Optimum page file size
- Thread starter ecevit
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This does get asked frequently, and the pat answer is usually "leave it alone" with 8GB of RAM or less. Once you start getting up into the 12GB+ of RAM, then we can start thinking about tweaking paging file size, Hibernation file, etc. Unless you're on a very small SSD, you really want to leave it alone with 8GB or less of RAM, as bad things can happen if you disable the paging file and then run out of available memory.
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As others have said, leave it alone unless you have an SSD drive and you want to prevent too much space from being consumed.
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With 8GB of ram why are you running a page file to begin with? There is absolutely no need. On Every system I've build with 8gb or more of ram I disable the page file, not a single problem and the speed increase is noticeable. If you are dead set on a page file, set it to min and max 1.5x your ram installed, preferably on a drive other then C:
Probably because the paging file's existence allows the modified page writer to work instead of just piling up memory pages on the modified writer list. Also, it allows more memory commit to be used (commit != actual RAM usage), makes sure you have additional "memory" in a pinch, and (by default) is used if you crash and need a memory dump. If you choose to run without one, that's your choice, but be aware it's not a "free" choice by any means. You ARE messing with how the memory manager works, at the very least.
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Yes....I read the MS white paper on page file usage too, but as I've said, in all the machines I've built with 8GB or more of ram for myself and others, I've disabled the page file without a single issue. I've built machines for devs, programmers, media heads, gamers, etc....never an issue...The only time I recommend running a page file is when dealing with less then 4GB of ram or running any type of server OS, and even then I recommend a static page file. There has always been a noticeable performance increase in my experience...your results may vary.
Not everyone needs a paging file, but not everyone *doesn't* need one either. If you don't understand specifically what it's doing to a system and what it might do under certain workloads, it doesn't pay to do it. Also, the speed improvement would only happen if you were using the paging file in the first place, which means your change would have caused instability and crashing - so I don't necessarily doubt that it works for you, but I would doubt the performance increase (the memory manager isn't going to put active pages in the paging file unless there's heavy memory pressure already).
The Windows 7 Pagefile And Running Without One » TweakHound
"Does running without a pagefile improve performance?
Based on my observations there is no performance benefit to running without a pagefile."
"Does running without a pagefile improve performance?
Based on my observations there is no performance benefit to running without a pagefile."
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I have always used static pagefiles, you can really see an improvement in performance. Since I use Linux most of the time I always use the double amount as my physical RAM is, in my case 16gb, because I have 8gb of RAM (this is an old habit).
This is FAR more than needed, I don't even have to use a pagefile because I have 8gb built-in already.
But, I have more than enough diskspace so I can miss it.
In your case I would set a static pagefile for your use on 4gb, if you have a second harddisk I would place it there (this has no use if it's only a partition instead of a physical hdd). Really, you don't need more than a pagefile of 4gb with 8 gb RAM.
This is FAR more than needed, I don't even have to use a pagefile because I have 8gb built-in already.
But, I have more than enough diskspace so I can miss it.
In your case I would set a static pagefile for your use on 4gb, if you have a second harddisk I would place it there (this has no use if it's only a partition instead of a physical hdd). Really, you don't need more than a pagefile of 4gb with 8 gb RAM.
