Lot of Free RAM during extraction.!!

[sunzeal]

Hi

Today, i was extracting a 6GB file, unfortunately it took around 25 minutes, and my laptop specs are core i7 @ 8GB RAM.

Only max of 4GB of RAM was being used as shown in Task Manager and other 4GB was free, so was wondering why doesn't extra 4GB be used and it try to extract the file much more faster ??

 

[vrumor]

What does RAM have to do with extracting a file? Most likely its cause your laptop has a slow mechanical hard drive.

 

[4745454b]

I think most 32bit programs (like your unzip program) use only 2GBs. Designed that way to allow 2GBs for the OS. There is a 3GB flag you can use to make a 32bit program use more but you have to set it.

As mentioned above however it doesn't matter. A HDD can only move so fast so it doesn't matter if you have 4, 8, or 16GBs. It can only unpack so fast.

 

[davidgermain]

Can you add to the post which version of the decompression program you are using and what version of windows.
Also the type of file you are decompressing (zip rar ect)?
And is it a single media file like a video or large data file. or lots of small files?
I am curious as to why as well, as it seems to be using 4gb of ram so the above post about 32bit app's and 2gb limits, don't fit, your current findings.
At a guess i would say this document could help or at least point you in the right direction.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/237740


cheers

 

[gamerk316]

1: A 32-bit application running on Win32 can not use more then 2GB of RAM.
2: A 32-bit application running on Win64 with the LAA flag enabled during complilation can not use more then 4GB of RAM.
3: File extraction is IO heavy, but not particularly RAM heavy.

 

[sunzeal]

well, i use winrar for extraction.

My laptop HDD = 5400 RPM and i have 8GB DDR3 RAM.

Well, 4GB was total RAM used, it incl both Windows + extraction consumption.

BTW, aren't their any 64 bit extraction program available or is the slowdown caused due to my slow HDD ??


-----

Even when i install some big softwares, it generally takes around 25-30 minutes to install. Resource consumption during installation is around 3GB ( Total Resources), so was wondering why can't it utilize more RAM and install faster /?

 

[4745454b]

A HDD can only move so fast so it doesn't matter if you have 4, 8, or 16GBs. It can only unpack so fast.

 

[vrumor]

RAM has nothing to do with extracting files. And it doesnt matter, cause im guessing you are referring to d/led games and having them compressed. Not gonna offer any more help to this guy, pirated software isnt allowed on TH, either asking for help with it, or giving help.

 

[gamerk316]

Even when i install some big softwares, it generally takes around 25-30 minutes to install. Resource consumption during installation is around 3GB ( Total Resources), so was wondering why can't it utilize more RAM and install faster /?

Because installations, like extractions, are IO heavy. Your HDD is the limited factor.

Secondly, even on Win64 platforms, if the application is not compiled by teh developer with the LAA flag set, applications are limited to just 2GB RAM. They can not, under any circumstances, use more. If the LAA flag is set, the upper limit is moved to 4GB per application.

That being said, I'd blame the heavy IO on limiting total RAM usage in this cae.

 

[sunzeal]

oh, so does that mean their is no use of higher RAM as most of the applications are not compiled with the LAA flag ?

Except of Virtualization till now, i have not seen my rig using more than 4GB of RAM.

 

[4745454b]

Or it lets you use more of those programs at the same time.

 

[gamerk316]

oh, so does that mean their is no use of higher RAM as most of the applications are not compiled with the LAA flag ?

Most applications, sadly, are not compiled with LAA set by default, even though they should be...Without the LAA flag set, 32-bit exe's are limited to just under 2GB of RAM usage, period.

Hence, why you don't see significant gains as you move beyond about 6GB of installed RAM: Because applications aren't coded to use more then 2GB. Combine that with the ~2GB the OS naturally uses, and you see why adding more RAM doesn't really increase performance much.

Hence why I laugh every single time Toms does a memory test using 32-bit applications, then wonders why adding more RAM doesn't increase performance...