8GB ram for SuperFetch worth it?

As the title says, is 8GB ram worth it just for Windows SuerpFetch?

I rarely go over 2.5GB with 4GB ram but since I've ruled out SSD's as an upgrade and sticking with a Momentus XT which has 4GB NAND Flash for caching would an extra 4GB (8GB total) for SuperFetch caching sorta give me the same effect (make up) for a real SSD?

I know by going 8GB as oppose to 4GB Windows will use 2GB on idle at the very least as oppose to 1GB idle with 4GB ram add another 2GB for programs that I regular use and the remaining 4GB for SuperFetch caching pretty much equaling the same size of the Momentus XT's NAND Flash cache.

Worth it, bare in mind I will not go over 4GB even with 8GB ram it's just for SuperFetch caching to give me more pre-cache like the Momentus XT's 4GB NAND Flash since I'm not spending on a SSD anymore.

 

That's not how it works s:

Your HDD would still be the bottleneck for anything you'd be doing I/O wise, you can't just tell windows to dump any specific set of 4GB of data into RAM.

You're better off getting a 40GB SSD, installing windows to it, and then using your HDD as a media/storage drive.

 

Windows will prefetch for buffering IO but after 4GB the benefits are not especially noticeable.

 

I ruled out SSD's please don't try to advise me otherwise..

I've made up my mind and going to be ordering 8GB anways with the current prices for DDR3 I'd have to be crazy not to, besides I can use more ram dedicated for Intel HD 3000 and pretty much set for W8.

I made up my mind shortly after I posted but wanted to hear what others have to say, I wasn't trying to be a smart a@*.

Thanks for the inputs,

Edit:

Too bad I do not my HM65 chipset does not support Intel's Smart Response Technolgy or else I'd be more than willing to invest $100 on a Intel 311 20GB for caching.

 

MAybe you should look at this!
I tried it a while back without much research but I'm gonna try it again since I now have 16Gb RAM.

 

Superfetch in Windows 7 won't use the 8 gb, only Vista did. You could look into some third-party caching software like Fancy Cache.

FancyCache Overview

Other than that, get more RAM when you need more RAM.

 

T1mur, what is that based on? As far as I know Windows 7 absolutely will use that 8GB... for prefetching.

 

Windows superfetch is based on usage. It can use almost all available ram or it barely use much. The Intel HD 3000 can only use so much system RAM. You may want to find out exactly how much. The address space available to the Intel HD is dependent on it's design, BIOS and motherboard address mapping.

 

From what I understand Windows will make use of all of the RAM that you put in it. If you check your resource monitor you'll see almost all of your ram on Standby and very very little on free.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/wi...ry-usage-with-windows-7-resource-monitor/3176

 

Superfetch only prefetches data that it deems worth. On my system it only fills about 1 gb of RAM by itself, even though I often load data where even a single file can be more than 1 gb in size.

Standby + Modified = Cached data

What you need to understand is that Superfetch is *not* equal to Cached data. Anything you *manually* load yourself will be put into the cache, which is a way to fully utilize the 8 gb. But Superfetch won't do it for you anymore, because people found it to be too aggressive with Vista and were unnerved by constant HD "trashing noise".

 

@ metril

That's the thing, right now my HD 3000 only uses 64MB of my 4GB on my HM65 chipset if I upgrade to 8GB I'd have to contact Lenovo for a BIOS update to make the HD 3000 dedicate 512MB. I know on the HM67 and QM67 with Lenovo the HD 3000 uses 384MB with 4GB and 512MB with 8GB.

I also know I can setup Rapid Drive with my Y570 and if it works anything like Intel SRT only using the SSD for caching then I might drop the extra 4GB (8GB total) upgrade and get a Intel 311 20GB for caching.

@ T1mur

I rather not buy any 3rd party software and just wait for W8. With all the improvement seen with SSD caching is the last couple months, I'm pretty sure W8 will allow for SSD caching and a configurable memory caching. I've heard ReadyBoost with W8 saves the cache even after reboot, maybe W8 will allow ReadyBoost to cache from SSD and extra memory like FancyCache/SuperCache..

Edit:

The thing is I wanted to upgrade my 4GB Samsung to http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104256 or http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Elect...GI/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1311092085&sr=8-14 but I figured if I'm going to spend that much on faster ram (HyperX) or more efficient ram (Samsung 30 nm) I'd may as well get more ram http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231295 thus I came up with the 8GB idea or elease I'd just stick with 4GB faster or more efficient upgrade.

 

Faster RAM, 1600MHz, will result with better performance with HD 3000 than setting it to use more RAM. In any case more than 256MB RAM really won't help matters much because the performance of the GPU is too low to take advantage of it.

ReadyBoost, Superfetch, Rapid Drive are all just stop gaps and band aids to getting the proper hardware for your system. They offer marginal improvements in general, possibly great improvements in specific scenarios. You are truly better off with a larger SSD for OS and apps, because it improves both read and write speeds of everything to the SSD instead of just read speeds off the files the Rapid Drive technology deems appropriate to keep on the drive.

Sounds like the Y570 has two drive bays. For the money you're going to spend on the Intel 311, you could easily buy a 60-100GB SSD for OS and apps and add hard drive for storage. Otherwise buy something like an Intel X25-V 40GB for $60-70 if you want to use Rapid Drive.

 

My CPU does not take advantge of DDR3-1600 I'm just getting it becuase the HyperX should run at DDR3-1333 8-8-8-24 on my system and the Samsung 30 nm might be able to do the same timings but more effeciently. It's not a big difference like going to DDR3-1600 but I care about the timings cause it's really the same difference as access time on a hard drive only difference is ram access times is already so fast. I don't think lower timings will help with framerate in gaming but I'm certain it'll help with load times with all applications even if it's just marginal.

I'm still deciding on the ram although I know I will be getting 8GB. The HyperX is my second choice right now cause of the timings and heatspeader which kinda makes up for the cost. However the Samsung 30 nm stands a very close 3rd place cause I care a lot about effeciency. First place obviously goes to G. Skills cause it's right speed DDR3-1333 for my CPU and half the price of the competitors for 8GB match pairs.

I just ordered a Renice X1 SLC 16GB. It should be here by the end of next week. I'll have benchmarks up by the following week.

 

I know some laptops will allow use of the faster RAM, and iGPU benefits from it. Only BIOS has to support a multiplier so CPU runs at 1333MHz. M14x does this.

 

I'll have to contact Lenovo for the BIOs request, I'm pretty sure they can do it but if they say no and point out my CPU only supports DDR3-1066/1333 on Intels website then I'll have to accept the fact I'll be running at DDR3-1333.

I think the BIOS option is a great luxury for those who own Alienware gaming laptops and should be kept that way since the Y570 is only considered mainstream laptop with a very decent GPU.

But in the case if the Intel HD 3000 still only dedicates 64MB from 8GB, I'll do a formal complaint and have them up it to at least 384MB dedicated if not 512MB.

Edit:

I've cancelled the order on the Renice X1 16GB SLC and will just use a 7200 RPM hard drive for the moment. I'm going to wait until prices drop for 120GB mSATA SSD before I take the dip. Sorry no more benches on the Renice X1.