BOOTCAMP or BUY RAM??? - NEED ADVICE

Ottokar · May 2014

SYSTEM INFO - OS 10.9.2 - 2.2 GHz i7 - 4GB DDR3 - AMD Radeon HD 6750M

I'm currently having issues with my MAC while playing this game. PVE is bearable, with occasional crashes... but PVP is unplayable as it isn't fun getting booted or having trouble loading all the time.

MY DILEMMA - I have a version of Windows 7 that I can load onto my laptop. So, do I go BOOTCAMP or upgrade my RAM to 16GB???

MY QUESTION - For those of you who have 16GB MAC systems, do you have the same issues in Cyrodiil with crashes and lag spikes?

Please advise.

You friend in the DC,

Ottokar

KhajitFurTrader · May 2014

Hi @Ottokar,

yes, the frequent crashes are a known, and sadly, still persistent issue even with the latest patch 1.0.6. You may want to look here, and here for a thorough discussion of the topic. In a nutshell, the crashing seems to be related to memory management issues of the 32-bit game client, mostly dependent on player concurrency. Visiting main cities or Cyrodiil leads to more frequent crashes than, say, quiet questing in the backwaters of the world. Doesn't matter whether the Mac in question has 4, 8, 16 or even 32 GB of RAM installed.

Nevertheless, a system always profits from more RAM, be it OS X or Windows. Keep in mind that these systems' kernels will need 2 GB at a minimum to run, so with only 4 GB physical RAM installed, ESO will have only 2 - 2.5 GB for itself, leading to more frequent crashes. A memory upgrade to 8 or even 16 GB (if your Mac supports it) will be a benefit for both OS X and a 64-bit Windows version in Boot Camp.

Should you install Boot Camp? Some people here swear by it, but it really is a matter of personal preference. If you really enjoy playing AvA, using the Windows client may be a workable, temporary solution for you.

Or you could lower your graphic settings, to somewhat alleviate the frequency of the crashes. Setting texture and shadow quality to medium should help a lot. People are reporting runtimes between 2 and 4, even 5 hours in PvE before crashing.

Work to solve these issues is being continued by ZOS, but as it is quite normal in software development, no definite ETA of a complete solution can be given. I expect forthcoming fixes in the next few patches to the game.

colbydotcom · May 2014

I have boot camp already on my macbook pro. I installed ESO on that partition and it works beautifully. Experiencing FAR fewer crashes.

justsimon_ESO · May 2014

you'll see a marked improvement with additional RAM, especially if you have latest 64 bit win OS. i have bootcamp on my macbook pro and imac and adding ram worked on both units. but, unfortunately the mac version seems to be less stable overall, looks great and runs well until BOOM it doesn't.

Wolfster · May 2014

A little more memory will likely help your system performance on the whole, especially on 10.9 as the OS now actively avoids using the swap file and relies on compressing memory (which is much faster) - however as ESO is 32 bit, you will not see a significant improvement in ESO on either Windows or OS X as the game client simply can't handle more than about 3.8Gb of memory.

johngalt · May 2014

I agree with Wolfster. Additional RAM would help your system as a whole, but won't prevent your crashes. I have 16GB in my system, and I still experience crashes. However, after 1.0.6, they are few and far between.

Although I do have BootCamp as well, and have entertained the idea of installing ESO on my Windows drive, the size of the install/download as well as having to reboot just to play have caused me not to take this step. I believe that given a bit more time the Mac client will become more stable. As Wolfster pointed out, it is a 32-bit game, so if you were to skip the RAM upgrade and take this step, you would merely end up with a slightly more stable game client.