Moving page file to separate HDD?

[Peter780]

I have read some reviews on Internet where people are saying that moving page file on another physical drive is improving significantly the performance of the OS.
I am thinking to buy a new laptop which will have 4GB of RAM and i will install Windows 7 on it and i will look for laptop that have second bay to attach second HDD that i will use only for the page file.

My question is, is moving the page file on a separate HDD really improve the performance of Windows 7?

 

[theevilsharpie]

My question is, is moving the page file on a separate HDD really improve the performance of Windows 7?

The only way that moving the page file will make a difference is if the separate drive is physically faster.

Since you're getting a new laptop, you'd be much better served by getting 8 or 16GB of RAM than by buying a secondary drive for a page file. If you needed to use phenomenally more memory than you could physically install in the RAM slots, an SSD would be a much better choice for a page file drive than any HDD.

In short, don't bother.

 

[Peter780]

Thanks, i guess it is better to get more RAM than moving the page file.

I have another question: Is it a good idea to use SSD on which to install the operating system and faster HDD on which to store all the data? I will still need laptop that support two drives for this.

And, by the way, which HDD's are considered fastest?

 

[theevilsharpie]

I have another question: Is it a good idea to use SSD on which to install the operating system and faster HDD on which to store all the data? I will still need laptop that support two drives for this.

If this were a desktop, that wouldn't be a bad way to go. However, on a mobile computer, any component that you add will increase weight, increase the amount of heat the laptop puts out during operation, and decrease battery life. In addition, mechanical hard drives in particular generate noise, can suffer speed degradation if the laptop is moving, and are especially susceptible to physical damage from sudden jolts.

Unless you have very specific case where you need a large amount of internal storage on your laptop, I'd go with an SSD.

And, by the way, which HDD's are considered fastest?

The performance of an HDD is largely determined by its rotational speed. For HDDs that are practical to use in a laptop, your speed options are 5400RPM or 7200RPM. In general, drives with a higher rotational speed are faster for day to day use, but use more energy, run hotter, and generate more noise.

 

[Berryracer]

Gaming laptops have 2 bays for SSDs or HDDs

I have my OS and programs installed on the SSD and my data like music, docs, videos, on the HDD

My page file is disabled ever since I had 8 GB of RAM but you can always set it to a fixed min 1024/max 1024 MB to be on the safe side

RAM is so cheap nowadays it doesn't make sense not having at least 8 GB

I have 32 GB of RAM and my page file is disabled offcourse, never ran into a problem ever since I had 8 GB to be honest