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Superfetch

Capt Caveman

Capt Caveman

Lifer
Subject: Microsoft claims Longhorn will be, er, faster

The only reason why its faster is they added a superfetch feature to the prefetcher. If you look at the key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\Prefetcher

you will notice in windows xp

EnablePrefetcher = 3 and you will notice in windows longhorn
EnableSuperfetch = 1

Well, guess what? You can put the EnableSuperfetch = 1 in windows xp and get the same speed.

Wow, Microsoft just added a feature that was already there in xp.

snakeye

[At your own risk, Ed.]
 
The only reason why its faster is they added a superfetch feature to the prefetcher.
Click to expand...

Only reason? :roll: No, there is a lot of performance work going, including new hardware designed for longhorn.

EnableSuperfetch = 1
Click to expand...

Link or documentation please, I can find no evidence that this key does anything. This smells like an urban legend so far....

Bill
 
Originally posted by: bsobel
Link or documentation please, I can find no evidence that this key does anything. This smells like an urban legend so far....

Bill
Click to expand...
I'm not finding anything, and *if* the source is correct there may not be any. Supposedly it's a new feature in Longhorn that can be enabled in XP. Since the source is longhorn, there isn't any documentation available.

Like I said on another forum, has anyone tested this, or are we just talking placebo "it feels faster"?
 
Well, the original registry path he listed isn't even correct (should Memory Management\PrefetchParameters not Memory Management\Prefetcher). So, the fact that he's advocating adding a key to a registry branch is wrong and claiming their is a performance improvement seems, well, unlikely.

Further, the EnablePrefetch string is in ntoskrnl.exe. That file doesn't contain the other string the poster claims...

 
Originally posted by: bsobel
Well, the original registry path he listed isn't even correct (should Memory Management\PrefetchParameters not Memory Management\Prefetcher). So, the fact that he's advocating adding a key to a registry branch is wrong and claiming their is a performance improvement seems, well, unlikely.

Further, the EnablePrefetch string is in ntoskrnl.exe. That file doesn't contain the other string the poster claims...
Click to expand...
Oh, that's golden. I wonder how many people added the wrong one and are seeing "snappier" systems. LMAO!!!

Anyways, look at the source... Theinquirer.

edit: Oh, the link isn't even posted here.

Here's the source of this tweak as far as I know.

Text
 
lol

I know what prefetching is. Anyone care to describe what kind of mumbo-jumbo this "superfetching" involves over regular prefetching?

Yeah, you're probably right about that.

hoaxers++
 
I know what prefetching is. Anyone care to describe what kind of mumbo-jumbo this "superfetching" involves over regular prefetching? marketing++
Click to expand...

If you follow the link to the article you'll see it's reproduced here in it's entirety. So, we have zero confirmation on any of this. I wouldn't even blame the MS marketing guys at this point, I think it's just a plain hoax.


 
Okay - I'm gullible - I tried it

I can't vouch for performance improvements, but I was watching the c:\windows\prefetch folder to see what would happen there. After adding the registry key, and rebooting, I opened a few programs. The prefetch file seems to be updated a little bit after the program is done loading, and you may have to press F5 to refresh the list a few times. The file modification date changes, too.

Prefetch files:
winword.exe (Word 97) before: 41KB, after: 42KB
winamp.exe (Winamp 5) before: 30KB, after:34KB

I haven't updated either of these programs in months.

Has anyone else noticed this type of change in the prefetch files?

-- Joel
 
That to me seems like normal behaviour. As an example, I just ran a program I installed this morning (Coolfind). After opening/closing it the prefetch file was updated and the time stamp changed. This happeneded since some different code page was loaded this time (pretty normal for apps to have some slight differences in behaviour between runs).

Point being, you should be seeing the same changes occuring even without the change mentioned.

Bill
 
Originally posted by: bsobel
This happeneded since some different code page was loaded this time (pretty normal for apps to have some slight differences in behaviour between runs).
Click to expand...

That sounds reasonable. I'd never looked at the behavior of prefetch files before today.
 
This has been posted at every single forum I visit. I am with bsobel on this. I doubt it really does anything. Of course tons of people will claim they saw a huge performance increase and it will spread all over the net.
 
To the OP, after seeing the article I see that what I thought was your commentary was from TheInquirer directly. Please treat all such rolling eyes and doubt as directed at them, I know you were just trying to pass along something you felt would be a benefit...
 
this tweak was so good I was
1)instantly promoted at work
2)looked more youthful
3)won the publishers clearinghouse sweepstakes
4)grew 6 inches taller
5) and lost 20 lbs

Can't wait to see what happens after I reboot:Q
 
Originally posted by: bsobel
To the OP, after seeing the article I see that what I thought was your commentary was from TheInquirer directly. Please treat all such rolling eyes and doubt as directed at them, I know you were just trying to pass along something you felt would be a benefit...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I should have posted the link to the blurb. I actually got directed to this link while reading an article on techreport. Just thought I'd run it thru here. I'm always looking for a performance boosting tweak.
 
Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista will allow users to add memory to the operating system through the use of USB memory keys, the company revealed at its Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles.
The option is part of a technology called Superfetch designed to make the next version of Windows faster to use over time.
Superfetch will monitor the data and applications accessed by the user in recent months and preload those into its memory. This allows for faster access to data and applications.
In current Windows versions the software loads applications and data only as the user asks for it. This takes time because Windows has to load not only the application itself after a system reboot but the drivers and other auxiliary applications.
"Superfetch works great if you have a reasonable amount of memory, and it works fantastic if you have boatloads of memory," Jim Alchin, group vice president for Windows platforms at Microsoft, told delegates in Los Angeles.
"But even if you don't have boatloads of memory, we have thought about that [with the USB option]."

Superfetch adds the memory on the USB key to the system's virtual memory, which in turn is used to preload applications and data which the user accesses frequently. The USB option offers the ability to upgrade the system's memory even if there are no physical memory slots, allowing laptop users to increase system speed, according to Alchin.
The user can still remove the memory key at any moment without affecting system stability. To prevent security issues, the information is encrypted on the key to prevent data leaks.
Superfetch is one of several new ways in which Windows Vista is designed to increase system performance.
Other technologies will automatically defragment the hard disk, and provide a visual tool to allow the user to spot possible bottlenecks in the system's performance.
Click to expand...
 
Originally posted by: IamDavid
this was posted a few weeks ago here.. it's a joke.. no benifit at all.... no one could prove ANY gain..
Click to expand...


Think it is a feature in Vista.... read my quote
 
Originally posted by: UlricT
Originally posted by: IamDavid
this was posted a few weeks ago here.. it's a joke.. no benifit at all.... no one could prove ANY gain..
Click to expand...


Think it is a feature in Vista.... read my quote
Click to expand...

Got a link?

Also, the memory on a USB key is rather slow why on earth would you want to use it?
 
Well it's hokey, that's for sure. I guess it'd be faster that using the HDD, but still...

For systems that aren't memory bound, aka they have enough RAM to run all apps w/o paging, this wouldn't help. Most of us should have "enough" memory this shouldn't be a concern.

I don't understand this comment (from the articled link in the AT article) "and it works fantastic if you have boatloads of memory" I'd tend do disagree on face value and wonder how it helps these systems.
 
Originally posted by: Phoenix86
Well it's hokey, that's for sure. I guess it'd be faster that using the HDD, but still...

For systems that aren't memory bound, aka they have enough RAM to run all apps w/o paging, this wouldn't help. Most of us should have "enough" memory this shouldn't be a concern.

I don't understand this comment (from the articled link in the AT article) "and it works fantastic if you have boatloads of memory" I'd tend do disagree on face value and wonder how it helps these systems.
Click to expand...

Looks to me (I skipped the PDC this year, I'll confirm when some of the folks get back) that they have an option to put the pre-fetch data onto flash memory (which should be faster than a hd). If you have alot of memory, they'll do even more prefetching (e.g. prior to you actually using the app, let the memory manager page it out if you don't).

In theory, it's not a bad idea. It's a further improvement to what prefetching already does.

Bill

 
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