|
|
|
Vista Ultimate "Page File" Question
|
|
|
smeagol75
Suspended due to non-functional email address
|
15. July 2007 @ 11:08 |
Link to this message
|
Hello All,
Background:
I have a Sony VAIO VGC RA-710G (Liquid Cooled, Runs Silent); P4 3.2 EE/HT, 3GB PC3200 RAM, ATI 1600XT 512MB GDDR 3, Vista Ultimate 32-Bit, Seagate 500GB 16MB Burst Internal (Ultra ATA), Western Digital 750GB External, Both @ 7200RPM, Sony DVD/CD DL R/RW +/-, LG DVD/CD R/RW +/- Lightscribe, Logitech G15 (Keyboard Illuminates and has a small LCD Screen), Bose Companion 5 5.1 Dolby Digital USB Speakers, Acer AL 2216W 22" WS LCD Screen and a Power Supply of 350. The System Power connectors from the factory had the following configeration:
Question:
* Since I have 3GB of PC3200 RAM, do I need a Page File?
* What if any gains would I get by either using it or not using it?
Thanks!
|
|
Advertisement
|
 |
|
|
|
LDee
Senior Member
|
15. July 2007 @ 12:13 |
Link to this message
|
Not an expert on the issue but I have read quite a bit about it (people say lots of different stuff).
With 3gb you probably won't ever be actually using the pagefile UNLESS you are doing certain specialist things with your pc, such as video editing where you might have a big file loaded into memory, too big for memory, it will then run into the page file, same situation with audio production/editing. It could quite easily happen with audio and video applications that you would need to run into the pagefile even with 3gb ram. Oh, not too sure, but some gaming may also push you into the page file with 3gb ram, I'm sure others will be able to tell you more about this.
So I guess the answer is, depends on what you are doing.
As far as I'm aware, it's not going to harm to set one anyway (can anyone else comment on this, is there anyway having a pagefile configured would deteriorate performance if never actually used?), just remember to make the page file a set size so it never gets fragmented (custom size, make sure the initial and max sizes are the same amount) and on another partition (other than where the os is) is said to improve its performance, another disk is said to be even better and, if you can be bothered, setting it at the start portion of the drive (physically) where seek times are quicker is supposed to be best, but this takes some doing. Oh, and I think ms now advise that you split the page file over 2 disks, not really sure how this fits in with the advise that it shouldn't be on the same disk as your os, that would mean then that you would need at least 3 physical disks in your pc, alright if you are raid0, it's easy to do though just configure 2 disks in the virtual memory settings.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15. July 2007 @ 12:16
|
Senior Member
|
15. July 2007 @ 17:40 |
Link to this message
|
Quote:
3GB PC3200 RAM,
I think the 32bit versions of Vista will only recognize and use up to 2Gb of ram, and the 64bit versions will go up to 4GB, so I think you are putting 1 GB to waste.
|
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
|
15. July 2007 @ 23:51 |
Link to this message
|
|
Not sure about Home Basic but all the others support up to 4GB in 32-bit mode.
|
Senior Member
|
16. July 2007 @ 01:50 |
Link to this message
|
our ram seems to be up around the 1.5 gig mark for whats being used it didn't seem to make any difference stopping the page file
however it helps to have it on a different drive than the system files so it gets faster access
i7 3770 12GB ram terrabyte sata drive 1 750Gb sata drive 285GTX graphics Sony dvdwriter same NZXT Nemesis case
Still playing Black Hawk Down why did I upgrade?
|
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
|
16. July 2007 @ 01:58 |
Link to this message
|
here's one for you. I have a memory usage monitor so I can tell how much of my RAM I use in game.
My specs are as my signature, my mate Nick has an X2 4200+ and 3GB of PC3200 DDR1, and an X1900XT-X.
Playing Stalker, my overall fps is OK, but I get lots of loading lag, and the floppy disk icon in the corner flashes often to indicate disk activity. Nick however can play the game pretty much without issue, and yet my memory usage monitor shows 1500MB, so I still have a significant amount free. Has the extra 1GB really made the difference?
If it has, I think I may buy another 2x1GB since prices are currently low.
|
|
