What is ideal utilization of real memory?

[D1gger]

I have recently just started using a desktop application called Sidebar (not sure I'm going to keep using it), but it did bring a question to mind.

It has a performance summary similar to task manager running which shows memory / swap / cpu / disk / net utilization. After having it on the desktop for a day, I have seen that I am pretty consistent in that I utilize approximately 75-80% of real memory, and a swap usage of ~20%.

This is my work system and it has only 512mb of memory installed, running Win/XP Pro.

What would be the ideal usage of real memory / swap file?

 

[Koing]

Someone should confirm as this is 'what I think' so please someone correct me if I am wrong.

100% ram and little swap as possible.

Swap = hd = mechanical = slower

You need more ram.

Koing

 

[daniel1113]

Well, free memory is wasted memory.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: daniel1113
Well, free memory is wasted memory.

Basically. The system will find *something* to do with all your physical RAM, even if it's just caching files that other programs have opened.

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Originally posted by: daniel1113
Well, free memory is wasted memory.

Basically. The system will find *something* to do with all your physical RAM, even if it's just caching files that other programs have opened.

Not with windows it won't, it dumps data even when there's no need to. Unused RAM is wasted money, occasionally used RAM is a different matter.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Originally posted by: daniel1113
Well, free memory is wasted memory.

Basically. The system will find *something* to do with all your physical RAM, even if it's just caching files that other programs have opened.

Not with windows it won't, it dumps data even when there's no need to.

It makes some effort to reduce the working set of programs you have minimized or not used for a while, which is somewhat different from 'dumping data' for no good reason (although it does do this whether you have lots of 'free' RAM or very little).