Virtual RAM acting as real RAM?
-
Can virtual RAM act as real RAM when u need more real ram...say if u have 512MB and u need 1GB for a particular game,if u set the virtual ram to 512MB will it add with the real 512Mb RAM to form 1GB and then u can play?
Likewise is there any benefit increasing virtual RAM? -
virtual ram act as ram and it derive from taking a certain amount of harddisk space for it. you can increase or decrease within a certain limit. but it does not mean that it will add to ur actual ram size.
there pros and cons in having a larger virtual ram size. but normally window is customize to have a reasonably size for virtual ram so don't really need to change unless you are a "heavy" user.
anyway do you really need 1G ram for games? cos ram will only boast ur computer performance to a certain extent only after that the computer performace will not be affected by any extra ram that you put into the comp. -
will u be able to play games that require more ram that what u have if u use virtual ram to top up?Originally posted by strikefreedom:virtual ram act as ram and it derive from taking a certain amount of harddisk space for it. you can increase or decrease within a certain limit. but it does not mean that it will add to ur actual ram size.
there pros and cons in having a larger virtual ram size. but normally window is customize to have a reasonably size for virtual ram so don't really need to change unless you are a "heavy" user.
anyway do you really need 1G ram for games? cos ram will only boast ur computer performance to a certain extent only after that the computer performace will not be affected by any extra ram that you put into the comp. -
eh mind asking what game you referring too? cos most of the time game are more dependent on video card and cpu rather then ram. increase virtual ram do not increase your actual ram. and from experience 512M is more then enough even to host a small LAN game. 1G is the max that i recommend if you are into playing LAN game with your friend.
-
Not sure about that but even if its possible, the performance of the virtual ram won't be as good as the hardware ram. I think the access speed of the virtual ram is slowerOriginally posted by ceecookie:will u be able to play games that require more ram that what u have if u use virtual ram to top up? -
oh i was just asking becoz yea 512BM ram is quite enough for most games nowadays...Originally posted by strikefreedom:eh mind asking what game you referring too? cos most of the time game are more dependent on video card and cpu rather then ram. increase virtual ram do not increase your actual ram. and from experience 512M is more then enough even to host a small LAN game. 1G is the max that i recommend if you are into playing LAN game with your friend.
becoz i have seen the HL2 expansion and it required 1 GB....
oh btw mine is 256MB and im increasing the virtual ram to 1GB so at least when i play games now or in future it wont be at least so laggy -
well you should worry more abt ur video card n cpu rather then ram cos i think 512M should be enough. 1G i think it is for best performance for HL2 and not a definte requirement. but with 1G virtual ram i dun think it will help you much but you can go ahead and try.
what makes a game taxing on a computer is the graphic of it like running water, smoke and also the number of moving units(in RTS strategy game) that is in the game. -
yes. There r some software that cut a chunk of ur hd and makes it a ram drive.
-
http://support.intel.com/support/proshare/conferencing/sb/cs-011667.htm
this link will give you a clearer idea of how virtual ram work. but basically i dun recommend using 3rd party program to "create" more ram as it can create some undesired result if anything goes wrong. there are many software that can tweak window and computer performance but not all are reliable and it also require extensive knowledge to play around with them. -
Increasing the Swap file (Virutal RAM) in HDD does not necssary increase gaming performance. This is a simplfied explanation:-
CPU can manipulate data far easier and quicker in RAM (IC Chips). If u can think no-moving parts involve. Data moves as quickly as requires by the CPU.
In virtual, the CPU has to wait for the harddisk, moving parts involve, motor, read/write heads moving, etc. As u can guess it, bottleneck is how fast the motor spins and how fast the R/W heads can move. And by current standards, the harddisk way too slow as compare to ur DDR RAMS. -
Yes virtual ram run slower then actual ram due to the slower speed. another thing is by having a larger virtual ram size, it take a longer time to access and retrieve the data. therefore it should be set to a optimum value for the best result but optimum value varies according to the usage purpose of individual. the best solution is still to increase the actual ram size.
-
larger virtual ram means slower time?Originally posted by strikefreedom:Yes virtual ram run slower then actual ram due to the slower speed. another thing is by having a larger virtual ram size, it take a longer time to access and retrieve the data. therefore it should be set to a optimum value for the best result but optimum value varies according to the usage purpose of individual. the best solution is still to increase the actual ram size.
so to u whats the benefit of the virtual ram? -
nono virtual ram itself is slower then actual ram. by having a bigger size virtual ram, it will increase the accessing time in some situation (where you are running alot of things at the same time). just imagine it as a storeroom with rows of shelves, if you need to get something from it you will need to search the shelves one by one. so a smaller room that has less shelves will let you find what you want much faster as compare to one that is bigger with more shelves rite? sorry if it sound too complicate to you cos not very gd at explaining it in layman term.
-
oh ok i get what u say...more "space" but longer to find someting...Originally posted by strikefreedom:nono virtual ram itself is slower then actual ram. by having a bigger size virtual ram, it will increase the accessing time in some situation (where you are running alot of things at the same time). just imagine it as a storeroom with rows of shelves, if you need to get something from it you will need to search the shelves one by one. so a smaller room that has less shelves will let you find what you want much faster as compare to one that is bigger with more shelves rite? sorry if it sound too complicate to you cos not very gd at explaining it in layman term.
i have decreased it already -
sweatOriginally posted by ceecookie:oh ok i get what u say...more "space" but longer to find someting...
i have decreased it already
it doesn't mean that small is good, just keep it to the window allocated amount will do. change only if you know what you are doing it for because some ppl tends to need more virtual ram as compared to other. 
-
Firstly, physical ram is different from virtual ram.
Virtual ram "Act" as ram where the computer writes the info. to somewhere in the computer, and then comes back to it when it needs it.
For Win XP, etc, 32bits operation system its 4gb at most of virtual ram.
Physical Ram is the actual ram, where the graphics card can use and certain operations need. That IS, some programs REQUIRE the use of actual physical ram where the process of info is stored IN the ram inside to be DYNAMICALLY retrieved and stored and NOT write somewhere then read it back.
Ofcourse, when you see it, the virtual ram purpose is LESS useful and SLOWER than the physical ram. Cuz reading from actual ram is much much faster than virtual ram.
Also some programs requires large size physical ram to run. Such as very powerful CADCAM, simulation softwares, animation softwares, Games, etc, where what THEY NEED IS Physical ram, not virtual ram. Because the process cannot be "chopped" up into separate sections to write then read then write then read, but read all the way then process then write.
Lastly, although 4Gb of virtual ram can be allocated, but microsoft states that the max it can use is 4Gb of whatever ram.
So, e.g. if you have 512Mb (physical) you can allocate up to 3Gb 512Mb (virtual ram) though you can set up to 4Gb v.ram but they only used up to 3.5Gb v.ram
likewise, 1gb p.ram ==> max. of 3gb v.ram can be allocated.
-
Precisely, now even got the super duper newest DDR3 memory modules!!! Fwoahhh.....Originally posted by octega:Increasing the Swap file (Virutal RAM) in HDD does not necssary increase gaming performance. This is a simplfied explanation:-
CPU can manipulate data far easier and quicker in RAM (IC Chips). If u can think no-moving parts involve. Data moves as quickly as requires by the CPU.
In virtual, the CPU has to wait for the harddisk, moving parts involve, motor, read/write heads moving, etc. As u can guess it, bottleneck is how fast the motor spins and how fast the R/W heads can move. And by current standards, the harddisk way too slow as compare to ur DDR RAMS.
Now everyone normally used DDR2 liao...which is i believed >10times faster than v.ram. -
yuppy! Graphic card rendering speed is more important. Basically the ram and clock speed of the graphic card is crucial.Originally posted by strikefreedom:well you should worry more abt ur video card n cpu rather then ram cos i think 512M should be enough. 1G i think it is for best performance for HL2 and not a definte requirement. but with 1G virtual ram i dun think it will help you much but you can go ahead and try.
what makes a game taxing on a computer is the graphic of it like running water, smoke and also the number of moving units(in RTS strategy game) that is in the game.
Also graphics card and hardwares do not use v.ram, all need to use p.ram ones.
like if you go buy a g.card 256Mb, then your PC only 512mb, then you have only 256mb only left (if you using shared integrated g.card).