jackluo923
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For the best performance, disable the page file since you have 2 gb which should be enough for everything. If you feel you don't have enough ram, use a partition editor such as norton partition magic to create another partition (size depending on the page file size)on raptor 74gb disk. If you can setup RAID 1+0 on the 2 drives ( some chipset can have 2 RAID partition on 2 drives ) and put the page file on the raid 0 partition, you should get faster read and write speed than raptor 74gb alone.
You should never turn off the pagefile, no matter how much memory you have.
Check this general guide and this specific guide for more info and recommendations.
Check this general guide and this specific guide for more info and recommendations.
Rabidpeanut
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Firstly www.nliteos.com
Secondly NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER partition a drive. It is a dumb ass idea, if you have more than 1 hdd there is no need EVER. unless you have software that you absolutely CANNOT lose you will NEVER need a partition. And I am willing to bet that you only have about 1 gig of critical data.
Thirdly you can set your page file to auto. it will be fine. Make it as big as you want to but beyond 2 gig is a bit wasteful for now, Auto is best.
Secondly NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER partition a drive. It is a dumb ass idea, if you have more than 1 hdd there is no need EVER. unless you have software that you absolutely CANNOT lose you will NEVER need a partition. And I am willing to bet that you only have about 1 gig of critical data.
Thirdly you can set your page file to auto. it will be fine. Make it as big as you want to but beyond 2 gig is a bit wasteful for now, Auto is best.
Well, with 2GB of ram, your unlikely to need anywhere near 4GB for the pagefile. I also have 2GB of ram installed, and have my pagefile set to 1536MB (1.5GB), although I have never used anywhere near that (most I've seen is around 350MB). There's a nice utility called Cacheman that you can use to both tweak and monitor pagefile usage.
My personal preference is to leave the pagefile on the c:\ drive (although my hdd setup is a bit different). I have it set to a fixed size to prevent migration and fragmentation. If you set it immediately after a WinXP install, it should be positioned on the outer edge of the disk (fastest part). Saying that, it's unllikely to be accessed much with 2GB ram installed - most frequently-accessed info will be stored in memory
My personal preference is to leave the pagefile on the c:\ drive (although my hdd setup is a bit different). I have it set to a fixed size to prevent migration and fragmentation. If you set it immediately after a WinXP install, it should be positioned on the outer edge of the disk (fastest part). Saying that, it's unllikely to be accessed much with 2GB ram installed - most frequently-accessed info will be stored in memory
mad_murdock
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As long as your running XP, then you could set your pagefile to somethign as low as 512MB. I have 2GB and I normally leave it in the 512-1GB range.
I do have a RAID 0 setup, which is where I keep my pagefile, which is ideal performance
The one thing you have to keep in mind,is the pagefile is there to act as Vitual ram. So if you run out of the real stuff, you can use the fake stuff. Some applications like a CAD or Photo editing software will need large amounts of ram, and if oyu don't have it, will want a large pagefile.
In strictly the sense of gaming, you never want to use your pagefile, has it's many times slower than actual ram. So to have a 4GB pagefile, would make for a horrible gaming experience if you were actually using that much of the pagefile.
My simple rule, is if I need a pagefile, then it's time to buy more ram. I disgaree with AOE, in that I for the longest time ran with no pagefile at all. In the strict sense of gaming, I challenge anyone to try running with no pagefile and see what really happens. If you're hitting the pagefile that much, then it's time to get more ram. I can play FEAR, Stalker BF2, BF2142 all day long with the pagefile set to 0.
Withthat said, there are other applications and uses that might require a pagefile, soin thatsense, it doesn't hurt to have a pagefile around 1GB. Again, if you're using 1Gb of pagefile, then you really need to look at more ram.
If you're looking at Vista, well, it changes things a bit. if you set the pagefile to 0, it will create one anyways. And I find that it uses the pagefile alot more, even with it shouldn't need it. in BF2142, if I have a pagefile less than 768MB, the game will crash after about an hour of play with an out of memory error. Funny enough, total memory usage is onyl around 1.5GB, so teh system still has 500MB of phsyical memory left
I do have a RAID 0 setup, which is where I keep my pagefile, which is ideal performance
The one thing you have to keep in mind,is the pagefile is there to act as Vitual ram. So if you run out of the real stuff, you can use the fake stuff. Some applications like a CAD or Photo editing software will need large amounts of ram, and if oyu don't have it, will want a large pagefile.
In strictly the sense of gaming, you never want to use your pagefile, has it's many times slower than actual ram. So to have a 4GB pagefile, would make for a horrible gaming experience if you were actually using that much of the pagefile.
My simple rule, is if I need a pagefile, then it's time to buy more ram. I disgaree with AOE, in that I for the longest time ran with no pagefile at all. In the strict sense of gaming, I challenge anyone to try running with no pagefile and see what really happens. If you're hitting the pagefile that much, then it's time to get more ram. I can play FEAR, Stalker BF2, BF2142 all day long with the pagefile set to 0.
Withthat said, there are other applications and uses that might require a pagefile, soin thatsense, it doesn't hurt to have a pagefile around 1GB. Again, if you're using 1Gb of pagefile, then you really need to look at more ram.
If you're looking at Vista, well, it changes things a bit. if you set the pagefile to 0, it will create one anyways. And I find that it uses the pagefile alot more, even with it shouldn't need it. in BF2142, if I have a pagefile less than 768MB, the game will crash after about an hour of play with an out of memory error. Funny enough, total memory usage is onyl around 1.5GB, so teh system still has 500MB of phsyical memory left
For best performance, page file should be on a drive, not a partition, other than where your system and program files are. Define your page file size, it should be maximum twice your memory. This way helps keep it from fragmenting as much. You should also set Windoze to clear the page file on shut down.
Regardless of the amount of memory you have, disabling the page file can and will lead to problems. Regardless of your settings, Windoze will create a "page file", even if it is turned off in your settings. Any benefits from not having a page file are minimal at best and mostly based upon "perceived" increases, "it just runs faster".....
As to never creating partitions on the same drive, wrong. Beneficial if you have additional drives and do not have to, but it does not create any problems if you do. Can also avoid problems, as certain programs can be using common named files. Is particularly needed if you are installing another operating system.
Regardless of the amount of memory you have, disabling the page file can and will lead to problems. Regardless of your settings, Windoze will create a "page file", even if it is turned off in your settings. Any benefits from not having a page file are minimal at best and mostly based upon "perceived" increases, "it just runs faster".....
As to never creating partitions on the same drive, wrong. Beneficial if you have additional drives and do not have to, but it does not create any problems if you do. Can also avoid problems, as certain programs can be using common named files. Is particularly needed if you are installing another operating system.
jackluo923
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I turned off my page file even though i only have 1GB of ram. I ram usage never exceed 50%. So, why do you even need page file if your ram is more than enough?
Here's a quote from this article:
Worst scenario, you run the risk of running out of memory. Alternatively, you may find that some memory-resident data may need to be dropped if additional memory is needed and not available (if no pagefile exists). If this data is needed, it will need to be reread from the hdd.
Personally, I prefer to have the pagefile even if it isn't used just to avoid this risk. At the end of the day, there should be no noticeable drop in performance as, in general, the memory will be used where possible.
jackluo923
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I usually only do file server, word processing and internet surfing on this machine with 1gb of ram. When i need to do photoshop image editing, i would just switch a computer. But after reading your quote, i guess i'll enable 512mb of page file just in case on my Dynamic raid 0. But since it's dynamic drive, i can't set up page file.
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.php says:
now that would be a problem
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.php says:
now that would be a problem
WHY?
Everybody does it,to keep separate WINdows from GAMES.
Do you think I should let my raptor in ONE peace???
Rabidpeanut has a good point. There are very few justifications for partitioning drives. I would never say 'never partion a drive' (sounds like a James Bond movie title), but there are some myths doing the rounds regarding partitioning.
I should firstly admit that there was a time when I used to have 2 partitions on every drive 😳
Taking your case, you have a very nice raptor for the c:\ drive. It's partitioned so you have your OS (and program files I assume) on the outer edge of the disk. This is where you get the fastest read times. On the 2nd partition, (closer to the centre of the disk) you have your game installations.
Now, if in the future you need to reinstall your OS, you will also have to reinstall all your games, as virtually all games will right data to your c:\ drive (specifically the registry, and maybe other system files also). So, the data stored on this partition is not worth saving if a reinstall is required.
Secondly, when loading games, data will need to be read from both the 2nd partition (game files) and the 1st partition (system files). This means that the read heads of the hdd will need to keep jumping around between partitions to retrieve all the necessary data.
Essentially, you're more likely to notice a drop in performance compared to not having the drive partitioned.
If you had a 2nd raptor for the game files, then you would almost definitely notice an improvement in load times for games (2 separate drives reading system and game files simultaneously). If you were to use a standard SATA drive for the game files, then you may notice an improvement, but this would depend on the amount of game data needed to be retrieved (raptors being faster - with large amounts of game data, it may be faster to retrieve all the data from the raptor).
The only situation I can imagine needing to partition a drive would be if I had a relatively large drive for my OS and a shortage of storage space (and a shortage of cash to buy another drive). In this case, I would consider partitioning the OS drive to store data that I wanted to keep after a reinstall of the OS.
now that would be a problem
If you're not running any memory-intensive applications and have been running the pc for a while without problem, then I would not worry too much. At the end of the day, the risk is there, but with the amounts of memory available in todays PCs, that risk is becoming less and less.
jackluo923
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I've used this computer for more than 3 years without using page files and i've never had any problems even when i do photo editing with photoshop.
I need to correct my post, I should have stated the page file should be twice the physical memory, not a maximum of twice. This is a general rule and not hard and fast. For instance, I normally use 4 gigs of ram and run 3ds Max, Maya, and Adobe Production Studio, usually After Effects. Have 1 RAID 0 of 3x300 gig Maxtor's as my main/programs drive with 2 equal partitions, one for XP and one for XP 64. I have a second RAID 0 with 2x500 Seagate's as my data drive. Just updated my "scratch" drive to a Seagate 300, it is also the drive my page file is on.
When I am running XP 32, I have my page file set to a min of 2046 and max of 6138 megs. When I have to do some really extensive stuff, I pop in my 4x2 gig modules and boot XP 64. In 64 I allow Windoze to control the size of the page file. I have had a few projects that ate up all of the 8 gigs of physical memory and anywhere from 3 to 4 gig paged.
As to not having a page file, like I said above, Windoze does create a temporary one, regardless of what settings you have. Use winderstat, you will see it in the graphics.
When I am running XP 32, I have my page file set to a min of 2046 and max of 6138 megs. When I have to do some really extensive stuff, I pop in my 4x2 gig modules and boot XP 64. In 64 I allow Windoze to control the size of the page file. I have had a few projects that ate up all of the 8 gigs of physical memory and anywhere from 3 to 4 gig paged.
As to not having a page file, like I said above, Windoze does create a temporary one, regardless of what settings you have. Use winderstat, you will see it in the graphics.
jackluo923
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-redundant-
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I've used this computer for more than 3 years without using page files and i've never had any problems even when i do photo editing with photoshop.
Photoshop uses its own memory management "Scratch Disk", rather than the OS Pagefile
No offense to you personally, but this post is filled with bizarrely incorrect and just bad advice.
In response to your partitioning rant: you insist that one should never partition a Hard Drive but then fail to give a single reason why. You certainly don't have to partition a drive if you don't need to, but a hard drive is no more or no less reliable if it is partitioned or not. Virtually every server in the world has at least one partitioned Hard Drive and they are running 24/7. This would not be the case if partitioning were a such a bad idea.
In response to your pagefile comment, you should never set your page file to auto unless you have a small amount of free space left on your Hard Drive(s). It should always be set to the same min and max (static); that value is up to you but it should always be at least 1.5 times the amount of physical RAM you have in the machine.
One reason that setting the pagefile to 'auto' is problematic is because it can cause Windows to change the pagefile size on the fly. If this happens and you don't regularly defrag your HD, you can pick up one or more fragments in your pagefile every time it changes. Example- I have a client with ten workstations that have been in use for about three years. Nine were set to a static pagefile size and one was set to auto. The nine set to static have one fragment in their pagefiles. The one set to auto had 460 something fragments (!) until I realized that it was on auto and changed it back to static. To fix this, I had to run defrag on it several times and then run a defrag program that specifically defrags the pagefile before Windows starts. If you run the standard defrag in Windows, it does not defrag the pagefile. End of post; too much use of the words defrag and pagefile!
-G
yeah, pagefile on a separate partition idea is an old one, it works good on win98 as I remember. it used to work to have the windows system and pagefile on a smallish partition so it couldn't roam to far, like a separate drive, but now it's not really a problem for me, I just use perfectdisk to defrag the pagefile every now and then etc.
but as these others are saying it almost never really gets used on your system. it's like Firefox's cache, it doesn't take any longer as far as I can tell after I clear it out, well not really as enough's going on on the net to mask the changes.
for me translation is, old drives were slow, small and affected much more by the distance each piece of information was away on the disc, and every little tweak helped, parallel data had to be sent back and forth, reliant on bandwidth all the time, new comps with 2 gig or DDR2 in them (!!!) will show almost no difference I'm sure, if you want you could do both setups and see what difference a benchmark shows.
I can't perceive the difference between data located at the end of my WD500 enterprize drive and that at the start, and it doesn't really speed up when I defrag it after a month or 2.
E6600@2.4
MSI P965 Exp. Platinum
2x1gig PNY 5-6-6-15 DDR2
XFX8800GTS 320mb
Sony DVR-212
WD500gig Enterprize Ed.
Antec P150 Case and Powersupply
Onboard everything else....
but as these others are saying it almost never really gets used on your system. it's like Firefox's cache, it doesn't take any longer as far as I can tell after I clear it out, well not really as enough's going on on the net to mask the changes.
for me translation is, old drives were slow, small and affected much more by the distance each piece of information was away on the disc, and every little tweak helped, parallel data had to be sent back and forth, reliant on bandwidth all the time, new comps with 2 gig or DDR2 in them (!!!) will show almost no difference I'm sure, if you want you could do both setups and see what difference a benchmark shows.
I can't perceive the difference between data located at the end of my WD500 enterprize drive and that at the start, and it doesn't really speed up when I defrag it after a month or 2.
E6600@2.4
MSI P965 Exp. Platinum
2x1gig PNY 5-6-6-15 DDR2
XFX8800GTS 320mb
Sony DVR-212
WD500gig Enterprize Ed.
Antec P150 Case and Powersupply
Onboard everything else....
Rabidpeanut
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