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    (Page File = 1.5 X RAM) myth or true?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Shigaugi, Feb 8, 2008.

  1. Shigaugi

    Shigaugi Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hello,
    I currently have 2GB of RAM installed in my laptop (WinXP).
    I want to assign the Virtual Memory the best possible way. And so, I searched the forums extensively and came out even more confused.
    How do I know which setting is the best (system managed, min+max, both the same), and how much virtual memory should I allocate for the pagefile (many threads saying Page File = 1.5 X RAM is a myth, or something that is not relevant for big RAMs, but then don`t say what is the correct calculation)?
    Does anybody have any knowledge on this issue?

    Thanks
     
    Shigaugi, Feb 8, 2008
    #1
  2. Y3llowbeard

    Y3llowbeard Notebook Enthusiast

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    When you get the new RAM do some testing. Try it at 1.5x and 2x. Also, set the min and max page file size the same so it is not constantly being resized by the OS. Just curious, is your HD a 7200rpm drive?
     
    Y3llowbeard, Feb 8, 2008
    #2
  3. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    This is true to an extent. If you have 2gb of memory, and you install an operating system than it will have 3Gb set as page file.
    If you have 2Gb of memory and than upgrade to 4Gb, then your page file is still 3GB. The page file size can be modified by the user. The page file size is determined by the amount of memory installed when the operating system is installed. A memory upgrade will leave the page file the same size as it was before the upgrade.

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Feb 8, 2008
    #3
  4. Shigaugi

    Shigaugi Notebook Enthusiast

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    My HD is a 5400rpm
    I can make many tests with the VM settings, but what should I monitor? How do I know when it is set correctly and when it`s not? Isn`t there any new rule of thumb (like the one indicating 1.5 times the RAM, which I understand no longer stands)?
     
    Shigaugi, Feb 8, 2008
    #4
  5. Lite

    Lite Notebook Deity

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    it dosnt really matter , set it as 1gb you'll never exceed that. It dosnt improve performance If you set it lower or higher , just not too low. Or youll get the "out of virtual memory" message
     
    Lite, Feb 8, 2008
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  6. Shigaugi

    Shigaugi Notebook Enthusiast

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    I will set it to 1GB
    10X
     
    Shigaugi, Feb 8, 2008
    #6