Expanding memory to increase speed?

[Russ Smith]

OK this is probably really dumb but at a family dinner friday night my sister's boyfriend mentioned he'd sped up his computer by adding memory. I asked him why that works and he said he wasn't really sure, but it does.

Why does adding more RAM make the system faster, or does it? Considering doing it with girlfriend's laptop.

 

[KingofCards]

It worked on my computer.


Couldn't tell you why though.

 

[Chaz]

OK this is probably really dumb but at a family dinner friday night my sister's boyfriend mentioned he'd sped up his computer by adding memory. I asked him why that works and he said he wasn't really sure, but it does.

Why does adding more RAM make the system faster, or does it? Considering doing it with girlfriend's laptop.

Windows has a paging file on the hard disk. It is a temporary storage file the system uses to store information it needs to operate the various systems and programs. The same information is stored in system memory (RAM) but the system memory is 'in use'.

To use data in the paging (or swap) file that data has to be 'moved' to system memory and information in memory has to be moved to the paging file. This is called paging and the speed of the paging operation is limited by the speed of the hard drive. (laptops generally have slower hard drives)
The amount of paging is determined by the size of the system memory and the requirements of the programs that are running.

More memory can 'speed up' the computer because memory is much faster than a hard drive and with more data 'in use' there is less need for paging.

 

[SweetD]

I always max out the memory on my pc everytime. Memory is much cheaper then buying a new PC or upgrading the processor.

 

[Ryanwb]

(laptops generally have slower hard drives)

Yep... typical desktop hard drive is 7200 RPM and laptop HDs run at either 5200 or 5400 (I don't remember which).

 

[Chaz]

Yep... typical desktop hard drive is 7200 RPM and laptop HDs run at either 5200 or 5400 (I don't remember which).

I think some run at 4200.

:laptopharddrivessuck:



My friend had me install 15,000 rpm (scsi)drives in his desktop.

Man those things are fast.

 

[Ryanwb]

My friend had me install 15,000 rpm (scsi)drives in his desktop.

Man those things are fast.

...and expensive! I just ordered some new drives for a server we have here and the price difference between the 10k and the 15k was unbelievable!

 

[BigDavis75]

Windows has a paging file on the hard disk. It is a temporary storage file the system uses to store information it needs to operate the various systems and programs. The same information is stored in system memory (RAM) but the system memory is 'in use'.

To use data in the paging (or swap) file that data has to be 'moved' to system memory and information in memory has to be moved to the paging file. This is called paging and the speed of the paging operation is limited by the speed of the hard drive. (laptops generally have slower hard drives)
The amount of paging is determined by the size of the system memory and the requirements of the programs that are running.

More memory can 'speed up' the computer because memory is much faster than a hard drive and with more data 'in use' there is less need for paging.

What do you set your paging file to? I let my computer control mine (system managed size), if I did it a different way would I make my computer faster?

 

[Chaz]

What do you set your paging file to? I let my computer control mine (system managed size), if I did it a different way would I make my computer faster?

Moving a paging file to another disk or partition (other than the system partition where the WINDOWS folder is) can speed it up.

For the size 1.5 times memory for the initial size and 2X that for the maximum. My laptop has 512MB of memory so my settings are 768 - 1536.

I guess in theory a set size would be better but I don't know if it makes enough difference for a user to notice.

 

[BigDavis75]

Moving a paging file to another disk or partition (other than the system partition where the WINDOWS folder is) can speed it up.

For the size 1.5 times memory for the initial size and 2X that for the maximum. My laptop has 512MB of memory so my settings are 768 - 1536.

I guess in theory a set size would be better but I don't know if it makes enough difference for a user to notice.

So for my 128 I should use

Initial = 192

Max = 384

I doubt it has much of a difference but I guess I'll try it.

 

[Chaz]

So for my 128 I should use

Initial = 192

Max = 384

I doubt it has much of a difference but I guess I'll try it.

 

[BigDavis75]

128 Sucks on anything, but I'll have to live with it for a little while longer. What did you mean by moving it to a bew partition. Could I do that or is it too complicated?

 

[Chaz]

128 Sucks on anything, but I'll have to live with it for a little while longer. What did you mean by moving it to a bew partition. Could I do that or is it too complicated?

I probably wouldn't worry about that.

If you have other partitions they will be shown where you set the size.

You can just set the size on the D: drive for example.

If your D: drive is a CDROM then never mind.

 

[BigDavis75]

I probably wouldn't worry about that.

If you have other partitions they will be shown where you set the size.

You can just set the size on the D: drive for example.

If your D: drive is a CDROM then never mind.

Yup my D is a CD-Rom but thanks anyway.