Dedicated System Memory

overbet

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I am not sure if this is the appropriate section for this post but its my best guess.

I just did a new build so everything brand new except for the ram which I had in my previous machine.
I updated all of the drivers and installed everything correctly as far as I know.
I actually did this and everything worked great initially. I even had ran this windows score test and got a high score on the dedicated system memory category, but I ran into some other small issues later where I put some incorrect drivers on and a couple other small things so i decided to start over and do a clean windows install.

Now I ran the windows performance test and in the Dedicated System Memory category I got a score of 1.0, when I open the details it says dedicated system memory 0 mb.

Does anyone know what I did wrong here? I performed some system tweaks I found via goggle for SSD as well as changed one registry entry but I had done this on the previous install and didnt get this reading so dont think that is the trouble. This is the registry I changed just in case:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters
I changed the value from 3 default to 2.

One other thing is my computer crashed when I tried to install Intel 3/4/5 Chipset Drivers Version 9.1.2.1008. This is from my mobo website listed as an update and it installed smoothly the first time.

Thank you

Here are my system components:

COOLER MASTER Silent Pro Gold Series RSA00-80GAD3-US 1000W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS ...

Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366

COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler

Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

Seagate Constellation ES ST3500514NS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Enterprise Internal MSI Big

Bang-XPower LGA 1366 Intel X58

2x Galaxy 60XGH6HS3GMW GeForce GTX 460 Super OC

Corsair CMP16GX3M4A1333C9 Dominator Dual Channel 16GB PC10666 DDR3 Memory - 1333MHz, 4x4096MB, 9-9-9-24

COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
 
Solution
If you are running 8 or more gigs of ram in windows7 then the page file is not needed.
The only time the page file is needed is when you have used all of you available memory, and you are running 16gb so you should never have to worry about that. But windows 7 includes a file caching mechanism called SuperFetch that caches the most frequently accessed application files in RAM so your applications will open more quickly so you may want to set some sort of pagefile for that but it can be small like,
Initial size: 1000 mb or 512mb
maximum size: 2000 mb or 1000mb
and place the pagefile on your 500gb seagate.
Hope this helps. Disableing the page file wont hurt anything, I havent used page file for 4 years now and have never had any trouble...

overbet

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Just figured it out. I made this tweak:

Disable the Page File
Description: Eliminate writing memory to the SSD, free over 2GB of disk space. Warning - If you run out of memory the program you're using will crash.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> Settings (Performance) -> Advanced Tab -> Change -> Uncheck Automatically manage -> No paging file -> Set -> OK -> Restart your computer
Alternatively, if you want to play it safer, you can set a custom size of 200MB min and max.

Now I went back and changed it to custom 200 min 1000 max and I get a 7.8 score instead of 1.0.

Is it bad to disable this? I actually disabled for the SSD and made it 200-1000 on the HDD. Will it still make writes to the SSD?
 
some points:

1) Always allow the Page File. If you have an SSD it's likely best to put it on a hard drive instead as constant writing is what wears out an SSD. (I recommend moving your downloads folders and even the browser cache to the hard drive. Google for info.)

When you have lots of RAM the System Managed Page File can get huge. Not a big deal for a hard drive but SSD's are expensive. If it allocates 30GB that can be $100 worth of SSD space!

I recommend the hard drive as mentioned but also just use "System Managed" since space is no issue.

2) "Will it still make writes to the SSD?"

NO.

3) Your 16GB is overkill unless you have a very specific need such as massive RAW picture files with many layers or video editing HD. If you are using normal applications and gaming your RAM is too much.

If you don't actually utilize the RAM then it's just adding heat and it will even add a very slight performance hit of perhaps 3% versus 4GB.

How to verify?
CTRL-ALT-DEL, now monitor your Memory usage under "performance." I suspect you'll find you can't get above 6GB even during a game. Open and close all your normal programs, then run a modern PC game. Close it out and look for the highest Memory use. If you don't go above 8GB then you should remove 8GB of the 16GB as it's actually detrimental.

I had 4GB and never went above 3.2GB. However Windows did buffer slightly more into RAM when I went to 8GB (for Photoshop) and I reached 6GB on one occasion during a game (Windows would have removed some applications from RAM when the game started if I had "only" 4GB.

*Keep in mind that with a responsive SSD that can open applications quicker if they aren't already buffered to RAM the benefit of going beyond 4GB diminishes rapidly.
 

d1rtyju1c3

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If you are running 8 or more gigs of ram in windows7 then the page file is not needed.
The only time the page file is needed is when you have used all of you available memory, and you are running 16gb so you should never have to worry about that. But windows 7 includes a file caching mechanism called SuperFetch that caches the most frequently accessed application files in RAM so your applications will open more quickly so you may want to set some sort of pagefile for that but it can be small like,
Initial size: 1000 mb or 512mb
maximum size: 2000 mb or 1000mb
and place the pagefile on your 500gb seagate.
Hope this helps. Disableing the page file wont hurt anything, I havent used page file for 4 years now and have never had any trouble. Like I said it isnt needed unless you have used all available memory. [:bohleyk:1]
 
Solution


Check your paged memory, I am willing to bet that there is some listed there no matter how much RAM you have.
 

d1rtyju1c3

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I never said it wouldnt still use it if you have more than enough memory I just said it isnt needed if you have more than enough.
Listen overbet everyone has their own opinion about the page file some say it wont hurt anything to disable it some say it will either way I have never had any problems. I am not saying one method is better Than the other just that I have had no problem disabling mine on XP or 7 with 8gigs. Unless you are doing some major multitasking, with 16gigs of memory you should never have a problem running out of available memory so nothing should have to dip into the page file to run, and if a program or app. has trouble running just turn it back on, it will not do any damage or keep thing from ever running again.
 
Even if you set your virtual memory to 0, Windows will use the drive to swap when it needs it. In XP you get that "your virtual memory is too low, Windows is adjusting your settings" message. The only thing that setting it to nothing will do is not automatically allocate drive space to the swap file. It may also lock up your application if Windows tries to adjust virtual memory in the middle of work.

I like just setting the min-max size to the same, 1gig will be fine for just about any system regardless of your physical RAM.
 
The only time disabling the Page File makes any difference is when you're running XP, because XP isn't intelligent enough to manage memory effectively.


http://www.sevenforums.com/performance-maintenance/3236-memory-management-stress-testing-lol-i-love-7-a-2.html

We are now discussing which is faster at paging, RAM or HDD - the answer is obvious...RAM! What needs to be explained, is how using RAM-based-Paging affects the swapping process and ALL contents within the memory system.

Windows (Vista and beyond) will try to max out your memory usage with items that you consistently use. With this form of memory management, the purpose of paging is to keep a sorted list of all objects and relieve RAM of the more redundant objects. Think of a pagefile as being a clone of what's currently in RAM + what COULD be useful, but just isn't at that time. Even though they don't belong in the RAM, they still benefit by being sorted and kept in a special place. This is why having your pagefile located in the proper place can be important. Non-fragmented pagefiles located at the beginning of good-performing disks can ensure that our sorted data loads MUCH faster. Problem is, Microsoft's implementation of Pagefile-configuration doesn't include any automated quality-control. If your pagefile is scattered about or located in a low-performing location, it MAY - in some situations - increase the responsiveness of your PC by disabling the PF. However, you should note that overall it will be the opposite effect. Here’s why:

If you load up a program called 'Ms. Piggy', she's going to boss everyone around until they decide to go to another room (aka the pagefile). If the building has no other room (pagefile disabled), they're going to either leave the building completely, or partition the first room. This partitioning will cause Ms. Piggy to place her purse in the other room, and force all but the very-most-VIPs (if not everyone) to go home. When Ms Piggy’s number is over, we run into a problem... We will have to call up some cab drivers, get them to go to everybody's house and pick them and/or their stuff up and bring it back to the office. There will be traffic along the way, and maybe even a few jams…this may take a LONG, LONG TIME. On the other hand, had we actually had a pagefile - the VIPs could stick around and observe Ms Piggy's performance. At the moment it ended, the VIPs could’ve started working immediately. All the secondary staff and related files could also be brought back in from the nearby storage area. Maybe that storage area was located on another floor, maybe it was a mail-room, doesn’t really matter cause it still beats having to travel across town.

Again, EVERYONE should understand that this ONLY pertain to a Windows OS of Vista and beyond (greater than XP...). In windows XP, RAM is NOT properly used by the OS in any manner; Paging takes on a virtual-memory-like role as opposed to the queuing-role that is used in Vista and 7. BUT!!! Because XP doesn't use extended amounts RAM except when required, using that space as an enhanced-paging-file can be a possible way to trick Windows into keeping more objects inside RAM. This is why Disabling/enabling a PF in XP can be a matter of discussion, in Vista and up, it generally can-not.

XP: If you have LOTS of RAM...and aren't in threat of any programs going bonkers due to a lack of a large-PF - disabled can offer benefits.

'Vista and beyond': RAM should be filled down to 0MB free by the OS. Programs should load faster and quieter, PF usage handles all the tracking and relocation of lesser-used apps/data in the background. No benefits should be gained by disabling a PF.

The arguments of NO PF are based almost ENTIRELY on the XP loophole. It does not hold true for later operating systems.
 

d1rtyju1c3

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Thanks, and like I said if you run into problems with some apps just enable it and set it low.
Like the article above says "No benefit should be gained by disabling PF" first notice it says should, if they were positive it would say will. Also there is nothing saying that it will have detrimental effects on the system. [:bohleyk:1]
 
The arguments for "No Pagefile" are applicable only to XP. Vista and Win 7 do not behave like XP.

http://blogs.technet.com/b/markrussinovich/archive/2008/11/17/3155406.aspx

Mark Russinovich is the Vice President in charge of Windows Development, Technical Fellow, and author/creator of many/most of the tools Windows Professionals use to work on Windows. (Sysinternals)

Some feel having no paging file results in better performance, but in general, having a paging file means Windows can write pages on the modified list (which represent pages that aren’t being accessed actively but have not been saved to disk) out to the paging file, thus making that memory available for more useful purposes (processes or file cache). So while there may be some workloads that perform better with no paging file, in general having one will mean more usable memory being available to the system (never mind that Windows won’t be able to write kernel crash dumps without a paging file sized large enough to hold them).

Some of the comments below that article are of more value:

By the way, there are actually 2 separate reasons why pagefiles are necessary.
The first reason is to allow dirty pages that are never (or very rarely) referenced to be moved to disk, freeing up more RAM for other purposes.
The other reason is to enable better use of *virtual* memory, given that physical memory is allocated on demand. Remember that when a process calls VirtualAlloc(MEM_COMMIT) there are no physical pages allocated at this time. Physical pages are only allocated when the app accesses virtual pages for the first time. This is good because it makes committing pages a relatively cheap operation, so apps can commit memory in bigger chunks, without having to worry about each page they may or may not use.
Now, even though committing memory does not allocate physical pages, it still guarantees to the application that reading from/writing to the committed pages will never fail (or deadlock). It might be slow if other physical pages have to be moved to disk in order to make room, but it will eventually succeed.


http://lifehacker.com/5426041/understanding-the-windows-pagefile-and-why-you-shouldnt-disable-it?skyline=true&s=i



A plain english summary: Just because you didn't break anything when you made the change, doesn't mean it's a good idea.
 

d1rtyju1c3

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Ok I am not trying to get on anybody's bad side and I am not saying that it is better to disable or enable the page file, and I actually said it would be better to set a page file size for Windows 7 just a reduced size, because Windows 7 utilizes the page file much better than XP.