Determining Your RAM Needs
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(This may have been posted here before.)
To first get an accurate picture of your RAM needs,
you will want to set your computer to "conservative"
swapfile use. This basically means your computer will
not waste its time using the swapfile (AKA "virtual
RAM") when it doesn't need to, since the swapfile is
not only much slower than actual RAM, but it's a waste
of CPU processing power since Windows has to
continually re-size the swapfile depending on how
much you need (see the first comment on this article
for a tip on how to prevent that). Instead, by setting
your PC to "conservative", your PC will use all
available RAM before it resorts to using the swapfile.
Many people think that's how it already works, but in
reality it hasn't been this way since Windows 95 (Lord
knows why). Recent versions of Windows tend to use
the swapfile even when there's plenty of RAM
available. Note that this step is purely optional, and
non-advanced users may want to skip it, although it
will give you a better idea of your RAM needs and
improve system performance.
First do a search/find for a file on your C: drive called
"SYSTEM.INI". Open the file, and right below where it
says [386Enh], insert the line:
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
Then save the file and reboot your system. You've now
set your system to "conservative" swapfile usage.
Now load System Monitor, and click Edit-->Add
Item-->Memory Manager-->Unused Physical Memory
and click OK. Do the same thing again, but this time
select the "Swapfile in use" item. You will now have
two "charts" that are continuously being updated in
realtime, one showing how much RAM is free and the
other showing how much swapfile your system is
using (feel free to experiment with other "items" too to
get a better idea of your PC's inner-workings; most of
the item names are pretty self-explanatory).
Now go ahead and start using your PC! Load up
multiple apps, just as if you were using your PC
normally. If you usually have your email client, multiple
browser windows, notepad, etc. open at the same
time, go ahead and simulate those conditions. You
can pretty much load any application you want, while
System Monitor keeps running in the background.
Periodically check the System Monitor, paying
attention to how low the Unused Physical Memory
dips, and if there are any significant increases in your
swapfile. If that swapfile chart remains "flat", that
means your current amount of RAM is fine. Even if
your free RAM get pretty close to zero, that's basically
how Windows manages its available RAM; it doesn't
actually mean you're "running out of RAM" as long as
the swapfile chart remains flat. In addition, if you find
that unused physical memory never dips below a
certain amount, you already have too much RAM!
When I used System Monitor on my friend's system,
her free RAM never even dipped below 120 megs.
Personally, I have 128 megs in my primary system I've
found that amount to be "just right" for most of my
needs. Even with 10+ Internet Explorer windows, my
email client, Notepad windows, Winamp, and my
SETI@Home client running full-blast simultaneously,
System Monitor shows no swapfile access
whatsoever. Of course there are certainly times when
more than 128 megs can be invaluable, ex. editing
100+ meg Photoshop or Freehand files, doing video
editing and MPEG encoding on your PC, 3D
rendering, etc. Besides those exceptions, however,
128 megs is typically the "sweet spot" for most
Windows users. |
