What to put on a RAM disk?

[Jskid]

I am asking this question on behalf of someone else:

What can I put on a RAM disk?

Right now, I have Chrome's browser cache and noticed a SIGNIFICANT difference in the speed of page loads.

Can anything from Mathematica be put on the RAM disk?

Also, I would like to add:

I have my RAM disk set for 1GB but can increase it to 2GB. I have 8GBs installed and my paging file set to 50MB in the RAM disk. Many people say you don't need to a paging file on the RAM disk but that you do need one (of course there is dissent with people saying you don't). Hence, I only set it 50MBs. The system is Windows 7 x64.

I also have the TMP and TEMP files set to the RAM disk as well.

Any advice on what more I could add or paging file information would be much appreciated.

Dustin.

I can set up a paging file on my C drive. The recommendation is 1.5 times the total ram so in my case 12gb. Should I set it up on the C drive then?

Do you know of anything else I could put on the RAMdisk from Mathematica, Adobe, or anything else?

[FishAk]

If you think about it, the computer will page files when it runs out of memory, so segregating a portion of memory to catch memory overflow is a never ending circle.

W7 does a pretty good job of managing memory. It will use all you give it, allowing your system to run smoothly. So with only 8GB, you shouldn't use a fake RAM disk that uses your system memory. If you get a real RAM disk, into which you insert additional memory modules, that's a different story. But for the price, an SSD would still be faster and cheaper. A RAM disk needs to be filled from another source.

[jjmIII]

Some much ramdisk talk latley. Who is really using one?

With the help of an SSD, Win7 handles my ram just fine..
Isn't an SSD really just a big 'ramdisk'?

[FishAk]

Set your page file to 16MB min. and a larger max value. The page file can only grow, and will never shrink till you reboot.

Before you shutdown, make a note of the size of your page file. This is the size that was required during your session. If it is still 16MB, you know your system didn't page more than the Min. allocated to it.

After a few experiments, you will know what is the right maximum size for your use habits.

[Jskid]

anything else?

[boochi]

Originally Posted by jjmIII

Some much ramdisk talk latley. Who is really using one?

With the help of an SSD, Win7 handles my ram just fine..
Isn't an SSD really just a big 'ramdisk'?

A really slow ramdisk.

[corkyg]

Originally Posted by jjmIII

... Who is really using one? ...

Win 7 uses a RAM disk during the installation process. After that, it is sort of yesterday's news.

[Lorne]

I use one all the time, But its the work I do that needs it.
Though I use Win7/64 I use alot of older editing and client software that cannot use more then 2Gigs of memory (ie Photoshop 7) and even a SSD is really slow when your paging out several 250+Meg PSD compared to 3GBps ramdrive.

YOu could set a small one up for the system and have it overflow onto the HD, This adds alot of snap untill the system is fully loaded up, But other then that dont see a use for one.

[dguy6789]

A ramdisk is almost completely useless in Windows Vista or Windows 7 because of superfetch.

[XLNC]

I think there is entirely too much opinion and not enough hard facts when it comes to RAM disks. We need another round of RAM disk benchmarks like in the mid 2000s. Average memory configurations have grown from 1-2GB then to 8-24GB now, which changes their scope of applications drastically. People have extra RAM and want to know what to do with it.

I think Anandtech should consider revisiting RAM disks for a full length article. Few things I'd like to see addressed (quelled):
- Page file on RAM disk: To me it sounds like a bad idea on the surface, but it comes up ALL the time. I don't know enough about how Windows or other applications use the page file, and I bet most here don't either. We're all guessing.
- Superfetch makes RAM disk useless: This is such a blanket statement that it's bound to be false. The usefulness of a RAM disk has to be entirely dependent upon.... what it's used for. Still, I'd like to see this explored. Superfetch vs. RAM disk.
- SSD is similar to RAMdisk: The raw numbers for the two aren't even close, but what about real world results for applications?
- Enterprise applications: There has to be a ton of applications on the enterprise side. Can it be reliable enough to make it work?

I think we should save opinions for the politics forum and benchmark all things computers to death.

[Nothinman]

Originally Posted by Jskid

anything else?

No, RAM disks are only really worth it in odd corner cases for things that you truly don't care at all about. Anything else and pay for it in other areas, like waiting for the system to load the data to/from the RAM disk on bootup which is what SuperFetch would handle for you anyway.

Originally Posted by XLNC

I think there is entirely too much opinion and not enough hard facts when it comes to RAM disks. We need another round of RAM disk benchmarks like in the mid 2000s. Average memory configurations have grown from 1-2GB then to 8-24GB now, which changes their scope of applications drastically. People have extra RAM and want to know what to do with it.

Not even benchmarks, just a good explanation of how Windows memory management works and why RAM disks are mostly useless these days.

Originally Posted by XLNC

- Page file on RAM disk: To me it sounds like a bad idea on the surface, but it comes up ALL the time. I don't know enough about how Windows or other applications use the page file, and I bet most here don't either. We're all guessing.

A number of us have tried explaining why it's a bad idea, but most people here ignore things they don't want to hear.

Originally Posted by XLNC

- Superfetch makes RAM disk useless: This is such a blanket statement that it's bound to be false. The usefulness of a RAM disk has to be entirely dependent upon.... what it's used for. Still, I'd like to see this explored. Superfetch vs. RAM disk.

I'm sure it's false in some circumstances, but it's true in the general sense. SuperFetch's whole purpose is to monitor your usage patterns and preload what you use before you need it to reduce I/O. AFAIK no RAM disk has that ability.

Originally Posted by XLNC

- SSD is similar to RAMdisk: The raw numbers for the two aren't even close, but what about real world results for applications?

But the speed feeling is similar enough for people to relate the two. But unless an SSD can be addressed directly like memory and does XIP (not even sure if most Windows RAM disks do XIP) they're not very similar and solve two different problems with their own sets of drawbacks.

Originally Posted by XLNC

- Enterprise applications: There has to be a ton of applications on the enterprise side. Can it be reliable enough to make it work?

To me, the only word Enterprise means huge, expensive and shitty. It's usually some ugly Java front-end to a half dozen or more previously unrelated apps all duct taped together to give the illusion of cohesiveness.

[Lorne]

Agree.

My use is just a freak thing to assert brute force LARGE temp saves and its only a small fix for outdated software.
I cant think of any reason to use it otherwise.