Ramdisk

[zedekc]

If I want to play a game or 2, and do business productivity software, like dragon naturally speaking, quickbooks, microsoft office, etc.. with maybe 2-3 business or more business applications going with web browsing also, how much memory do you think I should have for smooth sailing? And is it possible to have multiple programs running on a Ramdisk? and is it that much of a nuance if I don't power down my pc often?


Thanks -James-

 

[Emerald]

try 8GB

 

[Wamphryi]

What you are proposing can be done but a little fraught. The best RAM size for RAM disk taking into account your desire to run multiple programs would be 16 GB. 8 GB is doable but limiting. Depending on the RAM Disk software you can save an image of whatever RAM drive you want to create but the PC will need to load it in to memory on boot up which can be time consuming. Also some programs might upset the OS if they are not present when the registry is loaded at start up. This means you will have to load the RAM Drive image as a matter of course. You may be better off getting an SSD or at least a 10000 RPM HDD.

 

[geofelt]

The problem with a ramdisk is that it is not big enough to hold most of what you use.

Just get a SSD and be happy.

As to how much ram, 8gb will usually be fine for what you described, unless you have some 64 bit enabled apps that can use lots of ram.

 

[zedekc]

well if it is faster I would use a board with high max memory capability like this one ASUS P6X58-E PRO LGA 1366 Intel X58 , and use 48 gigs of memory if I had to, or w/e Is needed. I just wanted to see the feasibility of running stuff consistantly on ramdisk, and what kind of maintenance/prepwork is required after powering down.

 

[geofelt]

well if it is faster I would use a board with high max memory capability like this one ASUS P6X58-E PRO LGA 1366 Intel X58 , and use 48 gigs of memory if I had to, or w/e Is needed. I just wanted to see the feasibility of running stuff consistantly on ramdisk, and what kind of maintenance/prepwork is required after powering down.

I think it is doable. The software should have an option to unload the contents to a hard drive before powering down, and reload before starting up. An issue will be data integrity in the event of a power loss. I don't know if a ups would be an acceptable protection.

Even then, it will not be easy to identify the files that will benefit most from instant access. And, is your workload static enough that the mix would not change?

 

[zedekc]

I think it is doable. The software should have an option to unload the contents to a hard drive before powering down, and reload before starting up. An issue will be data integrity in the event of a power loss. I don't know if a ups would be an acceptable protection.

Even then, it will not be easy to identify the files that will benefit most from instant access. And, is your workload static enough that the mix would not change?

yes I use the same programs pretty consistantly, my business rythm is pretty steady, so the programs are the same just the use of the programs would vary a bit.

Would a power conditioner and a generator for backup hep with the data integrity, or if that part can't be helped maybe back up more often to cloud storage or external storage very frequently?

Is it possible to install an entire program onto ramdisk, and if so would the ramdisk software offer to store the image on powering down and be able to load the program from the ramdisk on start up?

thanks for your response this really helps me out a lot!

-James-

 

[geofelt]

There is little value in putting programs in ramdisk. The OS does that naturally if you have enough ram. Look at the cached statistic in the task manager. Your most frequently used apps and stuff will be kept there. If you suspend to ram it will stay there available for immediate reuse.

The volatile stuff like temporary work files are a better candidate. With enough ram, you will not be paging.
It would not be worth it to me to try to micromanage ramdisk content. Particularly since I would have no metric of how well I was doing.

As an aside, if you get >16gb, you will need Windows pro or ultimate to manage it.

I think your best bet is to fill up with 16gb of ram.
Get a SSD for the OS. Everything will feel so much quicker.
Plan for external backup of your critical data.
Get a UPS for your system APC makes some of the best. It needs only to be big enough for 5 minutes, giving you time to shut down gracefully.

 

[zedekc]

There is little value in putting programs in ramdisk. The OS does that naturally if you have enough ram. Look at the cached statistic in the task manager. Your most frequently used apps and stuff will be kept there. If you suspend to ram it will stay there available for immediate reuse.

The volatile stuff like temporary work files are a better candidate. With enough ram, you will not be paging.
It would not be worth it to me to try to micromanage ramdisk content. Particularly since I would have no metric of how well I was doing.

As an aside, if you get >16gb, you will need Windows pro or ultimate to manage it.

I think your best bet is to fill up with 16gb of ram.
Get a SSD for the OS. Everything will feel so much quicker.
Plan for external backup of your critical data.
Get a UPS for your system APC makes some of the best. It needs only to be big enough for 5 minutes, giving you time to shut down gracefully.

So all the micromanaging and setup/maintenance aside will their be a difference between (1. just using an ssd and (2. using an ssd for the OS and programs, and then using a ramdisk for the frequenly used temp files(or whichever ones are 'best candidates')

8 hrs+ a day using the programs everyday so any difference for me would then be an option for me, even a slight difference would be magnified.

 

[Wamphryi]

If you are using large temp files there may be an increase in performance. That would be a good set up. However the software you are using may in itself be a bottleneck on that kind of set up. If you have a lot of programs open your proposed set up will likely be helpful. Just make sure you have enough RAM to run the RAMDISK without impacting to heavily on your remaining system RAM. 8 GB bare minimum.

 

[zedekc]

If you are using large temp files there may be an increase in performance. That would be a good set up. However the software you are using may in itself be a bottleneck on that kind of set up. If you have a lot of programs open your proposed set up will likely be helpful. Just make sure you have enough RAM to run the RAMDISK without impacting to heavily on your remaining system RAM. 8 GB bare minimum.

sweet thanks for the help guys