Virtual RAM Page file: how much? Needed?

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apoll

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Nov 29, 2011
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Hi. I got win 7 64 bit, 8 GB RAM on an Extreme mobo and a i7 960 chip running an 128GB SSD with two XfX black editions 5970s. I would like to know how much of virtual memory dedicated page file is best for speed in flight sim games, such as DCS A-10. How much should I allocated fr best performance? Is it a problem to have too much? The reason I ask is that when in A-10 DCS flight sim, every now and then the framertate drops disgnificabntly...for a minute or so, then goes back to normal. Doesn't seem to be a cause for this immediately apparent, but I'm wondering if it is the system shiftinf large amounts of data out of a lage sway page virtual memory file. Grateful any advice on the best size of virtual memory page swap files on hard disks. Thank you.

apoll
 
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Not quite the truth for most people. W7 loves page file and will take advantage of it. Any Adobe program take advantage too. I would run out of 8GB of RAM in no time, sometimes I go out of 16GB of RAM when things get busy.

http://www.tweakhound.com/2011/10/10/the-windows-7-pagefile-and-running-without-one/
 
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apoll,
The general rule that you use in this case is one and a half times your installed physical memory. In your circumstances, in which you have 8GB of RAM, you should set the page file to 12GB. All of this may not be needed, however this is a general rule that is used throughout systems. As for the best place to put the page file, it would be best to keep it on the SSD, since SSD's have faster access times and usually better read and write times.
Hope this helps.
 
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Recommended system requirements for all DCS series is 4GB ram. So with 8GB ram you should not be worry about virtual memory settings. If you are feeling uncomfortable with it, let windows decide which paging files to set automaticaly.

If you want to learn more about virtual memory, I recomend you to have a look at "Pushing the Limits of Windows: Virtual Memory", by Mark Russinovich at http://blogs.technet.com/b/markrussinovich/archive/2008/11/17/3155406.aspx

The problem you are experimenting might be not be related to paging file, tough its symptoms are quite similar.







 
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Well you say you run out of 8gb in no time if you have no pagefile. But that article (though old) says a system rarely needs more than 6gb unless you are a power user, with 8gb and 12gb only needed in very extreme cases.
 
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I didn't say, that. I run out of it with the page file and if u have no page and get busy, RAM is going AWOL even quicker.

If people just browse and listen music and email, they are fine all the time with 4GB of RAM, that is most of the PC users, like my mom and sisters and most neighbors and people u work with, unless u are a PC technician : )

 
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1: Leave the page file on system managed. Unless you are going to be working with a huge dataset, there is no reason to edit it in any way. Failing that, assuming sufficient HDD space, I set it to 2x the size of your main memory.

2: Be VERY careful when you go without a pagefile. Even without one, you are still going through the Virtual Memory subsystem, the only difference being every virtual address will be mapped to exactly one physical address.

Thus, even if something that is allocated is not being used, it is still taking up space in RAM, making it far easier to run out of room. [With a pagefile, those pages would be moved out to disk instead]. As a result, you will be using more RAM without a pagefile then with.
 
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Hey guys...just to round off this very useful discussion...Itried a number of different configurations with pagefile for running the flight sim DCS A10. Findings were:

1) No swap file: simulation would not even run: got the back screen of death and had to manually boot back in.

2) A minimal swap file of 4096 or so: sim ran but REALLY choppy and like a slide show.

3) So I upped the swap file to something ridiculous: 60 000...and guess what: the sime runs very well with that. Seems to go against all the advice about swap files twice the suize of physical RAM, but go figure. That is what works for me.

FYI.

apoll
 
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