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Limp Gawd
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I have vista ultimate and wanted to try readyboost. I was going to buy a 2gb or 4gb usb for that purpose. Has anyone tried it and seen differences also and speed tests with different size drives?
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readyboost....has anyone has speed increases?
- Thread starter annilation
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It depends on the amount of system RAM you already have. ReadyBoost was primarily created to help machines that have anywhere from 512 to probably 1.5GB of system RAM. If you have that amount of RAM or anything in between, you are the kind of user that will see the most benefit from ReadyBoost's abilities - especially if you match the system RAM in a 1:1 ratio, or if possible a 2.5:1 ratio as suggested by the ReadyBoost designers.
If you've got 2GB or more of system RAM, you'll still gain some improvements in your system's performance, but it won't be as noticeable as the boost is for the low system RAM boxes.
The ratios work as follows:
512MB system RAM = Look for a 512MB USB drive (for 1:1 ratio) or possibly a 2GB since that's as close as you'll get to 1:2.5
1GB system RAM = 1GB USB drive (for 1:1 ratio) or again, a 2GB since that's as close as you can get to 1:2.5
2GB system RAM = 2GB USB drive (for 1:1 ratio) or again, a 4GB since that's as close as you can get to 1:2.5
Hope this helps...
If you've got 2GB or more of system RAM, you'll still gain some improvements in your system's performance, but it won't be as noticeable as the boost is for the low system RAM boxes.
The ratios work as follows:
512MB system RAM = Look for a 512MB USB drive (for 1:1 ratio) or possibly a 2GB since that's as close as you'll get to 1:2.5
1GB system RAM = 1GB USB drive (for 1:1 ratio) or again, a 2GB since that's as close as you can get to 1:2.5
2GB system RAM = 2GB USB drive (for 1:1 ratio) or again, a 4GB since that's as close as you can get to 1:2.5
Hope this helps...
annilation
Limp Gawd
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- Jun 7, 2006
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I have 3gb now so would it help?
calebb
[H]F Junkie
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I added a fast 1GB USB drive to my primary home system. (Dell 9100 P4 3.2GHz, 3GB DDR2 @ 533MHz). I chose a fast USB drive ($5 out the door at Staples...heh) (Sandisk Cruzer Micro U3 / 9MB/sec write 14MB/sec read w/500MB file).
I notice significantly less HDD activity even though the ReadyBoost drive is much smaller than my system memory. Even when I open several apps now, I don't often don't see any HDD activity.
I did not actually notice any performance difference, but my tower is sitting on my desk, so I appreciate not hearing the HDD activity
When I unplug the drive, HDD activity increases. Superfetch seems to be pretty intelligent about what data to put in available Readyboost space.
Also... that drive I mentioned has great large-file throughput, but what makes a good ReadyBoost drive is high random-access speed. I haven't actually benchmarked the drive for this sort of activity yet... sometime when I have more time I will
I notice significantly less HDD activity even though the ReadyBoost drive is much smaller than my system memory. Even when I open several apps now, I don't often don't see any HDD activity.
I did not actually notice any performance difference, but my tower is sitting on my desk, so I appreciate not hearing the HDD activity
When I unplug the drive, HDD activity increases. Superfetch seems to be pretty intelligent about what data to put in available Readyboost space.Also... that drive I mentioned has great large-file throughput, but what makes a good ReadyBoost drive is high random-access speed. I haven't actually benchmarked the drive for this sort of activity yet... sometime when I have more time I will
ReadyBoost already has benchmarked the drives when you insert them - it does a really quick random access and throughput test on a new USB thumbdrive or any Flash-RAM based the first time it's inserted to check for ReadyBoost capability.
WinSAT offers the ability to do extended testing if necessary. Do a search here for "Are you ready for ReadyBoost?" and you should find the thread started back in late November iirc where a few of us got gung-ho about testing and performance of ReadyBoost. Not much became of it since there's no 100% reliable way to say for sure if it does much of anything at all.
Basically, you either notice a snappier more responsive system with less hard drive accesses, or you don't. That's about it.
With 3GB of RAM, having a ReadyBoost device can't hurt, certainly, but over a week or two after the installation, Vista will self-tune itself to your patterns of usage and get pretty damned fast on its own.
WinSAT offers the ability to do extended testing if necessary. Do a search here for "Are you ready for ReadyBoost?" and you should find the thread started back in late November iirc where a few of us got gung-ho about testing and performance of ReadyBoost. Not much became of it since there's no 100% reliable way to say for sure if it does much of anything at all.
Basically, you either notice a snappier more responsive system with less hard drive accesses, or you don't. That's about it.
With 3GB of RAM, having a ReadyBoost device can't hurt, certainly, but over a week or two after the installation, Vista will self-tune itself to your patterns of usage and get pretty damned fast on its own.
I have 512 mb RAM, and a 1 gb Flash Drive using ReadyBoost, and haven't noticed a smidgen of a different. RAM is still always used up 100%, even with nothing running, and lag when opening different windows and small apps is exactly the same.
Will it make much difference if I match the RAM or something? 512 and 512?
Will it make much difference if I match the RAM or something? 512 and 512?