Mac Superfetch Equivalent

Hey guys, just curious if there is a superfetch equivalent for mac os? I found one for linux, was hoping something like this existed for OSX
preload | Download preload software for free at SourceForge.net

 

SSD ;D 10char

 

An SSD is not equivalent to Superfetch.

Memory management in Mac OS X is handled by the Mach kernel, as just as it is handled by the kernel in most operating systems. Before Windows Vista introduced Superfetch, there were a number of 3rd party solutions that attempted to preload frequently used application data, but they were mostly unproven and costly gimmicks. So the answer to your question is no, there are no such "solutions" available.

 

that sucks
oh well programs open fast for me, just that i see all that unused ram that could be used more efficiently.

 

You don't need that anyway, only Windows needs that.

 

'Superfetch' is nothing more than a caching algorithm to try to alleviate the poor performance of Vista. If you install an Intel SSD into a Windows machine, along with the Intel SSD Toolbox, one of the alternations the Intel software will do is to turn off 'Superfetch'.

 

As a rule, the design philosophy of unused RAM as wasted RAM is a good one, and in the case of Windows Vista was one of the few well-implemented features of the new OS. The performance advantages of Superfetch doesn't address all usage scenarios (such as loading seldom used programs) but it does provide significant benefits.

 

This is your second post trying to hammer into people's heads the significance of a feature used in WINDOWS. Shame though, that feature is not a big deal anymore and there's no real benefit for the Mac OS to have it so as usual your point is moot.

 

In the case of this particular feature, yes it is significant although it isn't the first time its been implemented. Incidentally you should consider addressing my actual arguments instead of ignoring them and pretending that I'm biased. Or is the idea of impartial judgement too hostile to your personal views?

 

I do agree that superfetch is good, instead of having 8GB of ram doing nothing, I would like to see it used to cache my most used programs. As for why it's disabled with SSD's:
Why is superfetch bad on SSDs - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net

One thing I miss about windows (win 7) is photoshop opened almost instantly (2 seconds or so), on my mac it takes about 10-15 seconds. That was because superfetch saw that I use it all the time, and kept it loaded in ram. Oh well I don't wanna turn this into a win vs. mac thread.

 

You could just buy an SSD and have an all-around performance boost in Mac OS X. If you find SSDs too expensive like most people (including myself!) then a hybrid drive is a middle-of-the-road alternative. Take a look at Seagate Momentus XT drives on Newegg.

Newegg.com - seagate momentus XT

 

I already got a WD Scorpio Black 750, it's faster than stock, and the computer is fast, I was just spoiled by superfetch loading photoshop for me

 

Whats wrong with Caching?
Caching has always been a way to improve performance in Computing.
Superfetch is just an implementation of caching in Windows.

 

The Momentus XT has 4GB of flash on it where it keeps the most used data loaded on so that the most used things are very fast... all done in hardware.... it makes it very fast.

 

While I've never used Superfetch, if all it's doing is loading a program in to RAM (Would it close the program if you needed the RAM for something else?) why not just open the program yourself and leave it there?

Even if all done automatically you would still be limited by the amount of RAM you have, and leaving a blank program open shouldnt use a tremendous amount of memory.

 

This is exactly right. Generally, closing the window of a program in OS X leaves the program loaded in memory (it closes the view, but not the application itself). In windows, closing the view (the window) tends to halt the program.

Of course, you can write your own program to exhibit whatever behavior you prefer in either system, but generally that is how things are handled. Windows preloads commonly used programs in the background, OS X keeps programs loaded after being launched. I personally prefer the OS X method, because I don't want my HDD used on my laptop unless I command it to be used. On a desktop, I don't really care.

Another interesting bit is that I tend to want to reboot windows at least once every few days, once it starts acting funny. OS X can basically stay on indefinitely without issue, so you can just keep programs loaded which you use. Easy enough.