Virtual Memory - optimized settings

How Big Should I Make the Paging File?

Perhaps one of the most commonly asked questions related to virtual memory is, how big should I make the paging file? There’s no end of ridiculous advice out on the web and in the newsstand magazines that cover Windows, and even Microsoft has published misleading recommendations. Almost all the suggestions are based on multiplying RAM size by some factor, with common values being 1.2, 1.5 and 2. Now that you understand the role that the paging file plays in defining a system’s commit limit and how processes contribute to the commit charge, you’re well positioned to see how useless such formulas truly are.

Since the commit limit sets an upper bound on how much private and pagefile-backed virtual memory can be allocated concurrently by running processes, the only way to reasonably size the paging file is to know the maximum total commit charge for the programs you like to have running at the same time. If the commit limit is smaller than that number, your programs won’t be able to allocate the virtual memory they want and will fail to run properly.

So how do you know how much commit charge your workloads require? You might have noticed in the screenshots that Windows tracks that number and Process Explorer shows it: Peak Commit Charge. To optimally size your paging file you should start all the applications you run at the same time, load typical data sets, and then note the commit charge peak (or look at this value after a period of time where you know maximum load was attained). Set the paging file minimum to be that value minus the amount of RAM in your system (if the value is negative, pick a minimum size to permit the kind of crash dump you are configured for). If you want to have some breathing room for potentially large commit demands, set the maximum to double that number.

Read more: Pushing the Limits of Windows: Virtual Memory - Mark's Blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

Thanks Bill2 for your response/input. However, it still doesn't explain my query. I am not a tech prof., so need advise on whether I should go with Windows' default settings of "System managed size" for VM (which seems to under-utilize available physical RAM), or should I use "Custom size" and set VM myself based on available physical RAM.

Personally I like #1 from here,

TweakHound - Tweaking Windows 7, Page 7

cuts out all the fuss and muss as to what to set it too.

Thanks Stormy13. Guess will leave it for Windows to decide on VM, as it seems Win'7 handles VM differently and more efficiently than previous versions of Windows.

Leave it alone ....wds will handle it for you .....IMO .,