case where there could be benefit is with the 3GB "hack" for XP but as someone pointed out earlier, drivers don't like it in the first place so it might end up worse.
And what is true for Oblivion is true for any program on XP(time to upgrade

).