• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

16GB ram - pagefile size question

D

Deleted member 24505

Guest
If windows "needs" it, then surely it will warn me about turning it off, or i will get errors by having it turned off. If i get no errors then why should i have/need it turned on? Also ram is faster than a hdd so if windows needs to use ram it can do without using my ssd for a pagefile.

I don't really care if it speeds up windows or not.
 

trickson

OH, I have such a headache
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Messages
7,595 (1.08/day)
Location
Planet Earth.
System Name Ryzen TUF.
Processor AMD Ryzen7 3700X
Motherboard Asus TUF X570 Gaming Plus
Cooling Noctua
Memory Gskill RipJaws 3466MHz
Video Card(s) Asus TUF 1650 Super Clocked.
Storage CB 1T M.2 Drive.
Display(s) 73" Soney 4K.
Case Antech LanAir Pro.
Audio Device(s) Denon AVR-S750H
Power Supply Corsair TX750
Mouse Optical
Keyboard K120 Logitech
Software Windows 10 64 bit Home OEM
I leave mine alone . I do not have an SSD drive just raid0 . But I never have messed with page filing .
 
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
43,586 (6.74/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory 32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 4090
Storage WD m.2
Display(s) LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s) Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard Tester84
Software Windows 11
I'd leave it on "windows managed". Never had an issue this way.
 
Joined
Mar 19, 2010
Messages
137 (0.03/day)
Location
Northern California
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5800X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte Aorus Ultra X570
Cooling Cooler Master ML360R AIO w/ 6 fans in push/pull
Memory 64GB G'Skill DDR4 3600 CL16
Video Card(s) RTX 4080 FE
Storage Samsung 960 Pro + Samsung 980 Pro
Display(s) Samsung C32HG70 32" 1440P 144Hz
Case Corsair Obsidian 800D
Audio Device(s) X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro + Maverick Audio TubeMagic D2 DAC
Power Supply Superflower Leadex III Gold 850w
Mouse Logitech G600
Keyboard Corsair K55
If windows "needs" it, then surely it will warn me about turning it off, or i will get errors by having it turned off. If i get no errors then why should i have/need it turned on? Also ram is faster than a hdd so if windows needs to use ram it can do without using my ssd for a pagefile.

I don't really care if it speeds up windows or not.

So basically you really don't know, and are just pushing buttons. I appreciate the clarification.
 

Tatty_Two

Gone Fishing
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
25,793 (3.88/day)
Location
Worcestershire, UK
Processor Rocket Lake Core i5 11600K @ 5 Ghz with PL tweaks
Motherboard MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK
Cooling Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120SE + 4 Phanteks 140mm case fans
Memory 32GB (4 x 8GB SR) Patriot Viper Steel 4133Mhz DDR4 @ 3600Mhz CL14@1.45v Gear 1
Video Card(s) Asus Dual RTX 4070 OC
Storage WD Blue SN550 1TB M.2 NVME//Crucial MX500 500GB SSD (OS)
Display(s) AOC Q2781PQ 27 inch Ultra Slim 2560 x 1440 IPS
Case Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Windowed - Gunmetal
Audio Device(s) Onboard Realtek ALC1200/SPDIF to Sony AVR @ 5.1
Power Supply Seasonic CORE GM650w Gold Semi modular
Mouse Coolermaster Storm Octane wired
Keyboard Element Gaming Carbon Mk2 Tournament Mech
Software Win 10 Home x64
I leave my pagefile on my SSD, dont care about the writes, care about the speed, I manually set mine to 6GB, I set it to start and max at the same 6GB, that way it's perminently fixed and instantly available, IMO dont set it high if you dont need it high, the more you give it the more it uses (thats not factual based, just my limited observations), don't disable it though, some Windows functions apparently require it..... a lot of debate about this, just go with your preference, rarely will you suffer for it.
 

trickson

OH, I have such a headache
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Messages
7,595 (1.08/day)
Location
Planet Earth.
System Name Ryzen TUF.
Processor AMD Ryzen7 3700X
Motherboard Asus TUF X570 Gaming Plus
Cooling Noctua
Memory Gskill RipJaws 3466MHz
Video Card(s) Asus TUF 1650 Super Clocked.
Storage CB 1T M.2 Drive.
Display(s) 73" Soney 4K.
Case Antech LanAir Pro.
Audio Device(s) Denon AVR-S750H
Power Supply Corsair TX750
Mouse Optical
Keyboard K120 Logitech
Software Windows 10 64 bit Home OEM
I leave my pagefile on my SSD, dont care about the writes, care about the speed, I manually set mine to 6GB, I set it to start and max at the same 6GB, that way it's perminently fixed and instantly available, IMO dont set it high if you dont need it high, the more you give it the more it uses (thats not factual based, just my limited observations), don't disable it though, some Windows functions apparently require it..... a lot of debate about this, just go with your preference, rarely will you suffer for it.

Can you tell me just how to set it up on a raid0 setup like mine ? I am at a loss here . I have it set to windows managed and well it seems fine but my page fire is only 4GB .
This is what it looks like .
 

Attachments

  • myHDD.jpg
    myHDD.jpg
    43.3 KB · Views: 535

Nordap

New Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2011
Messages
9 (0.00/day)
Location
Las Vegas NV
System Name Home Desktop
Processor Intel Core I7-960 4.0GHz (25x160)
Motherboard ASUS Socket 1366-Intel X58-SATA3&USB3.0-ATX MB P6X58D-E
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 12 GB Mushkin Enhanced Redline 12GB DDR3 1600 Tri-Channel
Video Card(s) MSI Twin Frozr III PE/OC 2GB DDR5
Storage Twin 64GB Crucial M4 SSD in Raid 0 ICH10R / 2 WD Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM + 1 Western Dig
Display(s) 3x ASUS VH196
Case Antec DF-85
Power Supply Antec CP-850 850W PS CPX SLI 80 PLUS
Software Windows 7 Pro 64Bit
Benchmark Scores AS SSD Benchmark (Raid 0) 940, Cinebench 11.5 6.9 CPU/75.01 OpenGL : PCMark7 5057 (w/ 4.25 MHz) : U
You might want to consider moving the paging file to another drive. Most likely you wont notice any difference in even the most memory intensive programs. Another option would be a second ssd or hybrid drive and use it as a temp drive. SSD's now a days are built to last, unless you get a cheap off brand it should be fine.
 

cadaveca

My name is Dave
Joined
Apr 10, 2006
Messages
17,232 (2.63/day)
Can you tell me just how to set it up on a raid0 setup like mine ? I am at a loss here . I have it set to windows managed and well it seems fine but my page fire is only 4GB .
This is what it looks like .



Set the C; drive page file to "NONE", then set the other drive as having the page file.


This is what I have with 8Gb of ram:

pagefile.jpg


To set it up on your raid is very simple, and easy. Once you make the changes on this panel, then reboot, and it's done.
 
D

Deleted member 24505

Guest
So basically you really don't know, and are just pushing buttons. I appreciate the clarification.

I wouldn't say just pushing buttons, I am not a chimp and am not a pc noob either.

I googled and did a lot of research on the subject and it is very debated. Lots of people say leave it on, and equally lots say turn it off with 6gb+ of ram. I just thought i would try it, and see what if any difference it makes to windows. It makes no differance it seems to the way windows runs or feels.

I understand the designers of windows designed it with the pagefile, but if it is so critical, why does turning it off have no detrimental effect on the way windows works?

Someone explain why windows "needs" the pagefile, and why is there no seeming downside to turning it off?
 

Tatty_Two

Gone Fishing
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
25,793 (3.88/day)
Location
Worcestershire, UK
Processor Rocket Lake Core i5 11600K @ 5 Ghz with PL tweaks
Motherboard MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK
Cooling Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120SE + 4 Phanteks 140mm case fans
Memory 32GB (4 x 8GB SR) Patriot Viper Steel 4133Mhz DDR4 @ 3600Mhz CL14@1.45v Gear 1
Video Card(s) Asus Dual RTX 4070 OC
Storage WD Blue SN550 1TB M.2 NVME//Crucial MX500 500GB SSD (OS)
Display(s) AOC Q2781PQ 27 inch Ultra Slim 2560 x 1440 IPS
Case Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Windowed - Gunmetal
Audio Device(s) Onboard Realtek ALC1200/SPDIF to Sony AVR @ 5.1
Power Supply Seasonic CORE GM650w Gold Semi modular
Mouse Coolermaster Storm Octane wired
Keyboard Element Gaming Carbon Mk2 Tournament Mech
Software Win 10 Home x64
Can you tell me just how to set it up on a raid0 setup like mine ? I am at a loss here . I have it set to windows managed and well it seems fine but my page fire is only 4GB .

If it's working fine do you really need to change it? In a Raid 0 setup does it not physically share the pagefile across both drives? I cannot remember, it's a while since I used Raid. I do beleive though (and I admit again I might be wrong but I have looked at useage a lot) that the higher you set the pagefile, the more windows uses it and the less it uses physical Ram..... although that admittably might be just in certain apps, if however it is the case, seeing as theoretically Ram is faster, it "could" be beneficial to lower Pagefile size.
 

trickson

OH, I have such a headache
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Messages
7,595 (1.08/day)
Location
Planet Earth.
System Name Ryzen TUF.
Processor AMD Ryzen7 3700X
Motherboard Asus TUF X570 Gaming Plus
Cooling Noctua
Memory Gskill RipJaws 3466MHz
Video Card(s) Asus TUF 1650 Super Clocked.
Storage CB 1T M.2 Drive.
Display(s) 73" Soney 4K.
Case Antech LanAir Pro.
Audio Device(s) Denon AVR-S750H
Power Supply Corsair TX750
Mouse Optical
Keyboard K120 Logitech
Software Windows 10 64 bit Home OEM
If it's working fine do you really need to change it? In a Raid 0 setup does it not physically share the pagefile across both drives? I cannot remember, it's a while since I used Raid.

No not really . It works just fine . But if there is an advantage to using it , Then I would like to know .
 

trickson

OH, I have such a headache
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Messages
7,595 (1.08/day)
Location
Planet Earth.
System Name Ryzen TUF.
Processor AMD Ryzen7 3700X
Motherboard Asus TUF X570 Gaming Plus
Cooling Noctua
Memory Gskill RipJaws 3466MHz
Video Card(s) Asus TUF 1650 Super Clocked.
Storage CB 1T M.2 Drive.
Display(s) 73" Soney 4K.
Case Antech LanAir Pro.
Audio Device(s) Denon AVR-S750H
Power Supply Corsair TX750
Mouse Optical
Keyboard K120 Logitech
Software Windows 10 64 bit Home OEM
If it's working fine do you really need to change it? In a Raid 0 setup does it not physically share the pagefile across both drives? I cannot remember, it's a while since I used Raid. I do beleive though (and I admit again I might be wrong but I have looked at useage a lot) that the higher you set the pagefile, the more windows uses it and the less it uses physical Ram..... although that admittably might be just in certain apps, if however it is the case, seeing as theoretically Ram is faster, it "could" be beneficial to lower Pagefile size.

Oh I get it now . RAM is faster than my HDD's unless I had SSD drivers . so page filing would be slowing down my system not speeding it up . I get it now . Thank you :respect: .
 

Tatty_Two

Gone Fishing
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
25,793 (3.88/day)
Location
Worcestershire, UK
Processor Rocket Lake Core i5 11600K @ 5 Ghz with PL tweaks
Motherboard MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK
Cooling Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120SE + 4 Phanteks 140mm case fans
Memory 32GB (4 x 8GB SR) Patriot Viper Steel 4133Mhz DDR4 @ 3600Mhz CL14@1.45v Gear 1
Video Card(s) Asus Dual RTX 4070 OC
Storage WD Blue SN550 1TB M.2 NVME//Crucial MX500 500GB SSD (OS)
Display(s) AOC Q2781PQ 27 inch Ultra Slim 2560 x 1440 IPS
Case Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Windowed - Gunmetal
Audio Device(s) Onboard Realtek ALC1200/SPDIF to Sony AVR @ 5.1
Power Supply Seasonic CORE GM650w Gold Semi modular
Mouse Coolermaster Storm Octane wired
Keyboard Element Gaming Carbon Mk2 Tournament Mech
Software Win 10 Home x64
Oh I get it now . RAM is faster than my HDD's unless I had SSD drivers . so page filing would be slowing down my system not speeding it up . I get it now . Thank you :respect: .

Not exactly, the pagefile has a wider purpose than simply that, it does by default get used in preference to physical memory with some apps/functions and of course defaults if more physical memory is needed, as I said in my first post, whichever you choose, you probably won't actually notice any difference and possibly those with just 4GB ram on a Win 7 x64 system would probably need a bigger pagefile!
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
@twicksisted

You're getting lots of conflicting answers on how to set the pagefile, because there isnt' one definitive way it should be set. It all depends on your setup and what you're running.

I find what works best for me, is to have it just set to Auto and let Windows manage it - a true set it and forget it mode. However, as you have an SSD, I suggest setting to Auto on that drive and disabling it for the SSD. Again, it's not critical to set it this way, so you could play with other configurations.
 

trickson

OH, I have such a headache
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Messages
7,595 (1.08/day)
Location
Planet Earth.
System Name Ryzen TUF.
Processor AMD Ryzen7 3700X
Motherboard Asus TUF X570 Gaming Plus
Cooling Noctua
Memory Gskill RipJaws 3466MHz
Video Card(s) Asus TUF 1650 Super Clocked.
Storage CB 1T M.2 Drive.
Display(s) 73" Soney 4K.
Case Antech LanAir Pro.
Audio Device(s) Denon AVR-S750H
Power Supply Corsair TX750
Mouse Optical
Keyboard K120 Logitech
Software Windows 10 64 bit Home OEM
I just set mine to 6142 on both them windows just to see how it works so far so good .
 
Joined
Mar 1, 2010
Messages
3,565 (0.69/day)
Location
By the Channel Tunnel, Kent, England
System Name Benny
Processor Phenom II 1055t @ 3.3GHz; 300x11; 1.380v; NB 2700; HT 2400
Motherboard ASUS Crosshair IV Formula (2002 BIOS)
Cooling Thermalright TRUE 120 Black + 2 Xilence Red Wing PWM 120mm (push/pull) + polycarbonate fan holders
Memory 8GB GeIL Ultra 2133MHZ C9 running at 1600MHz @ 7-7-7-21 1T 1.5v
Video Card(s) MSI Twin Frozr II GTX470 @ Stock w/CPU fan cable-tied on, as one of the GPU fans broke.
Storage 60GB OCZ Agility3 (OS);500GB WDC Grn; 1x1TB WDC Blk (Backup)
Display(s) ASUS PA823Q
Case Silverstone Raven 2 (all cables custom sleeved with velcro mod on side panel...)
Audio Device(s) X-Fi (Onboard) + Harmon Kardon HK6100 amp powering JVC HA-RX700's with Zalman mic
Power Supply Corsair HX650W
Software Win7 Pro x64
Benchmark Scores No benchies so making this space useful! Corsair M90, Logitech G19. Phobya FlexLight LED's (gawjus)
Since your using a video editing rig, 95% of advice you'll get is going to be wrong. Video editing rigs are quite different to gaming rigs lol no offence to anyone else. Set the pagefile to 4GB and try your hardest to put it on an empty drive. If you're using a HDD for your source media, then you don't really want a pagefile on there. Ideally, it would be on a separate drive.

I have 8GB of RAM in my video editing rig plus 4 HDD's in RAID 0 and the pagefile obviously goes on the RAID array.

In order of importance:

MUST: Take pagefile off of SSD
IDEAL: Place pagefile on cheap, crappy, empty HDD (performance/size doesn't matter)
SETTLE FOR: Place pagefile on HDD with your source media.

To all the nay-sayers: No you may not get massive performance increase from sticking pf on empty drive instead of the source media drive; but in a video editing rig, you don't want a pagefile cluttering up your source drive. Even if it doesn't acccess it at all.


If you're using your SSD as source media drive, then completely disregard my whole post :laugh: But still take the pagefile off there :)
 
Top