How to optimize Windows performance by using RAM
-disk - a virtual disk created by third-party software that functions due to excess RAM? Below we will talk about carrying out basic operations for the purpose of such optimization. Let's take a closer look at how to create RAM-disk and transfer the contents of system folders to it Temp
.
1. Create a RAM disk
For creating RAM-disk in our case, the program will be used. It was chosen because of its ease of use, support for the Russian language, but most importantly - due to the ability to save data RAM- hard disk drive. Recall that RAM can work with data within a single session of working with a computer. After a system reboot, stored on RAM-disk data disappears. To solve this problem, the developers of some programs to implement RAM hard disks equip their products with mechanisms to save data to a special file on the hard disk. Saved data when the system is restarted, respectively, are retrieved and take their place on RAM-disk. The ability to save data is an optional condition for a program that implements on a Windows system RAM-disk if the latter will only be used to store temporary files (the contents of the "Temp" folders, browser cache and temporary data of other programs) . But if on RAM- the disk will store portable programs, profiles and working directories of browsers, other programs and games, the presence of the function of saving data on the hard disk will be of fundamental importance.
- a paid product, at the time of writing, the cost is $29 . But the developers of this program offer to test a fully functional trial version for free for a whole month. This period is more than enough to comprehend the effectiveness of such optimization and, accordingly, make a choice - RAM-disk or SSD .
So let's download and run the program. Adding a new RAM -disk.
Fill out the creation form RAM-disk. First of all, we specify the size of the disk. Important: this size should not exceed the unused remaining RAM at the time of maximum computer load . It is advisable not to leave the system with RAM less than 6 GB . Next, select any of the free letters for the disk and set the file system format NTFS. Click "OK".
Returning to the main window , press menu "Image" and choose "Create Image". Creating and connecting a format image img - this is the very mechanism for ensuring the safety of data RAM -disk mentioned above. It is in this image will periodically write data so that it is available after a Windows restart, and not just during the current session. What, as mentioned, will happen when implementing RAM-disk programs without the support of the data saving mechanism.
In the column you need to write the path to image file - specify the disk partition, folder and come up with a name for the file. If it is planned that RAM- the disk will be used to store some important data, respectively, image file must be created on a non-system disk partition. In the graph "The size" specify the same size that was set for the RAM -disk. For graph "Format", again, choose the value "NTFS". Click "OK".
We will receive a notification about the creation of the image.
If in the future RAM - the disk will be destroyed for some reason and will take valuable information with it, it can be retrieved by mounting the newly created img -image - either with the help of , or through any other program that works with this format.
So, RAM -disk created img -the image is created, now they need to be tied to each other and adjusted. We return to the main window of the program. Here in the context menu on RAM-disk select .
The settings window will open. In the column, we write, respectively, the path to the newly created image img . Next, an important point - you must check the box "Save content" . Click the button below "Extra.".
At the bottom of the column, we set the time interval after which the data RAM-disk must be written to img-image. In our case, the optimal option is chosen - every half hour. If on RAM-disk is not supposed to store particularly important data, you can set a longer interval. In any case, before turning off or restarting the computer, all data will be saved in img-image. Click "OK".
Let's return to the previous settings window. Click here below "OK", then in the window that appears, confirm the application of the parameters and the start of the associated remount operation RAM-disk.
That's all. will automatically boot with Windows and run in the background RAM-disk. At any time, the program can be found in the system tray to change the settings RAM- disk or at all delete it. It is very easy to remove– using the option, respectively, in the context menu.
Intentional deletion RAM-disk does not result in the destruction of the associated img-image. It will still be in its place until it is manually removed. From periodically automatically saving data to img We can refuse the image and save the data manually only if necessary. For these purposes, in the window there is a dedicated button.
Created RAM -drive will now show up in Windows Explorer as a regular drive. The possibilities of its use, in principle, can be any, as long as everything happens within the framework of compliance with the allocated volume. On the RAM- disks with small volumes usually redirect storage cache (or entire profiles) browsers, save paths and other game data, working directories of bulky programs. But first of all on RAM-disk send Windows temporary file storage folders - Temp. From the performance of the disk on which the system folders are stored Temp, the performance of both third-party programs and Windows as a whole partially depends.
2. Transferring “Temp” system folders to the RAM disk
Folders Temp located on the system drive along the path:
C:\Windows\Temp
- C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Temp.
Their transfer to RAM-disk is done by editing the values of Windows environment variables. For some system processes, the company Microsoft provided a regular mechanism for changing values - in particular, changing the storage location of the contents of folders Temp.
First, create a folder Temp on the destination disk RAM -disk. Next, press the Win + Pause keys. In the system settings window on the left, select advanced options. In the window that opens, scroll down and press the button "Environment Variables…".
The upper half of the window is responsible for the user profile environment variables. Editing values "TEMP" and TMP we will change the folder path Temp in the catalog AppData. Choose a value "TEMP" and press the button "Change".
We perform the same operation with the value TMP, specify the same folder path Temp on the RAM -disk.
Next, move to the lower half of the environment variables window - to system variables. Here we also choose "TEMP" and TMP, these are the values corresponding to the folder Temp in the catalog Windows. Selecting values one by one "TEMP" and TMP and for each of them press the button "Change". Instead of the current path, we prescribe the folder Temp on the RAM -disk. In the end it should work 4 changed values.
After editing environment variable values restart Windows.
Moving the contents of folders Temp on the RAM -disk also makes it convenient to access them. Which will come in handy for cases of allocation under RAM- small disc random access memory. Folders Temp it is necessary to clean it periodically, because often they grow to incredible volumes. You can also clear folders Temp according to their previous path on disk WITH to free up extra space on it.
With the help of special programs discussed in this review, you can create a virtual disk in the computer's RAM that works much faster than a conventional HDD, so that any disk-intensive tasks will be performed several times faster on it.
RAM disks have been around since the days of MS-DOS and allowed a computer to run without a hard drive with just a floppy disk. Using the RAMDRIVE.SYS file, a small virtual disk was created in memory, on which the user stored files until the computer was turned off, and then copied them back to the floppy disk. This made it possible to save the resource of floppy disks, and also increased the speed of performing operations on the computer.
Many years have passed, and they are returning to RAM disks again, but this time, instead of floppy disks, they protect SSDs with their help, while at the same time, as before, increasing the speed of the computer.
Increase in productivity
RAM disks can be used for various purposes, but the maximum increase can be achieved only if the following conditions are met: after placing files in a RAM disk, a few more gigabytes of free memory will remain on the computer; when processing data, the disk must be intensively used, otherwise the performance gain will not be noticeable.
Most often, RAM drives are used for the following tasks: compiling heavy programs; starting a web server; running games with large textures; loading large projects into the application, working with images of virtual machines. Although these tasks are indeed often mentioned when discussing RAM disks, not all of them benefit from the use of a RAM drive, read more about this in the testing section.
Some of the above examples are not relevant for the average user, however, on a home computer, you can also use RAM disks to speed up some everyday operations (launching programs, games, opening files). The increase will be especially noticeable if a regular HDD is installed in the system instead of an SSD.
It makes sense to transfer games only if at least 8 GB of RAM is installed on the PC, and sometimes all 16, otherwise after copying the game there is no free RAM left to run it. The gain should be noticeable only when running the most demanding games (Crysis, Metro 2033), in particular with high resolution textures installed. You should not expect an increase in FPS, only the loading time of levels will decrease. In the case of Steam games, you can use the utility to move games to any folder you choose. Gamers who record uncompressed HD gaming video can also notice the gain.
Saving SSD
RAM disks are also becoming popular as a means to reduce wear and tear on SSDs. To do this, the paging file, the directory of temporary files, as well as some programs are transferred to a virtual disk, thus reducing the number of accesses to the solid state disk. Some RAM disk creation programs even include options to simplify these settings.
Of the frequently used programs on RAM, it is first of all desirable to transfer the browser. If it opens with a lot of tabs left over from the previous session, it will start up much faster. Also, running from a RAM disk will prolong the life of the SSD, since browsers make heavy use of the cache, which in this case will be located in memory. The easiest way to install the browser on a RAM disk is to copy the folder with the Portable version of the program to a virtual partition. Thus, you do not have to manually enter the paths to the necessary directories in the browser.
Other Benefits of RAM Disks
There are other benefits to using RAM disks:
- Reduced noise and, to a small extent, heating of the PC due to the rarer use of the HDD
- Reduced disk fragmentation due to the fact that temporary files and browser cache are never written to the physical disk
- More space will appear on the hard drive: temporary files that programs sometimes do not delete will not accumulate on the computer.
There is another interesting use of RAM disks - the ability to place RAM drives in unused memory on 32-bit systems. As you know, Windows 32-bit can use no more than ~ 3.5 GB of memory, and if more is installed in the computer, then the memory simply “disappears”. The Gavotte Ram Disk programs (more on setting up) and SuperSpeed RamDisk Plus (this program was not considered in the review due to the lack of a free version) can use memory that Windows does not see as a RAM disk.
Programs for creating RAM disks
Before proceeding to the review of programs, two clarifications should be made. First, only free programs were considered. Secondly, the Bond Disc and Gavotte Ram Disk utilities were not included in the review because they did not run on Windows 8 64-bit.
One of the simplest and most understandable programs. Allows you to create RAM disks up to 4 GB in size (limited by the free version), but only in a single instance.
Dataram is able to initialize the RAM disk at system startup, and optionally loads any specified image into it.
Autosave can be set to any period of time (by default, five minutes), and you can separately specify the saving of the disk when the computer is turned off. Manual saving is also available, which can be done at any time.
After overwriting the image, the previous disk copy is not deleted, but saved with the .bak extension.
In the program settings there is an option to create a TEMP directory on the RAM drive, however, the system paths for storing temporary files do not change and applications still use the regular TEMP folder. Therefore, in order to transfer temporary files to the RAM disk, the TEMP and TMP variables will need to be edited manually in the My Computer settings System Properties->Environment Variables.
The options on the last tab of the program are mainly related to functionality related to extending the life of the SSD. If the virtual disk will be used solely to store temporary files and reduce the system's access to the solid state drive, then settings such as erasing the contents of memory on program exit and refusing to store a previous copy of RAMDisk will be very useful.
The disadvantages of Dataram RAMDisk include a banner that appears on the screen when the program starts, and the already indicated limit on the size of a RAM drive of 4 GB.
ImDisk has a somewhat confusing interface compared to its counterparts, and it is not clear why it was left that way, because some options could simply be removed.
The program has only a console version of the executable file, and to work with the graphical interface, you need to open the Control Panel, where the ImDisk icon is located (however, you can always make a shortcut for it on the desktop using Windows tools).
The difference between ImDisk and some other utilities is that this program allows you to create any number of virtual disks (as long as there are free letters for drives).
Initially, ImDisk was intended to emulate floppy drives, optical drives, and hard drives, but it can also be used to create RAM drives. To do this, you need to specify the path for storing the image file, specify its size, select the Harddisk disk type and do not forget to check the Copy image file to memory option.
The last option means that the image file will be loaded into memory and all operations will be carried out with it there. Thus, the original image will not be updated unless all changes are manually synced.
There are pros and cons to manual synchronization: you will need to use the Save image function yourself, but this can only be done when you really need to update the file, and thus the computer will not periodically slow down when dumping the contents of memory into a file.
After creating a RAM disk, some of its properties can be changed: for example, increase the size or set the Read Only label.
The main drawback of ImDisk is that the program does not know how to start a RAM disk automatically when you turn on the computer and you have to create it manually each time.
The OSFMount utility is clearly related to ImDisk, which is noticeable by the presence of absolutely identical options in programs and also by the interface. However, there are still some differences between the utilities.
OSFMount has a separate executable file, the interface is slightly simplified and more emphasis is placed on working with RAM disks.
The utility can also be used to mount common images (ISO, NRG, VMDK, etc.).
The settings related to autosave have not been added, but when the disk is disconnected, the utility asks whether it is worth updating the contents of the image. This feature can be combined with a manual save that is left in place.
The only complaint about OSFMount, in addition to the lack of automatic creation of a RAM drive when the computer is turned on, as in the case of ImDisk, is that when disconnecting disks and some other operations, the program freezes for several seconds, and, as the Task Manager shows, during this At the moment, the contents of the memory are not copied to the hard disk, and it is not clear what the program is doing.
After working with SoftPerfect RAM Disk, I got the impression that this is one of the few free programs whose interface is being more or less brought into line with the requirements of 2012.
As with other applications, SoftPerfect Ram Disk is generally designed to work with native format images (SVI), and in particular can be used to create RAM disks.
After starting the program, the main window displays the amount of free RAM, which simplifies the creation of a RAM disk, since it is immediately clear what is the limit on its maximum size.
To access some program options, you must first create an image and save it to a physical disk. This will enable the option to auto-save the contents of the RAM disk to a file.
SoftPerfect RAM Disk allows you to create any number of virtual disks without software size restrictions.
Among the useful options, it is also worth noting: data compression on disk; creating a RAM disk at system startup; disk cleanup on unmount; autosave after a specified period of time; editing the path to the Temp folder; export / import of all settings for disks.
This utility installs and uninstalls almost like real hardware, through the Windows Device Manager by manually adding the driver in the setup wizard.
After that, a 1 MB RAM disk B: appears in the system, and to change its parameters, you must either download a separate executable file from the developer's website or open the properties of the virtual device in the Windows device manager each time. Instructions for installing the program and a direct link to the configurator can be found in the CHM file.
QSoft RAMDrive can create only one RAM disk in the system, but its size is not limited by anything programmatically. There is an option in the settings to automatically resize the RAM drive, however, when using it, the disk size is 256 MB and does not increase after the free space runs out (probably software incompatibility with Windows 8 64 bit).
RAMDrive can work with images, load them at system startup and save the contents when the driver is unloaded, at certain intervals or by a timer.
The site states that the Russian-language version of RAMDisk "Enterprise" is free only when run on localized Russian-language systems, but the use of English-language Windows 8 during tests confirms the opposite. Perhaps it is enough that the Russian language is specified in the system locale settings.
An important clarification, QSoft RAMDrive did not take part in testing, because the program gave an error during the creation of a large-capacity RAM drive (1-2 GB disks were used for testing). Apparently, this is due to the poor compatibility of the program and Windows 8 64 bit.
Testing
Of the seven selected free programs, for the reasons mentioned above, only four made it to testing. Initially, it was planned to use several synthetic benchmarks at once to check them, but during the testing process it turned out that many of the test programs work with disks at a very low level and simply do not see RAM disks. That is why the main information about the performance of RAM drives was collected using CrystalDiskMark. Testing was conducted on a computer with 6 GB of memory and an Intel processor [email protected] GHz
Synthetics
CrystalDiskMark shows well-repeated results, although on some RAM disks it produces two separate sets of numbers that differ by about two hundred megabytes. Apparently, this is due to the use of several memory strips in the computer with different speeds. The diagrams show the best result.
CrystalDiskMark (sequential operations, MB/s, more is better):
CrystalDiskMark (4K, MB/s, more is better):
As you can see, the performance indicators of RAM disks are noticeably different, and due to the fact that reading speed is a priority when working with them, the undisputed winner in this category, SoftPerfect RAM Disk, was left for further tests, which showed excellent results both in sequential and in random read (as well as random write).
The HD Tune benchmark was able to recognize only one of the virtual disks, and it incorrectly reported its volume, so it was not possible to determine which one. However, this test can compare typical access times and CPU usage.
In terms of CPU utilization, it was 4% for the HD Tune, 7% for the SSD, and got an error for the RAM disk because the result was minus one percent.
Program start time
After testing, VLC was known to be one of the longest-running "daily" programs, so the launch speed comparison was made only with it.
VLC startup time (seconds, less is better):
Predictably, there was almost no difference between a cold start from a RAM drive and a warm start from any media, since in both cases the program actually started from RAM. In terms of performance, the RAM disk was twice as fast as even the SSD, and as already mentioned, this time was very close to the hot start time, that is, there was simply nowhere to improve it further.
Other tasks
Zip archiving (fast compression, seconds):
Performance testing when creating an archive showed that the “bottleneck” in such operations at the moment is the processor, and not the hard drive, because even with the lowest possible zip compression, a 1 GB file was archived for about 40 seconds on all drives.
In fairness, it should be noted that in the zip store mode (simply speaking, without compression), in which the file is not compressed, but only copied to the archive, the difference between different drives has become obvious. The only problem is that in real conditions such tasks are very rare.
Zip archiving (no compression, seconds, less is better):
Finally, two tests were left that did not reveal the benefits of using a RAM disk.
Running Ubuntu in VirtualBox (the image was placed on HDD, SSD and RAM disk) showed that the type of drive used does not affect the boot speed of the OS (~40 sec +/- 1 sec), and everything is again limited by CPU speed.
Checking the loading time of game levels was simulated using popular benchmarks. Considering that individual tests in them take about ten seconds, and sometimes more, the comparison seemed appropriate, but RAM disks did not improve this indicator. Apparently, everything has once again come down to the fact that the main load falls on the processor, and the amount of data loaded both in these benchmarks and in real games is not so large that the difference in speed is noticeable.
The tests used: Heaven DX11 Benchmark, 3DMark 06, 3DMark 11, Call Of Pripyat Benchmark.
Which is better, SSD or RAM disk?
Price
In terms of one gigabyte, SSD is cheaper. Starting from UAH 500, you can buy 16 GB of RAM for a PC, but for the same money you can get a good 64 GB SSD, and if you want to save money, then a 32 GB drive is easy to find for 400 UAH.
RAM disk
A RAM disk, by and large, has only one advantage - speed, several times (sometimes an order of magnitude) higher than the speed of an SSD, but this potential can not be unlocked in all tasks.
Disadvantages: the need for additional configuration of some programs; small volume; volatility (the contents of a RAM disk can be periodically written to an image file, but this is not a full replacement for non-volatile memory cells).
SSD
Solid state drives speed up all the programs installed on the disk, including the operation of the OS.
Flaws
Under heavy loads, the performance of the SSD will be lower and in this case it wears out faster.
As you can see, in certain situations, RAM disks can not only compete with SSDs in terms of performance, but also noticeably outperform them. If you are faced with a choice: SSD or additional memory, once again weigh all the pros and cons of each solution.
RAM drive, RAM disk (disk in memory), electronic disk - a computer technology that allows you to store data in high-speed RAM as on a block device (disk). It can be implemented both in software and in hardware.
The idea of using semiconductor memory as the main storage medium in a PC arose far from today. Its implementation is possible both as a separate device and as a virtual disk in RAM.
One can argue about the effectiveness of this approach, there are different opinions: someone talks about an increase in performance by orders of magnitude, someone denies the expediency of RAM Disk in principle.
After reading some information on the net and trying on my computer to use memory as a disk, conducting appropriate tests, my experiments and other users' experiments showed that with enough RAM, using RAM Disk almost always has a positive effect.
The number of accesses to the hard disk decreases (the HDD resource increases), the speed of execution of some applications increases, though not hundreds of times, as some promise.
For example, you need to work with photos or a video file, write it (them) to a disk in memory and work with these files at the speed and speed of the memory we have. True, there is a nuance, the memory should be commensurate with the files and the cache for processing them. And if the power suddenly turns off, then all the work can be lost. So we use UPS or a laptop 🙂
Many browsers store a lot of junk in databases that almost do not use computer memory, as a result, after a month of use, even typing the address becomes torture - the hard drive creaks, letters are typed in a second. All these problems are removed.
Main advantages:
# Extremely high access speed (up to several gigabytes per second);
# No random access delays;
# Implementation without the use of additional hardware components;
Main disadvantages:
# Consumption of an extremely valuable resource (RAM);
# Small capacities (if there are 500-1000GB hard drives on the market, RAM modules are calculated in units of gigabytes);
# Loss of content on shutdown (may be partially overcome by keeping the contents on disk on shutdown, but the risk of data loss due to an abnormal power outage still exists);
Attention! I warn you - an article for advanced users, a lot of pitfalls! So whatever you do, you do only at your own peril and risk.
So, the idea is simple. Make a RAMDisk (a virtual "disk" in your computer's memory) and have programs store their stuff there.
1. Download one of the programs for creating a virtual disk in RAM - RAMDisk “\Enterprise\”. Among all similar products, RAMDisk “\Enterprise\” stands out, if only because the Russian version of RAMDisk “\Enterprise\” is distributed free of charge, moreover, it has sufficient functionality and stability.
RAM Disk: http://ramdisk.nm.ru/ramdiskent-rus.htm
The software consists of a RAMDisk driver (RAMDriv.sys), an installer support library and properties page (RAMDriv.dll) and an installation file (RAMDriv.inf), which together, through the “\Hardware Setup\” wizard, allow you to install RAMDisk on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Server 2003 and Vista.
For Windows 7 - go to Toolbar, System and Security, Device Manager. In the Action menu, select install old device. And point manually to the driver file.
In other systems, I think you will figure out how to install it yourself.
Settings are set through RAMDisk properties in “\Device Properties\” via “\Device Manager\” Windows. The new values can be activated without a reboot.
Click configure image file operations and create an image file.
So that we don’t lose data, check the “Save image when unloading the driver” checkbox. Booting and shutting down the system will take a little longer, but for us the main thing is fast work.
If you are working with photo or video data and do not want to accidentally lose it, then you can periodically dump the disk image onto a hard drive by selecting the appropriate option "Save RAMDISK contents in image ... etc."
Basically, that's all. Check the box "Restart RAMDISK after clicking OK", click "OK" and enjoy.
A virtual disk can also be used for its intended purpose (as a regular medium - HDD), placing on it not only temporary and swap files, but also programs, user profiles (s), etc. There are publications that recommend using RAMDisk to place temporary files 1C , one of Photoshop's "work disks", etc. Moreover, it is argued that the performance actually increases, although not at times.
An interesting solution might be to use a RAMDisk to increase the security of the system, since the data in RAM is destroyed upon shutdown. Naturally, in this case, the function of saving / restoring virtual disk images should be disabled.
Now a little about setting up Windows
It should be mentioned that the use of RAMDisk, depending on the tasks, may differ significantly, i.e. at the discretion of the user.
For example:
To change the parameters of the system, using standard procedures:
Let's set the size and move the paging file to RAMDisk.
We will perform a similar procedure regarding the placement of "Temporary Internet Files"
Speed up Firefox.
Open the "Start" menu and click "Run...".
In the window that appears, type %appdata%\\Mozilla\\Firefox\\Profiles and press Enter. A window will open in which you will see a directory named "abracadabra.default". This is your Firefox profile folder.
Open the "Start" menu and click "Run..."
In the window that appears, type %appdata%\\Mozilla\\Firefox\\profiles.ini and press "Enter".
Notepad will open with the "profiles.ini" file loaded. Replace "Profiles/" in the "Path" variable with "Z:\\", where Z is the letter of your ramdisk.
Make sure the "IsRelative" value is zero.
StartWithLastProfile=1
Path=Z:\\ abracadabra.default
Launch firefox and type about:config in the address bar of your browser. We agree that we will be careful and get to the firefoxa configuration page.
We right-click anywhere, select New -> String and set browser.cache.disk.parent_directory as the parameter name, and the path to the folder where the cache will be stored as the value. Z:\\abracadabra.default
A few more settings:
// cache and memory
user_pref(\”browser.cache.memory.enable\”, false); // in-memory cache loses meaning
user_pref(\”browser.cache.offline.enable\”, false); // why is this needed at all
user_pref(\”browser.turbo.enabled\”, false); // who has it enabled - disable it. The parameter loads the Fox part into memory for fast startup. we now have everything quickly and in memory
user_pref(\”config.trim_on_minimize\”, false); // also not needed. The parameter drops Fox from memory to swap. does not work on vista and 7
Close Firefox.
Copy the "abracadabra.default" folder to the ramdisk. If there are requests to replace files, answer in the affirmative.
Restart Firefox.
We also change the paths of the system variables %TMP% and %TEMP%
Control panel (this is for windows 7), system and security, view the name of this computer, advanced system settings, environment variables.
Change the system variables %TMP% and %TEMP% to the letter of your RAMDISKa Z:\\Temp:
The problem is that many programs, for example, WinRAR or installers will unpack temporary files in R:\\TMP, and if this file is larger than free space, then the unpacking will not reach the end, and the archive will not be unpacked.
Is it worth it?
For me, yes. The health of the hard drive and the speed of browsing are very important to me.
There are inconveniences, but they are scanty (save the state before rebooting, restore when turned on - of course - not for a novice user), and you have to clear the cache periodically (but this can be avoided by taking up more memory for RAMDisk or writing a script that will clean the cache itself).
That's all for now, if anyone has additions, then write, we will supplement.
The article is taken from open sources. Original article: //whitebrotherhood.ru/whitebrotherhood/node/15
On the site of Alex Exler, an interesting battle. One of the commenters wrote that he created a RAM Disk in the memory of a computer running Windows, and transferred "environment variables, the page file and the browser cache" to it. When another asked him why there was a paging file in the RAM disk, which is used (usually) in cases where Windows and applications do not have enough RAM, a third commentator pointed out that some programs require it (the file) to be unconditionally present, and noted that The RAM disk is great for speeding things up. Then rubilovo began and the topic went tough. It will be interesting to remember one more thing: some commentators noted a logical moment - a RAM disk allows you to save a finite SSD resource. There is a certain rationale for this.
But what about the swap file? And this is interesting. Exists Windows paging file, and moving it to a RAM disk is somewhat illogical, here the critics are right. In order not to explain on my fingers for a long time, I will say with a charade: "winrar.rar". Think about it and you will understand why the idea of such a construction is absurd. But, there is not only a Windows swap file, but also individual application swaps, and here ... the absurd idea of moving the swap file to a RAM disk starts to become more and more logical. In general, it is not entirely correct to call these resources paging files - rather, these are some kind of temporary files. The peculiarity of Photoshop and LR, for example, is that they are created anyway - whether you like it or not. And the commentator in Exler's forum was right, he only called it wrong, which is why he received harsh ironic criticism.
I’ll deviate a little from the swap topic and tell you what a RAM disk is. I actively fiddled with them back in DOS times, and then it was possible to get good acceleration for some programs using ramdrive.sys. Then the topic somehow faded into the background, there was no time for ramdisks. But the concept has not changed today - RAM is orders of magnitude faster than disk. Even the fastest SSDs (such as the OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2, with their read speeds of up to 1500 megabytes per second) cannot compete with the RAM disk located in the computer's main RAM. What can we say about the HDD - a modern 3-terabyte hard drive, for example, gives data at a speed of up to 158 megabytes per second at the edge of the plate, and only up to 80 MB in its center (curious - in our review of 3-terabyte HDDs there are specific figures ). For comparison, when testing a RAM disk with Crystal Disk Mark, I got the following numbers:
Recording 8 gigabytes (!) per second, reading - five. And this is still measured at DDR3 with a frequency of 1333 MHz, and if you return the settings to the standard 1600, I'm sure the numbers will be even higher. Obviously, the speed of the RAM disk is enormous, and the timings are minimal compared to anything. Minuses? Very serious. If the computer freezes or shuts down unexpectedly, everything written to the RAM disk will not be saved. After restarting Windows, the drive will be clean. You can't store any work on it - it's unsafe. Actually, this is why a RAM disk is needed only for storing temporary files and something that you don’t mind erasing, but which, when transferred to a fast drive, is significantly accelerated. Type of temporary files, folders with online cache, etc. Well, the "swap file" can be placed there ;-) (see the beginning)
So, I didn’t really think about it, but for some reason a lot of unrelated acquaintances began to talk about RAM disks. Today we sat with podakuni , for example, at the Photoproject school in the evening, they tested a funny new Iomega hard drive (special for Mac model) on his MacBook, and he also said that he uses a RAM disk, moreover, on a Mac, and that he transferred temporary Photoshop and Lightroom files there. According to him, it greatly accelerates the program. Well, then I could not stand it any more - I came home, found a software and rolled it up. And at the same time I checked something. So far, only preliminary, because a more detailed study will take time. The first impression - yes, a RAM disk is needed in Windows if you work with Photoshop and LR. Moreover, both are accelerated noticeably on a computer that cannot be called a weak language. Someone manages to get acceleration for other programs, but I will bypass this topic for now. And now the nuances.
By default, Lightroom keeps a gigabyte cache of prerender files (the capacity can be varied), and Photoshop creates a TMP file on the specified drive. And turn off disk usage in such a role indeed it is forbidden. But they can indeed be transferred to a RAM disk.
The screenshot is a good example - after opening 14 pictures in Photoshop (and closing them), a 2-gigabyte temporary file was formed. I emphasize again - the Windows paging file is on my computer turned off completely and in the system 32 (thirty-two) gigabytes of RAM. As you can see, this does not prevent Photoshop from creating temporary files, and if you have a laptop, for example, where there is a slow HDD that writes at a speed of only 100 megabytes per second, then it takes 20 seconds to create such a file. And he will waste time, no matter how much RAM you feed him. And even a fast SSD will need some resources to spend on this file. As practice has shown, this file is accessed quite actively during the work of Photoshop, both when using plug-ins, and during operations with files, and during serial processing. With Lightroom, the situation is somewhat similar - when you view pictures, its built-in Camera RAW engine creates a preview, which it puts in a special folder. Where this folder is located can be found in the settings. The files there are small - 500 kilobytes each, but in the process of processing the wedding shooting, gigabytes will accumulate there, and LR will access them. Thus, there is indeed a lot of meaning in the transference. And given that these files are "temporary", there is no need to regret that they will be erased if the computer suddenly freezes or turns off.
Which RAM disk to choose? For my experiment, I installed Qsoft RAMDisk Enterprise under Windows 7 x64 Ultimate. Russian version of this driver free, and some reviews indicate that this is the best (and most productive) ramdisk under Windows. I can’t refute or confirm, I’ll just say that under my OS it started up, it works and doesn’t beg for money, which is already good. I note that in the functions there is such a thing as resetting and loading the contents of the RAM disk at startup and exit. It is understood that before turning off the PC, the content will be “hibernated” onto the main media, and during Windows startup it will be loaded into the RAM disk from there. This allows you to keep the content of such a disk up-to-date and at least somehow deal with the volatility of this type of "drive".
So I decided that I would experiment. Does anyone already have experience? It would be great to hear what you think.
The technology that allows using part of the system RAM as an additional disk device has been known for a long time - since the beginning of the 80s of the last century. SoftPerfect RAM Disk is one of the solutions to increase the speed of "heavy" applications on your PC and extend the life of your SSD. Logic dictates that this technology should be used most widely today, when RAM is cheap and plentiful.
But the facts say otherwise - few PC users know what a memory drive is and benefit from its many benefits.
The main idea here is not only to fully use the available RAM of the computer, but also to achieve a significantly higher speed of work - not in percent, but at times.
The RAM chips of modern PCs are often significantly faster than even ultra-high-performance SSDs, which in turn are far ahead of classic magnetic HDDs in this regard.
But RAM disks have one serious drawback - since the information stored on them uses volatile media (silicon chips), after a power failure (that is, after turning off the computer), this data ceases to exist.
Fortunately, today there are simple tools such as SoftPerfect RAMDisk that can be downloaded for free to solve this problem in a simple and elegant way. The program periodically writes (and, accordingly, when the system is turned off) all information from the RAM device to a special partition of the system hard or solid state drive.
So RAM disks acquire high independence with little loss in speed. And in combination with an SSD device, the issue of compromise is so small that it is not even worth mentioning.
By the way, in the context of creating and managing a RAM disk, I did not accidentally mention the SoftPerfect RAM Disk. There are other similar programs on the Internet, such as qSoft RAMDisk Enterprise and Dataram RAMDisk, but SoftPerfect RAM Disk for Win 10 is one of the easiest tools to install, configure and use.
After installing the application, you just need to select the option "Add boot-mountable disk" to specify the letter, size and format of the partition on the hard disk or SSD to which data from the RAM disk will be written.
Its size can vary depending on the amount of RAM available, as well as what percentage of it you are willing to set aside for use as an in-memory drive.
Most modern PCs have at least 4 GB of RAM, which makes them ideal for using SoftPerfect RAM Disk - in such a system, you can safely allocate 20-25 percent of the available RAM.
SoftPerfect RAM Disk takes care of the rest, including the ability to create more than one virtual disk. After assigning a letter, the drive will appear in the Windows Explorer menu and you can use it like any other device in the system.
But how to benefit from such a disk? First of all, it can significantly speed up the loading of every program that uses temporary (cache) buffers - for example, Adobe Photoshop.
The same applies to any web browser - if you configure it to use the RAM disk as a buffer cache, it will not only work faster, but it will also not litter the hard disk with unnecessary temporary files.
RAM disks are also useful if you want to extend the life of an SSD device. It is a well-known fact that after a certain number of rewriting cycles, solid state drives “wear out” and stop working. So if you're dealing with applications that love to constantly access the disk device, redirect them to a RAM disk created with SoftPerfect RAM Disk - this way you will extend the life of the system SSD.
Have a great day!
