Pagefile.sys

pparks1 said:

Frostmourne said:

Then buy more RAM, and reinstate the page file. I'll be putting in another 4GB DDR3 kit in my gaming system very soon.

How much RAM do you currently have? Usually you aren't going to benefit much in games from more than about 4GB of RAM.

Exactly the same kit, just another 2x2GB, only difference is the batch number. Yes, it is unnecessary, but I can't help myself. The 790GX chipset supports 16GB max, so everything should be smooth.

Also, Bioshock 2 recommends 3GB - so its futureproofing to say the least.

pparks1 said:

Frostmourne said:

Yes, it is unnecessary, but I can't help myself.

Well at least you understand this fact.

Frostmourne said:

Also, Bioshock 2 recommends 3GB - so its futureproofing to say the least.

Futureproofing.....i hate that word with a passion it just doesn't make any sense. For example, if you fill this machine up, by the time 16GB is really necessary, its likely you will have a new processor on a new mobo which requires a new RAM standard. So, having 16GB now doesn't future proof you at all.

True, but I would never put in 16GB now with a dual-core CPU. 8GB will be enough for now, until I build or upgrade (further) this system. Even better, the AM3 socket will support AMD's new 6 core or more CPU's, so all I need is a BIOS update - theoretically.

pparks1 said:

Frostmourne said:

8GB will be enough for now, until I build or upgrade (further) this system.

I would agree with that.

I'm not sure what your gaming specs are...but if you don't have an SSD yet...that's a huge bang for the buck upgrade when it comes to loading games.

(Very) detailed specs are here:

Excellent gaming performance in 7

I deliberately didn't go for an SSD, as load times and installs are good enough, and if I went for an SSD I might as well go for a SATA III motherboard, not for performance but just for having the newest tech. For me, a HDD is enough for now. For the next build though . . . .

pparks1 said:

Frostmourne said:

I deliberately didn't go for an SSD, as load times and installs are good enough, and if I went for an SSD I might as well go for a SATA III motherboard, not for performance but just for having the newest tech.

Let me just say, as a previous non SSD owner who thought installs and load times were good enough, my SSD upgrade blew me away. You really are missing out. Best upgrade I ever made.

And with todays SSD drives, they don't yet max out the SATA II spec...so I don't see a reason for holding back on an SSD now for SATA III.

If I were you, I would skip the extra 4GB of RAM and get an SSD instead. You will get far more benefit...and that I can guarantee.

Agreed, but for this build, its fine. The average game takes 20min or so with antivirus enabled - these games are around 12GB and the disk is defragged. I'll wait till my next build. Now back on the thread.

Frostmourne said:

Then buy more RAM, and reinstate the page file. I'll be putting in another 4GB DDR3 kit in my gaming system very soon.

Dimms are already full and currently without a page file I dont ever run out of RAM or have any memory issues what so ever. The only problem I have been having was due to a memory leak in Vista with my audio driver. audiobg process would get to 3.5GB on its own and then wow would crash. With a pagefile enabled my system would come to a crawl and piss me off to no end in this situation. Without the pagefile WoW would simply crash and I would restart the audio services and restart WoW and all was good again.

Frostmourne said:

pparks1 said:

How much RAM do you currently have? Usually you aren't going to benefit much in games from more than about 4GB of RAM.

Exactly the same kit, just another 2x2GB, only difference is the batch number. Yes, it is unnecessary, but I can't help myself. The 790GX chipset supports 16GB max, so everything should be smooth.

Also, Bioshock 2 recommends 3GB - so its futureproofing to say the least.

If you ignore the pagefile then gaming performance with more RAM is easy... if you have enough then you have good performance and filling more DIMM's will actually just hinder gameing performance. However pagefile enabled complicates things then you need more RAM just to insure its not doing stupid stuff and even then you cant garentee it unless you disable it.

Also I hope you realize the issues/limitations of running 4 DIMM's vs 2 esspecially with Nvidia chipsets. In most to all cases voltages need to be raised and timings need to be more slack. In general access times go up and bandwidth drops. I am also running 4x2GB configuration.



Bottomline disabling the pagefile is the only way to ensure IO's are not wasted and stealing resources from games or other apps that actually need them. I may be going on about slight stutters every once and awhile but thats enough to piss me off. Once your multi tasking it gets even worse. And if your not multi tasking then what is the point in this quad core and all this RAM and crazy OS infrastructure in the first place! Get a console sheesh.

monkeys breath said:

i suggest under 4gigs of ram a page file, over 4gigs no page file.

That's not right. There is NO valid reason to go without a page file. I think there is a misconception about when a PF is used. Just because the OS stuffs something in there does not mean it ran out of RAM, or that the OS made a bad memory management decision.

seekermeister said:

but it seems that it would be retained in the RAM, until it got full.

No. Then it would have to shuffle data out of RAM when needed, instead of having a ready reserve of RAM for immediate use. The page file is used for less important, or not recently used stuff that does not need to be in fast RAM, but it might be needed soon. Many programs require virtual memory to run. If you disable the PF, the OS will assign physical memory to these programs and it'll lock the RAM out from any actual use. This can result in applications or even Windows crashing.

BunBun said:

Bottomline disabling the pagefile is the only way to ensure IO's are not wasted and stealing resources from games or other apps that actually need them.

What? Show me a report that says that. Why would you want to use up your fastest IO's - perhaps on things not readily needed? If you disable your PF, that also takes away RAM that could be used for Win7's SuperFetch.

Windows was NOT designed to run without a page file.

This argument has been going on forever, BTW. When 1Gb was considered more than anyone would ever need, people asked if disabling the PF was fine. When 2Gb was more than anyone would ever need, they asked it again. Again with 4Gb and again with 4+. The answer is always the same, Windows was not designed to run without a page file.

Understanding the Windows Pagefile and Why You Shouldn't Disable It - Windows - Lifehacker

I challenge anyone to find a report (not just some individual forum poster) that says disabling the page file improves performance - or that it is ever a good idea.