Can You set PageFile Size Too Large?

Recently ran across this exchange in a forum - My question is whether there is actually a chance of degrading the performance if the page file size is set too large? --

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"Having recently increased my RAM from 512MB to 2.5GB, I would like your suggestion on what values to set the page file for the min and max sizes."

Ray, how large a pagefile to use depends on how many applications you need to have open at any one time. It also depends on how much RAM those applications need to operate efficiently. Figuring that out can sometimes be difficult, especially when your application usage habits change.

It's usually best to let Windows decide how it should manage the pagefile size. To do that, follow these steps for Windows 2000 and XP systems:

Step 1. Right-click on My Computer and select Properties.
Step 2. Select the Advanced tab.
Step 3. Click the Settings button in the Performance section.
Step 4. Select the Advanced tab.
Step 5. Select the Change button in the Virtual memory section.
Step 6. Select the drive that contains your pagefile.
Step 7. Select "System managed size."
Step 8. Click OK to close each of the open dialog windows.
Step 9. Reboot your computer.

If you feel that you must control the pagefile size yourself, then with 2.5GB of RAM in your system, consider using a pagefile of the same size. If that turns out to not be enough for your needs, consider increasing the ratio to 1.5 times the amount of physical RAM.