5614 Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 how do you know what your virtual memory is? what is virtual memory? what does it limit? thnx 5614 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossoi Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 It's also known as the paging file: http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/expertzone/columns/mcfedries/03june16.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloodhound Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 i think it acts just like the /swap partition in linux Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apollo2011 Posted June 12, 2004 Share Posted June 12, 2004 Get SiSoft Sandra The best PC Utility in the world. It will tell you more than you need to know about your RAM and any other hardware on your computer http://www.sisoftware.net/ Also, the settings for VM are: Start>Control Panel>System>Advanced>Performance>Settings>Advanced>Virtual Memory That will also tell you how much is currently allocated and allow you set your own size although it is not recommended you do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5614 Posted June 14, 2004 Author Share Posted June 14, 2004 so, say i wanted to increase my virtual memory, why isnt is recmmended, the question is: what is to stop me making my virtual memory massive, whats the disadvantage and why isnt is recommended Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossoi Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 There's not really much point because Windows will automatically increase the size of your virtual memory if it needs more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5614 Posted June 14, 2004 Author Share Posted June 14, 2004 ok, but if you upgrade your 128MB Ram to 1024MB, you will notice a difference, so if you increase your virtual memory, surely it makes your computer run faster or smoother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 No; the reason your system will run faster with more physical RAM is that it has to write less pages to the hard disk (i.e. your virtual memory) - increasing virtual memory will likely make your system run slower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5614 Posted June 14, 2004 Author Share Posted June 14, 2004 so you dont advise anyone to increase their virtual memory unless you really have to? infact, from what dave just said, it might make your system faster if you have a smaller virtual memory, because then there are less pages to write to you HDD, is that right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 That's right. If you can do, getting more RAM is a much more sensible alternative to increasing virtual memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossoi Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 It helps if you look at virtual memory as something the computer uses because it really has to when it runs out of RAM. To use the swap file the PC must first assign the data to RAM then write it to disk, then to use it it must read it from the disk and put it back into memory. It's only there as an overflow and is much slower than RAM - the best advice is to forget it's there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 RAM is stupidly cheap atm anyway, best just to go and buy some more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5614 Posted June 15, 2004 Author Share Posted June 15, 2004 i dont think im gonna buy ram, i just got a 160GB HDD for £70 [uK], is that good? i've got 512MB RAM and thats fine, how much does it cost for more RAM and will it really be worth it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwik Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 512mb should be enough for average computer users... it might actually be a little overkill. I have 256mb and my computer runs fine, however my laptop with 128mb, runs slow all the time (both running windows XP). I'm hopping to upgrade my laptop to 512mb of ram. RAM prices are really cheap, and it's only going to cost around $80 for the upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayonara Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 i dont think im gonna buy ram, i just got a 160GB HDD for £70 [uK'], is that good? Last month I was considering buying a 120 for £60, so yeah that's pretty good. Where did you find that? i've got 512MB RAM and thats fine, how much does it cost for more RAM and will it really be worth it? 512Mb costs about £25 - £60 now depending on the speed and type. It's probably worth buying it now because the price of memory changes all the time, and it's currently at a low. There are always memory-hungry applications just around the corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5614 Posted June 16, 2004 Author Share Posted June 16, 2004 i got it at maplins, it was a one off special offer, theyre quite good for computer parts, i advise 2 subscribe 2 their emails and check out their special offers.... thats where my HDD came from, im not advertising maplins, just advising it to others!!!!! i might buy some ram, can you instal it along side the current RAM or does one replace the other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayonara Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 You can install them alongside each other but make sure they are the same speed, otherwise you will have performance issues and long-term use would damage the memory hardware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5614 Posted June 16, 2004 Author Share Posted June 16, 2004 so if i have 512MB RAM and i want to ADD more to it i would have to buy another 512Mb RAM and also i have DDR RAM i think that means i have two 256MB RAM [not sure but isnt DDR the first D is for double???] so if i have 2 X 256MB can i still add more, how many RAM's can you have, or does it depend on the amount of slots in the motherboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayonara Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 512Mb is the capacity of the memory, not the speed. You can have any size memory stick in any memory slot, but they need to be the same speed (EG PC2100, PC2700, or PC3200). DDR is "double data rate" - it's probably not a good plan to mix DDR with other types. Example: You could have a 512Mb, a 256Mb and a 128Mb DDR stick in each of three slots, as long as they were all the same speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayonara Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 Oh yeah, and the maximum RAM you can have depends on what the motherboard supports, rather than how many slots you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5614 Posted June 16, 2004 Author Share Posted June 16, 2004 ok, so the same speed, im assuming that when you buy RAM it tells you the speed, but how do you know your current speed for the RAM? so is 512RAM DDR, two sticks or one? ok so it means "double data rate" but what is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT2095 Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 yup, I have 4 slots. only 1 is in use, it`s a 512mb in there, but the mobo is only a P2 350 and only sees 256mb of it ( and yes, I`ve tried using the other slots, I can`t get past the 256mb mark and I`ve even reflashed the BIOS to a 2000 version, still nothing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayonara Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 Muah ha haaaa. Motherboards are dirt cheap right now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5614 Posted June 16, 2004 Author Share Posted June 16, 2004 ok' date=' so the same speed, im assuming that when you buy RAM it tells you the speed, but how do you know your current speed for the RAM? so is 512RAM DDR, two sticks or one? ok so it means "double data rate" but what is that?[/quote'] soz 4 asking again, its just i dont want to go off the topic coz it would be useful to know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT2095 Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 ram is usualy marked up in nano seconds, often it`s actualy printed on the chips themselves. the lower the ns number, the faster the access time. and the more ram you have, the less HDD access it needed, and since HDD access even at PIO 4 or above is quite fast, it`s not even close to RAM speed, so RAM rules the day 512 can come on 1 stick or over 2 if you want, DDR is the hardware format (pinout and shape/size). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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