How would you setup the page file on this system?

LifeOnMars · May 1, 2012, 02:44 PM

Phenom II x4 B50 @3.2Ghz
M4A785D-M PRO
HD 7850 2GB
4 GB DDR2
Win 7 Home Premium x64

3x HDD All 7,200rpm
WD 640 GB Black 64MB - The Fastest
WD 500 GB Caviar Blue 16MB - 2nd Fastest
Seagate 400GB 16MB - (OLD and so so slow

)

It's a crappy temporary system (my gfx card is so bottlenecked

) I am using it to tide me over until I can get the full funds for my 2011 socket build. With only 4GB of RAM and these drives available I'm looking for your knowledgable input on the best,optimal page file config I can use these drives in with regards gaming needs.

Things to note

I want some form of storage on one of them
I am using a 2GB Vram GFX Card with only 4GB System Ram
All of my games are either Steam (the majority) or Origin (BF3 and FIFA 12)

Any help greatly appreciated as always

newtekie1 · May 1, 2012, 02:47 PM

I'd just put a 4GB page file on the fastest Non-OS drive.

LifeOnMars · May 1, 2012, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtekie1

I'd just put a 4GB page file on the fastest Non-OS drive.

So just a fixed 4096-4096 on the fastest non-os drive. Is it better to do that straight away after a fresh install of the OS?

EDIT - Here's what I'm thinking

640GB Black - Windows/Steam/Origin
500GB Cav Blue - 4096-4096 Page File/Storage
400GB Seagate - Pictures/Videos/Documents/Downloads

DRDNA · May 1, 2012, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LifeOnMars

So just a fixed 4096-4096 on the fastest non-os drive. Is it better to do that straight away after a fresh install of the OS?

It doesn't really matter.
I always leave a little page file on the C drive too, as I remember an app or two had problems with no page file on the C drive.

LifeOnMars · May 1, 2012, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRDNA

It doesn't really matter.
I always leave a little page file on the C drive too, as I remember an app or two had problems with no page file on the C drive.

Good to know, so perhaps leave a 200mb one on the C drive then.

Aquinus · May 1, 2012, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LifeOnMars

Good to know, so perhaps leave a 200mb one on the C drive then.

I personally leave it turned off unless I need it on. I don't run a whole lot of applications that need a page file. Plus with 16gb of ram it's not really necessary either. Honestly, if you're going to start thrashing, it's time for an upgrading because swapping memory from the hard drive is just straight up slow.

LifeOnMars · May 1, 2012, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aquinus

I personally leave it turned off unless I need it on. I don't run a whole lot of applications that need a page file. Plus with 16gb of ram it's not really necessary either. Honestly, if you're going to start thrashing, it's time for an upgrading because swapping memory from the hard drive is just straight up slow.

Read the first post, I will be getting a new system (similar to yours actually) within the next couple of months. This is purely temporary and just wanted to make sure I had it as optimal as I can for that time without having to worry. I also didn't know whether having a 2GB vid card with a 4GB System would cause any issues. I look foorward to having 16GB Ram

DRDNA · May 1, 2012, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LifeOnMars

Good to know, so perhaps leave a 200mb one on the C drive then.

That's what I would do and what I did!

Aquinus · May 1, 2012, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LifeOnMars

Read the first post, I will be getting a new system (similar to yours actually) within the next couple of months. This is purely temporary and just wanted to make sure I had it as optimal as I can for that time without having to worry. I also didn't know whether having a 2GB vid card with a 4GB System would cause any issues. I look foorward to having 16GB Ram

It's nice. Are you going with a 3820?

LAN_deRf_HA · May 1, 2012, 03:20 PM

The more "standard" the page file the better. I'd do c drive and wouldn't go under 4096. I don't know why messing with this breaks so many programs that shouldn't need it or don't even seem to use it, but it does.

LifeOnMars · May 1, 2012, 03:32 PM

Oh no Lan, why did you have to chip in

I'll try my luck with the setup I posted a few posts ago and will post back if I have any issues in the next couple of months

@Aquinus - Yeh I think that's the chip I'll be going for. How are you finding the motherboard and what about temps as I have read it's quite a toasty platform when overclocked?

baggpipes · May 1, 2012, 03:51 PM

General rule of thumb is 1.5 times the amount of RAM isn't it? So that would be 6gb?

Neuromancer · May 1, 2012, 04:02 PM

I set 256-256 or 512-512 on C: drive over the last 5 years and never had any issues.

Any program that NEEDS a pagefile now tends to make its own swap/scratch/temp file. Unless you have a habit of running old programs it wont cause any issues whatsoever.

Some games might go past the 4GB of RAM you have. A second PF as mentioned already on a nonOS HDD will help with that. It really depends on the game. (The only one I saw in recent memory was civilization 5)

Windows will tell you if you need to make your PF bigger, and I have not had any programs crash because of too small a PF.

baggpipes · May 1, 2012, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neuromancer

Windows will tell you if you need to make your PF bigger, and I have not had any programs crash because of too small a PF.

Yeah this

Aquinus · May 1, 2012, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LifeOnMars

@Aquinus - Yeh I think that's the chip I'll be going for. How are you finding the motherboard and what about temps as I have read it's quite a toasty platform when overclocked?

It's really not that bad, I really like the motherboard but it costs a pretty penny. I have a Zalman CNPS 9900MAX-B and I don't go over 72*C at 1.41v and 1.46v gets pretty close to 80*C. It doesn't idle higher than my Phenom II 940 which is a plus too. Keep in mind that the boys at Guru3D were able to do a 4.3ghz overclock without even touching the voltage, so it's really not that bad (stock at 1.35v iirc.) At stock I barely hit 55*C.

LifeOnMars · May 1, 2012, 08:04 PM

I meant to ask does the option -

"Turn off windows write-cache buffer flushing on this device"

show any tangible benefits to hard drives performance at all?

Aquinus · May 1, 2012, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LifeOnMars

I meant to ask does the option -

"Turn off windows write-cache buffer flushing on this device"

show any tangible benefits to hard drives performance at all?

It could decrease latency, but unless your rig is on a UPS, if you lose power during a write you could corrupt data on your drive.

May 1, 2012, 02:44 PM	#1
LifeOnMars Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Kettering,Northants. UK Posts: 2,242 (1.25/day) Thanks: 1,718 Thanked 401 Times in 337 Posts System Specs	How would you setup the page file on this system? Phenom II x4 B50 @3.2Ghz M4A785D-M PRO HD 7850 2GB 4 GB DDR2 Win 7 Home Premium x64 3x HDD All 7,200rpm WD 640 GB Black 64MB - The Fastest WD 500 GB Caviar Blue 16MB - 2nd Fastest Seagate 400GB 16MB - (OLD and so so slow ) It's a crappy temporary system (my gfx card is so bottlenecked ) I am using it to tide me over until I can get the full funds for my 2011 socket build. With only 4GB of RAM and these drives available I'm looking for your knowledgable input on the best,optimal page file config I can use these drives in with regards gaming needs. Things to note I want some form of storage on one of them I am using a 2GB Vram GFX Card with only 4GB System Ram All of my games are either Steam (the majority) or Origin (BF3 and FIFA 12) Any help greatly appreciated as always

May 1, 2012, 02:47 PM	#2
newtekie1 Semi-Retired Folder Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 17,752 (6.48/day) Thanks: 780 Thanked 5,116 Times in 3,707 Posts System Specs	I'd just put a 4GB page file on the fastest Non-OS drive. __________________ Rig1: System Specs. Rig2: A8-5600K@4.4GHz / AsRock FM2A75 Pro4 / 8GB Corsair DDR3-1600 9-9-9-24 / HD7560D / Samsung DVD-Burner / 1.5TB WD Green + 3x3TB WD RED in RAID5 Rig3: Athlon X2 4200+ / M4A79 Deluxe / 4GB G.Skill Pi DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 / GT430 / Sony DVD-Burner / 500GB WD Rig4: Phenom II x6 1605T @ 3.6GHz / Asus M5A99X Evo / 8GB PNY DDR3-1600 9-9-9 / GTX470 & GTX470 / Samsung DVD-Burner / 1.5TB Seagate

Processor:	Intel Core i7 875K@4.0GHz(200x20)
Motherboard:	eVGA P55 FTW 200
Cooling:	Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme w/ Corsair SP120 High Performance Edition
Memory:	8GB Corsair DDR3-1600 7-7-7-20
Video Card:	ASUS GTX 670 4GB DirectCU II @ 1015/3600
Hard Disk:	1TB Seagate 7200.12(OS), 3x 1.5TB Seagate 7200.11 in RAID 5
Optical Drive:	Lite-On Blu-Ray Combo Drive IHES108
CRT/LCD Model:	HP 25" 2509m 1080p LCD
Case:	Lian-Li Lancool Metal Boned K7 w/ Windowed Side Panel
Sound Card:	Onboard is good enough for me
PSU:	Corsair HX850
Software:	Windows 7 x64 Professional

System Name:	http://www.heatware.com/eval.php?id=73751
Processor:	i7-920 CO@4.2GHZ
Motherboard:	Asus P6T Deluxe Intel X58
Cooling:	Asetek Liquid CPU Cooling System
Memory:	CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
Video Card:	2X ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB DDR5 PCI-Express
Hard Disk:	(RAID-0) with 4 Identical Hard Drives (1.28TB (320GBx4)
Optical Drive:	LG BLU-RAY/HD-DVD Reader / DVD±R/±RW Writer
CRT/LCD Model:	LG 50" 50PK550 1080p 600Hz Plasma/37 Inch WestingHouse @1920x1080
Case:	Thermaltake M9 (I hate it its like trying to live in a 1 inch box)
PSU:	ThermalTake ToughPower 1200 Watt
Software:	Windows 7 professional 64

System Name:	Kratos
Processor:	Intel Core i7 3820 @ 4.37Ghz (128.6x34) 1.384-1.395v (LLC)
Motherboard:	ASUS P9X79 Deluxe
Cooling:	Zalman CPNS9900MAX 130mm
Memory:	G.Skill DDR3-2400, 16gb (4x4gb) @ 10-12-11-30-108-1T 1.65v
Video Card:	2x AMD (MSI branded) Radeon HD 6870 (Crossfire)
Hard Disk:	2x120Gb SATA3 Corsair Force GT Raid-0, 3x1Tb SATA2 RAID-5
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Software:	Windows 7 x64 Professional

May 1, 2012, 03:20 PM	#10
LAN_deRf_HA Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 4,024 (2.15/day) Thanks: 290 Thanked 831 Times in 588 Posts System Specs	The more "standard" the page file the better. I'd do c drive and wouldn't go under 4096. I don't know why messing with this breaks so many programs that shouldn't need it or don't even seem to use it, but it does.

System Name:	Obelisc
Processor:	i7 2600k @ 4.5 GHz
Motherboard:	Asus P8Z77-V
Cooling:	H110
Memory:	16GB(4x8) @ 2133 MHz 9-11-10-28 2T
Video Card:	Galaxy GTX 660 Ti GC 3GB SLI
Hard Disk:	M4 256GB, 2x 3TB Seagate XT
Optical Drive:	Samsung 12x Bluray
CRT/LCD Model:	Crossover 27Q
Case:	Corsair 550D
Sound Card:	X-Fi Titanium HD with HD598
PSU:	Kingwin LZP-550
Software:	Win7 64bit SP1

May 1, 2012, 03:32 PM	#11
LifeOnMars Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Kettering,Northants. UK Posts: 2,242 (1.25/day) Thanks: 1,718 Thanked 401 Times in 337 Posts System Specs	Oh no Lan, why did you have to chip in I'll try my luck with the setup I posted a few posts ago and will post back if I have any issues in the next couple of months @Aquinus - Yeh I think that's the chip I'll be going for. How are you finding the motherboard and what about temps as I have read it's quite a toasty platform when overclocked?

May 1, 2012, 03:51 PM	#12
baggpipes Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 161 (0.10/day) Thanks: 32 Thanked 45 Times in 28 Posts System Specs	General rule of thumb is 1.5 times the amount of RAM isn't it? So that would be 6gb?

System Name:	R2D2
Processor:	AMD FX-4100
Motherboard:	MSI 970 G45
Cooling:	Stock
Memory:	Kingston T1 8GB 1600 DDR3 @ 1800mHz
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Hard Disk:	RAID 0 WD Caviar Blue 1TB total
Optical Drive:	Lite-On DVD
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Case:	NZXT Gamma Series
PSU:	700w OCZ Mod Stream Pro
Software:	Windows 7 Professional
Benchmarks:	hit 4.5ghz stock cooler....

May 1, 2012, 04:02 PM	#13
Neuromancer Join Date: May 2008 Location: South Jersey Posts: 376 (0.21/day) Thanks: 66 Thanked 66 Times in 61 Posts	I set 256-256 or 512-512 on C: drive over the last 5 years and never had any issues. Any program that NEEDS a pagefile now tends to make its own swap/scratch/temp file. Unless you have a habit of running old programs it wont cause any issues whatsoever. Some games might go past the 4GB of RAM you have. A second PF as mentioned already on a nonOS HDD will help with that. It really depends on the game. (The only one I saw in recent memory was civilization 5) Windows will tell you if you need to make your PF bigger, and I have not had any programs crash because of too small a PF.

May 1, 2012, 08:04 PM	#16
LifeOnMars Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Kettering,Northants. UK Posts: 2,242 (1.25/day) Thanks: 1,718 Thanked 401 Times in 337 Posts System Specs	I meant to ask does the option - "Turn off windows write-cache buffer flushing on this device" show any tangible benefits to hard drives performance at all?

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