I have:
1x Samsung F3 1TB: Windows
RAID 0 array 2x Samsung F3 1TB: Games
1x Samsung F3 1TB: General Storage
16GB RAM
Windows 7 x64
My intention is to put a fixed pagefile on the third drive, 1.5x the RAM (min 24GB, max 24GB).
Should I make a dedicated ~24.1GB partition at the beginning of the drive for the pagefile (to make sure it doesn't ever get fragmented)?
Hello Oubadah,
I would recommend keeping at least a small paging file on your OS drive, and if you have less than 6GB RAM, either adding more paging file space to your main OS drive, or creating a separate location (in addition) for it on another drive with more space. There is next to zero benefit with messing with the paging file, unless you are attempting to save more of your your main drive. There is zero benefit in deleting it.
The partition is another matter. I wouldn't think you would need to create one specifically for the paging file, and I am not sure if there would be any benefit. Certainly wasting 24.1GB on a paging file seems wastefull, doesn't it?
I myself have a small space dedicatd to Paging files on my main drive, and I have given some space on another drive for additional paging files. I have installed 12GB of RAM
No. In fact, with 24GB of memory, I would set virtual memory to minimum or just enough for a mini-dump (Maybe 2MB). Whatever you specify, Windows will use and you sure don't want to be writing 24GB to a spinner (HDD). Virtual memory is not likely to get fragmented. It's written and read sequentially. Unless there's a good reason to be running a game AND several large memory-hog production applications like CAD and Video Editing, 24GB should get you through just about any requirement without VM.
Ops, I mistyped. The 24GB should be 16GB--Your current memory.
Last edited by carwiz; 17 Feb 2012 at 21:37. Reason: Correction
Carwiz, I believe he has 16GB memory, but you bring up a subject I hadn't thought of.
I think windows allocates more paging file space to computers with more RAM, which isn't at all necessary. Though I would never do away with the paging file, certainly with so much RAM, you only need a very small paging file.
I've always been told that the pagefile is best put on a separate drive to the OS (assuming said drive is as fast or faster than the OS drive).
'Waste' doesn't concern me. They're 1TB drives, and I'm already short stroking the other three to 25%, so 24GB off this one is nothing. I'm only concerned with optimal performance.
I don't have 24GB of RAM. I have 16GB or RAM, and the 24GB was the page file recommended to me (1.5x RAM).
The minimum is 16MB. That was my original plan: to set it at 16MB, but then a bunch of people recommended against that (for the same reason they advised against disabling the pagefile altogether - they said some programs don't run if they don't see a pagefile, or if they see one that is too small).
Why would Windows just 'use' virtual RAM for the hell of it? I thought it only got used when all the physical RAM capacity is filled up, and for dumping the contents of the RAM in a crash (hence the large size recommendations).
When it's controlled by Windows dynamically, it gets fragmented. I'm not sure about when it has a maximum size equal to the minimum size (fixed). That's why I'm asking.
The same reason they recommend against complete removal of the paging file is the reason you shouldn't completely move it to another drive. The OS uses it. You can reduce its size on the OS, but it is a bad idea to just move it off of it. Not a terrible idea, and it can work, just without any benefit to you, and you may get errors at times.
I have done the same to a couple of XP Pro machines in the past: make sure the partition was first on the faster disk (on the outer edge), only large enough for the pagefile sized 1.5 x RAM (plus a little free space), and formatted as FAT32 (no NTFS overhead).
Not to discourage you or anything, but for the way I used these machines, I didn't see that much of an improvement in performance. I'd be interested in how you make out.
Last edited by F5ing; 17 Feb 2012 at 23:20. Reason: Corrected filesystem from FAT to FAT32.
By the way, on those two XP Pro machines I had done that with there was no pagefile left on the system drive, only on the faster secondary drive.
I had read recommendations against doing it (even by MS if I remember correctly), but other stuff I read convinced me to give it a try. I mean, I could always go back. But, XP Pro never complained nor any other program, so I left them that way.
But again, those were XP machines, not 7. And don't know if I ever used any apps that wanted to see that there is a pagefile on the system drive.
My general use/browsing PC has 16GB of RAM, and I've had the pagefile disabled completely for almost a year now with no side effects. That PC has fairly light use though.
The more I read on this topic, the more thoroughly confused I become.
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