Any reason to use Readyboost on Windows 7 X64 with 8GB?

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  1. Posts : 204
    Windows 7 7264
       #1

    Any reason to use Readyboost on Windows 7 X64 with 8GB?


    Ive been reading about how windows 7 is supposed to improve and remove the restrictions of the readyboost that was in windows.

    My question is if its even worth it on an X64 system with 8GB DDR3 RAM?

    Would it improve the system speed even more having stuff cached right on the usb?

    I have a 4GB sitting around here I would need to clean off but wanted to know what your thoughts were?
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  2. Posts : 28,845
    Win 8 Release candidate 8400
       #2

    readyboost


    Dorfdad said:
    Ive been reading about how windows 7 is supposed to improve and remove the restrictions of the readyboost that was in windows.

    My question is if its even worth it on an X64 system with 8GB DDR3 RAM?

    Would it improve the system speed even more having stuff cached right on the usb?

    I have a 4GB sitting around here I would need to clean off but wanted to know what your thoughts were?
    Hey dorfdad

    Readyboost is designed for systems with little ram. If I had 8 gigs readyboost would be off and so would the page file.

    hope this helps a bit

    Ken
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  3. Posts : 5,807
    Windows 7 Home Premium x64 - Mac OS X 10.6.4 x64
       #3

    zigzag3143 said:
    Hey dorfdad

    Readyboost is designed for systems with little ram. If I had 8 gigs readyboost would be off and so would the page file.

    hope this helps a bit

    Ken
    I would set the PF to 64 MB (1/8) just so if an app complains about not finding the PF than it would see one
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  4. Posts : 204
    Windows 7 7264
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Yep I was thinking that, but being new to 7 and the new changes... Ok thanks installing RTM now :)
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  5. Posts : 77
    Windows 7 Ultimate
       #5

    how do you even use all 8GB ram. I have 8GB and have not found a way to use it all. Even with virtual machine and gaming.
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  6. Posts : 4,573
       #6

    ReadyBoost does more than emulate RAM or Page. It complements SuperFetch. It caches certain disk I/O. I admit that I have not read any white papers on changes in Windows 7 implementation of ReadyBoost, but I doubt that MS made it dumber. It is my leap of faith that MS tweaked the algorithms that determine where small random data accesses are better served via flash versus HDD (page).

    I have a self-modified USB splice inside my case, intercepting the lead to a flash reader. I soldered it to the back plane of the reader assembly. Here, I attach a 4GB thumb drive. It is internal and out of the way. If 7 ever needs it, it is there. I also keep a page file on a secondary controller RAID0 volume.

    Let me define "Systems" as meaning hardware + Software. Some systems will never need the page file. Some systems will never need ReadyBoost. Some systems will experience a performance degradation using either or both. Some systems will benefit from either or both.

    Many of the existing processes for analysis of page file efficiency will determine degradation vs. beneficence. Only direct examination of a particular system under a range of operational modalities will reveal the answer to the OP's question.

    I think you youngsters call it YMMV.
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  7. Posts : 4,573
       #7

    crazlunatic said:
    how do you even use all 8GB ram...
    Video editing. The 8 GB @ 667 limitation of my board renders my platform virtually obsolete.

    Patiently waiting for proven USB3 implementation to upgrade.
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  8. Posts : 328
    W7 Pro 64
       #8

    I have 8 GB and in Vista I had disabled pagefile once. Then Matlab would not work and I deisntalled it and tried all kind of things untill I realized that it needs a pagefile. Just leave it at default, if W7 doesn't need it, it won't hurt. If needed, it will use it. Unless your HDD really is small, leave it at the size W7 determines.

    Unlike vista, W7 doesn't really fill up my RAM either. I haven't been using heavy software yet, though. I suppose once I do, superfetch will do more caching. In vista going from 4 GB to 8 GB sped up visrusscan, defragmentation and file transfer significantly.

    I still have my 4 GB USB stick for readyboost. Not sure if it does anything. It sure doesn't hurt. If you have one, use it. If you don't have one... don't waste money buying one. I think W7 now can use much more than the vista-4GB for readyboost. That makes me think it is useful somehow.
    My board has 4 RAM slots. 2 GB modules are inexpensive. 4GB modules are very expensive. So I figured readyboost would be the only feasible way to get more RAM (or fake RAM . no matter what you see how much RAM is free, you never have enough RAM! Especially not at $ 100 for 8 GB
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  9. Posts : 627
    Windows 7 7600.16384 x64
       #9

    In my experience, the disk cache is usually faster that the USB, even if the USB is 2.0. Forcing windows to use the readyboost on a USB drive when you have enough ram may even hinder your performance, unless the drive is an old 5400 super slow read/write drive

    Also disabling the pagefile is not the best idea, setting it static is the best. Some apps require one.

    If you disable the pagefile and Windows needs somewhere to page the data, it will page it it to kernel, which is not the best idea. If you have it too low, windows will dynamically make it bigger, hindering performance as well.

    I have 6GB of RAM, I still set my pagefile to 6GB static, with out any readyboost drives, my drive's cache is faster than querying the USB drive over USB.

    I recommend turning off the Windows write-cache buffer if you want more performance from your drives, but be sure that you have a power backup in case of loss of power. Not buffering the write cache could lead to loss of data if you lose power in midst of a write.

    Computer Management> Device Manager>Disk Drives>[Select one]>Properties>Policies>Enable write cache>Turn Off write-cache buffer

    Depending on your drive type, you may have even more performance options.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Any reason to use Readyboost on Windows 7 X64 with 8GB?-wrie-cache-buffer.jpg  
    Last edited by 7echno7im; 19 Jul 2009 at 17:10.
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  10. Posts : 4,573
       #10

    I asked nicely


    7im? If the page file is a fixed size or range, and the Windows systems requires more memory than is available, the system will generate an out of memory error. It will NOT expand the page file.

    Windows is designed to use a page file. The design aspect deals with memory allocation, not just memory usage.

    I simply cannot wrap my head around "page it to kernel."

    You are coming to a valid conclusion under some circumstances, but your roadmap is severely wrinkled.
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