Jump to content

Windows Page File and SSD/HDD Management


Recommended Posts

Hello everyone of TI,

Though this is not strictly a laptop discussion, both my current PCs are laptops running 128GB mSATA SSD and 1TB SATAII.

I have a question regarding usage of the memory paging file created by Windows and how should I set it up without impacting performance and creating issues on the PC.

Some time ago, I faced a memory leak issue in which increased the Windows page file to roughly 47GB (I have 16GB of RAM, so this value is somewhat understandable, but very dumb). I do not know how exactly is it ticked off to go that high besides the leak issue, and was wondering what is the general file size of this page file and if its even necessary.

Do not discuss the degradation of SSD lifespan as that is not important to this topic and I'm pretty sure everyone knows SSD's will last a long time even without the usage of paging file. I just wanted to know the important of this system and how it directly affects us end users who like gaming and performance.

If possible, put into layman's terms if you can. Otherwise, I'll have to make a few read-throughs to understand on busy days.

-Lone

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

The PAGEFILE thing honestly doesn't make much sense to me on the amount of storage it bookmarks.

Guru's say that the pagefile should be at least 1.5x-2x your installed memory (including GPU memory).

With that logic my pagefile should be set at 13312 (i have 6GB of system memory and 512MB GPU memory)

Some tech-heads say anything over 8GB of installed system memory, you should actually disable pagefile all together.

Pagefile should optimally be set on a secondary drive other than the system drive, but it can exist anywhere really.

Check out this video for a quick/simple "set it and forget it" tutorial.

Honestly, Windows 7/8 does a fine job of managing the pagefile by default. Any benefits from a change in size are going to be moderate at best.

I hope this helps!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe the rule of thumb for page file size (i.e. a multiple of your RAM capacity) is more about being able to dump the contents of memory in the event of a crash. I run a similar setup to yours (16GB RAM/256GB SSD) and keep my page file set to a minimum of 100MB and a maximum of 1024MB (1GB). It's important to have from a functional perspective, as some applications are simply programed to use/require it, but I see no reason to make it any larger than it needs to be.

That said, I do not think that you are going to see a meaningful difference no matter its size, given a generous amount of RAM and ultra fast storage in the form of an SSD. While it will continue to serve a purpose as an OS component, its impact on performance is simply lost in a system backed by modern equipment.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I was taught in college that the page file is very important, in my 16GB rig I don't run more than 1024MB of page file. From what I can tell, increasing the size of the page file doesn't improve the performance of many modern applications when RAM is available. I've used the "recommended" page file settings in the past, but I feel like it just wastes storage space. I would argue that if you've got at least 8GB of RAM, you really don't need to focus on page file size on a 64-bit system.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Use page file only if you have applications that use way more than the ram than you have or regularily experience a full ram (blender rendering or so) 8/16 gig of ram today is fully efficient for running without any pagefile at all

Gesendet von meinem GT-I9100 mit Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From my own experience, the page file can be set under limitations by the file's size. If you set a limit to the page file and your programs exceed both RAM and page file limitations, the memory respective to the applications currently running are subject to crashing (ie. Google Chrome crashed on me for excessive amounts of tabs). You can read the following tomshardware thread (here) for instructions on how to change your settings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.