pwarren1212
asked on
pagefile setting
what is the best pagefile setting for 3gb memory
senad
That is plenty of memory so 700 MB is enough.
ASKER
what should be the minimum and maximum setting be
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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Intitial size = 1000MB
Max size = 1500MB
If youre not running your machine on heavy database, running multiple OS via virtual machine, or hosting your machine as email server, you probably wont need a big page file. I would recommend 1GB of page file for a 3GB RAM configuration
Max size = 1500MB
If youre not running your machine on heavy database, running multiple OS via virtual machine, or hosting your machine as email server, you probably wont need a big page file. I would recommend 1GB of page file for a 3GB RAM configuration
For best performance Virtual Memory should be set as so.
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#1: manually set min and max to the same number. [This can be a big performance issue.]
- This minimizes windows writing to the drive just to resize it [which windows does often in auto].
In a 32-bit OS.
Set to from 1x to 1.5x the amount of physical memory
- - BUT do not go over 4GB.
Memory address tables in a 32-bit OSs only have 4GB worth of addresses.
[Virtual memory has an address table just like the physical RAM does.]
If you assign more than 4GB you will have Virtual Memory locations with no Addresses so the OS won't know how to find it. [Kind of like adding phones to a phone system but not giving them phone numbers.]
In a 64-bit OS.
Set to 1.5x the amount of physical memory.
So,
- If your XP is a 32-bit and you have 3Gb of RAM set Virtual Memory to 4Gb.
[If you had 4Gb Ram you would also set to 4Gb.]
- If your XP is 64-bit and you have 3Gb of RAM set Virtual Memory to 4.5Gb.
.
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#1: manually set min and max to the same number. [This can be a big performance issue.]
- This minimizes windows writing to the drive just to resize it [which windows does often in auto].
In a 32-bit OS.
Set to from 1x to 1.5x the amount of physical memory
- - BUT do not go over 4GB.
Memory address tables in a 32-bit OSs only have 4GB worth of addresses.
[Virtual memory has an address table just like the physical RAM does.]
If you assign more than 4GB you will have Virtual Memory locations with no Addresses so the OS won't know how to find it. [Kind of like adding phones to a phone system but not giving them phone numbers.]
In a 64-bit OS.
Set to 1.5x the amount of physical memory.
So,
- If your XP is a 32-bit and you have 3Gb of RAM set Virtual Memory to 4Gb.
[If you had 4Gb Ram you would also set to 4Gb.]
- If your XP is 64-bit and you have 3Gb of RAM set Virtual Memory to 4.5Gb.
.
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Wrong, and goes against conventional wisdom.
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Hard setting the Virtual Memory min/max has been common practice for over a decade.
It is as effective now as it ever was and it results in noticable performance gains.
Any tech with significant experience knows this off the top of his head.
- Your plagurism from that article about pagefile not actually being virtual memory is noted.
The problem with that idea is that in a 'stock' installation of Windows you can only adjust pagefile size by tweaking Virtual Memory settings. That is WHY Microsoft documentation is unclear about it not actually being the same thing.
PAE will allow a larger pool of addresses however it adds another step in the processing of data between the CPU and RAM [in both directions]. In essence the system has to check two address tables instead of one before it finds the memory location.
- It allows more memory, but it significantly slows down the data's speed through the system.
PAE is generally recommended only for Servers.
Using PAE is somewhat like doing the grocery run in a 5 ton dump truck.
Yeah, it hauls more but it's slower.
- If you never fill the truck to capacity [use -ALL- the RAM] you are loosing overall.
.
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Hard setting the Virtual Memory min/max has been common practice for over a decade.
It is as effective now as it ever was and it results in noticable performance gains.
Any tech with significant experience knows this off the top of his head.
- Your plagurism from that article about pagefile not actually being virtual memory is noted.
The problem with that idea is that in a 'stock' installation of Windows you can only adjust pagefile size by tweaking Virtual Memory settings. That is WHY Microsoft documentation is unclear about it not actually being the same thing.
PAE will allow a larger pool of addresses however it adds another step in the processing of data between the CPU and RAM [in both directions]. In essence the system has to check two address tables instead of one before it finds the memory location.
- It allows more memory, but it significantly slows down the data's speed through the system.
PAE is generally recommended only for Servers.
Using PAE is somewhat like doing the grocery run in a 5 ton dump truck.
Yeah, it hauls more but it's slower.
- If you never fill the truck to capacity [use -ALL- the RAM] you are loosing overall.
.
Big games fill memory very fast (and usually do not know how to release it).
So unless you restart (or free memory in some other way) your page file gets under fire. :-)
I suggest you leave it to Windows ....
So unless you restart (or free memory in some other way) your page file gets under fire. :-)
I suggest you leave it to Windows ....
Yes, you definitely want system resources being used rewrite files on the hard drive when you are doing something demanding... that'll help performance... NOT!!!
Sometimes false ideas become so established that they become established wisdom. These need to be corrected.
More often cocky inexperienced people are just wrong.
What I'm saying is verifiable.
I suggest you set up a test system and run some benchmarks.
You'll learn something.
What I'm saying is verifiable.
I suggest you set up a test system and run some benchmarks.
You'll learn something.
To summarize pwarren1212,
Manually setting the size to 1 or 1.5 GB (higher if video editing or other mem intensive apps) will work well or letting Windows choose will also work well.
If you are interested the the nuts and bolts specifics, there are plenty of opinions on this site or you can even google it.
:D
Manually setting the size to 1 or 1.5 GB (higher if video editing or other mem intensive apps) will work well or letting Windows choose will also work well.
If you are interested the the nuts and bolts specifics, there are plenty of opinions on this site or you can even google it.
:D
ASKER
I appreciate all the advice. I will try all three ways, min and max same, changing the min and max to different sizes, and letting windows decide and see which one works best for me. I am making movies so I know that is a memory hog. I wil let you know which choice I take and assign points accordingly.
Thanks again I did google the question and got lots of different answers also. Just wanted professional advice.
Thanks again I did google the question and got lots of different answers also. Just wanted professional advice.
Not 1 or 1.5 GB ... but 1 or 1.5 times the physical memory in the system [without going over 4Gb].
.
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Another error that needs corrected.
PAE - WILL NOT - allow more than 4GB of Virtual memory.
Virtual memory is 4GB max in 32-bit Windows and there's not a thing you can do to raise it.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555223
PAE - WILL NOT - allow more than 4GB of Virtual memory.
Virtual memory is 4GB max in 32-bit Windows and there's not a thing you can do to raise it.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555223
ASKER
I tried setting the pagefile to all suggested settings, so I picked letting windows manage it. I couldn't really tell any difference setting the min. and max myself.
Sorry but part of that is wrong. I'm not going to leave as is to mislead other people later on.
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With a 32-bit Win OS even WITH PAE the maximum size of a pagefile is 4GB.
READ -> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555223
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With a 32-bit Win OS even WITH PAE the maximum size of a pagefile is 4GB.
READ -> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555223
I wouldn't be so sure.
I have experimentally set a pagefile size of 6000MB on an XP system using PAE. The pagefile size is listed as 6,144,000 KB and the commit limit is adjusted accordingly.
TaskManager.gif
I have experimentally set a pagefile size of 6000MB on an XP system using PAE. The pagefile size is listed as 6,144,000 KB and the commit limit is adjusted accordingly.
TaskManager.gif
This Microsoft article seems to indicate that the maximum pagefile size on x86 using PAE is 16TB.
http://blogs.technet.com/a
http://blogs.technet.com/a
Congrats Miller.
You just created 2Gb of UNADDRESSABLE pagefile.
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I'll take the MS Support Site's word for it over something said in some guy's Blog any day.
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You just created 2Gb of UNADDRESSABLE pagefile.
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I'll take the MS Support Site's word for it over something said in some guy's Blog any day.
.
You could put 64Gb in a Win98 system and it will run fine, but it's not going to use all the RAM.
You just did essentially the same thing with a pagefile setting.
You just did essentially the same thing with a pagefile setting.
Perhaps one of the most commonly asked questions related to virtual memory is, how big should I make the paging file? Theres no end of ridiculous advice out on the web and in the newsstand magazines that cover Windows, and even Microsoft has published misleading recommendations.
How Big Should I Make the Paging File ?
http://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/