Atomic Systems

Hi all,

I'm thinking about using ReadyBoost in Windows 7. Will this be of any benefit to TS2015?

Many thanks.

Yes, no and maybe:
a lot depends on what your system specs are, and how much of what kind of storage space you choose to have ReadyBoost working on.
I have a 4GB USB stick configured as a dedicated ReadyBoost drive and whilst I can benchmark to show it works there's very little visible proof, except after clearing the cache when the ReadyBoost has been known to keep the initial loading time for the game at it's pre-cache clear value. Of course this does mean that older cached files may be loaded, so if the clearing has been done to resolve an issue it takes it back to square one!!
The only thing you can do is try it, it's easily reversed if you find it of no use but also measure how the rest of your system benefits (if at all) from it.

Though I am no IT expert, I would say that it is unlikely that readyboost will make a significant difference to your TS experience, in my opinion you would be more likely to see an improvement if you upgraded the RAM on the machine if this is possible. I would however, hang fire until some of the more knowledgeable members contribute.

Andy

If for example your OS is on a SSD then readyboost is pretty pointless.
When using Conventional HDD's for the OS I did not see any significant improvement using ReadyBoost.
You may also need to get the fastest USB drive that you can, and does it only work on USB 2.0?
pH

The question that needs to be asked, and of course answered, is:

what are you trying to improve by way of ReadyBoost?

ReadyBoost, like any cache, just copies a bunch of often accessed files (usually the smaller ones) to media with faster read times than the files *real* location. As Peter has said, if you're using a fast drive (SSD) this would be of no benefit at all.
More, or faster, RAM would only be of use if it meant that there was space in memory available that wee bit sooner for the files being loaded. If you've oodles of fast RAM already the benefit would be small, if at all. Even with a more modest amount of slower memory you'd need to benchmark very carefully to find any improvement, you won't actually be able to *see* it.
You're unlikely to see any reduction in stuttering at tile boundaries; this is not completely eliminated by using SSDs so a USB interface won't match that improvement.

Gary
Good points, and we need to mention that even some of the USB sticks "approved" by MS for Ready Boost could be slower than a fast HDD like a VRAP or your daughter's mixed HDD.
Regards
pH

The purpose of readyboost is to help ms windows to run better on computers with low memory ie under the recommended microsoft specification for windows (but above the minimum). It should be seen as a extension of your built in Ram, not a disk cache that sits between your disk and main memory. So if u have 3gb ram and plug in a 2gb usb drive then windows sees it as 5gig ram installed 3 gig of fast normal ram plus an additional 2 gig ram which is slower to access. The windows kernel caches disk read/writes in system memory, it does not care if the memory is ram dimms, a readyboost usb pen or the virtual memory swap file stored on the internal disk. Readyboost is pointless as it is no comparison to adding an extra memory dimm into your mainboard.

Ready boost much like the zx81 rampacks, is a relic from the computer past when ram litterally cost more than it weighed in gold. One reason it may still be included in current versions of windows is that it offers a memory upgrade option for those not comfortable with opening up their computer and plugging in more ram. Also like any commodity ram prices fluctuate and could become mega expensive in which case readyboost may become useful. However we have enjoyed low ram prices now for over a decade so this is unlikely

If anything, enabling readyboost on a computer with plenty of installed system ram will actually reduce very slightly performance as it is an extra layer/resource windows needs to service.

msmith4000 wrote:The purpose of readyboost is to help ms windows to run better on computers with low memory ie under the recommended microsoft specification for windows (but above the minimum). It should be seen as a extension of your built in Ram, not a disk cache that sits between your disk and main memory. So if u have 3gb ram and plug in a 2gb usb drive then windows sees it as 5gig ram installed 3 gig of fast normal ram plus an additional 2 gig ram which is slower to access.

Sorry, but that's totally wrong. Readay Boost IS a file cache not RAM. VAS (Virtual Address Space) is what allows Windows to *pretend* disc (storage space) is memory, thus fooling applications that they're accessing real memory.

There are a million-and-one articles/pages on the 'net explaining it, https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/mag ... 56869.aspx is as good as any but this post from a Microsoft engineer responsible for the implementation of RB is worth reading --- http://blogs.msdn.com/b/tomarcher/archi ... 15199.aspx

Thanks for the info links I stand corrected. The article does say adding more ram is preferred than making use of readyboost so I am only half wrong I do indeed remember at the time when readyboost was introduced that many benchmarks were carried out and that it made no difference to performance unless your pc was very low on system ram.

After having a windows based PC since 1998 and trying different programs to speed your PC up I have found that they do very little so now don't bother with them.

Do you think we've put him off yet??

Well we must have. He hasn't replied in 10 days.

gptech wrote:Do you think we've put him off yet??

Yeah, having done a bit of research on ReadyBoost not sure it's worth the hassle.