W7 RAM Usage

[SpinachEater]

I have W7 Home Premium 64bit version installed on a fresh partition. Without chrome running, just ATI CCC in the tray...I have 1.25GB of ram being used out of 4GB coming in at 30-31%.

I have the full fancy aero going right now but wow...vista was only pulling 700-800 on this same rig with aero on.

Curious what others are getting? 😱

 

[TheViper]

This is called Superfetch. It is Windows 7 pre-loading your most commonly used applications in the background (among some other factors). It's designed so that it will leave you with a specific percentage of RAM remaining so that it doesn't cause performance issues. If more RAM is needed, it releases some.

The idea behind it is to allow programs to launch much faster and keep your hard drive from fragmenting as quickly since the apps are used (at least by the OS) in a more ordered manner.

Also, if you have less than 2 GB of RAM, you might be better off turning off Superfetch. I have 4 GB's and Win 7 is holding onto 44% of it. Granted I have a lot going on right now too.

 

[SpinachEater]

Ah, there we go. Disabling superfetch brings me down to 700-900 range with chrome and CCC running

 

[buwish]

Indeed. I've turned off Superfetch in the past with Vista and the RC, but once you have over 4GB depending on what you use your computer for, you're good to go. With it on right now, I'm using 1.4GB out of 8GB, so I'm happy ($300+ bought that happiness). Then again, if my MOBO could hold more RAM, I'd probably bankrupt myself trying to fill it up; no reason to, but I would. Evidently Pro can handle up to 192GB...any MOBO's out there that hold that? 😀

 

[Vampyrbyte]

Why would you turn it off? it has little to no performance effect when you load an application that needs it. and the intial loading of the prefetched data is done AFTER the boot and login process, so it does not hold you up by making login times 40 minutes like Vista did. Okay i exaggerate.

And there is one board that can handle more than 192GiB of RAM. forget where it is though, saw it on Toms a while back

 

[AsAnAtheist]

There is a performance gain for having it on, being accessing some frequently used files (usually the essentials) from RAM rather then HDD. I would NOT recommend the turning off this feature as it WILL release all RAM held for frequently used files if needed, therefore it will not hog or halt the use of ram.

You can check this when you play a game, check the memory before and after.

My Windows 7 uses around 700 mbs when all programs are closed leaving only:
CCC, Avira, Windows updates, and my Logitech webcam software (under minimized).
Windows 7 uses around 800~ when using Chrome in resolution of 1920x1020 (screen is 1920x1080 but about 60 pixels are taken by taskbar).
Windows 7 Can use up to 1-1.1gbs of ram when running multiple chrome windows, Zune, and sometimes Powerpoint (Office Ultimate 2007)

OS: Windows 7 Professional 64 bit (programs use a bit more ram)
Superfetch: On
UAC: Off
Aero: On
Performance vs Quality for Aero: Quality
Default Features of Windows 7 are all on or off depending on default:
Antivirus: Avira Personal Antivirus
Firewall: On (Private/Public)
Adware/Spyware: Avira Personal Antivirus (Somewhat)

Ill give you the results of Windows 7 after disabling Superfetch. Brb

Ram: 785 mbs as the same setup as before, nothing but CCC Avira antivirus, windows updates, and logitech webcam.

Superfetch: Off
UAC: Off
Aero: On
Performance vs Quality for Aero: Quality
Default Features of Windows 7 are all on or off depending on default:
Antivirus: Avira Personal Antivirus
Firewall: On (Private/Public)
Adware/Spyware: Avira Personal Antivirus (Somewhat)

Ram with chrome open: 836


Seems that there is little difference which can be negated due to performance variables in the use of RAM. Best keep Superfetch On.

 

[SpinachEater]

Why would you turn it off? it has little to no performance effect when you load an application that needs it. and the intial loading of the prefetched data is done AFTER the boot and login process, so it does not hold you up by making login times 40 minutes like Vista did. Okay i exaggerate.

And there is one board that can handle more than 192GiB of RAM. forget where it is though, saw it on Toms a while back

Hmm...I don't know what you are talking about...Vista loads up quicker than XP on my system.

Hey we do have 4GB modules so we can get up to 24GB. Thats quite a bit these days. Anyone running 24GB yet?


Atheist:
Your numbers look jacked up man. No offense, I believe what you are saying but it seems weird you have more RAM use with superfetch disabled. I had a pretty decent drop with turning it off. Perhaps because you have 2GB it has a percentage threshold of use?

 

[TheViper]

Like I stated in my post, if you have 2 GB or less, turn it off. If you have more, keep it on...it's more beneficial that way.


It's not like on XP where if you had 40% of your RAM in "use" you may experience performance issues. With Superfetch, if you have 4 GB and 40% is in "use" you'll actually get faster experience between programs and applications.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

i have 8 gigs and its pulling 15 percent!

 

[The_Prophecy]

12GB here and my usage is about 20%. I have a few extra apps running in the background though.

 

[LePhuronn]

Although if your OS drive is a SSD apparently you should turn Superfetch off, as well as other features like indexing and auto-defrag.

 

[SpinachEater]

Thanks for the info Viper.

 

[AsAnAtheist]

Hmm...I don't know what you are talking about...Vista loads up quicker than XP on my system.

Hey we do have 4GB modules so we can get up to 24GB. Thats quite a bit these days. Anyone running 24GB yet?


Atheist:
Your numbers look jacked up man. No offense, I believe what you are saying but it seems weird you have more RAM use with superfetch disabled. I had a pretty decent drop with turning it off. Perhaps because you have 2GB it has a percentage threshold of use?

It could have a percentage threshold, I am mere reporting that I saw no gain or loss between switching the two. On my system at least there is no ram use difference, whether it is because of the 2gb ram, or not...

The actual ram usage with Superfetch on was 735~ without programs, I forgot to write the number down exactly.

These kinds of test are going to be difficult to run simply because Ram usage can fluctuate depending on services (automatically) turned on, off, or set into a idle mode.