pagefile.sys - what are my options

Ok chaps i have a 80gb SSD with my os and apps on, but due to having 16gb of memory my pagefile.sys is also 16gb. i do currently have a little free space at the moment, but not much, just wondering what my options are on the pagefile.

i presume i can move it to the D drive, but will that give me a dip in speed being a mechanical drive? or would reducing it in size effect performance?

my spec
SH67H7 Shuttle, Windows 7 Pro, Intel i7 2600k, SSD 80GB Intel X25-M, WD 1TB, Nvidia GTX 460 1GB Razor, 16gb Crucial DDR3 Ballistix PC3-10600 CL9, 1.5V

If you're not experiencing any issues. you don't really need it. Especially with 16GB of memory.

I would remove it, or if you want to be safe, put it on the mechanical drive.

You won't notice a slowdown as it wont be used (unless you start paging, somehow).

Cheers.

I agree with MarkA,

if you have 16gb of memory you should not need a pagefile.

I use 8 GB of ram and don't use a pagefile and have had no issues yet. Installing software is no problem, general use of the pc is fine, heavy gaming is fine, overclocking is fine. That's my experience.

But you will see this message pop up when you set the virtual memory to have no paging file

If you turn the PF off Windows will still create one regardless and use it.

_Jimlad_ said:

i presume i can move it to the D drive, but will that give me a dip in speed being a mechanical drive? or would reducing it in size effect performance?

Click to expand...

Without getting into the whole "should I disable the pagefile" debate, which never seems to end well, you could reduce it dramatically in size and you shouldn't see any ill effects.

MS do actually recommend keeping the pagefile on an SSD where possible, but in practice with your system specs I doubt if it will make much noticeable difference where it is.

For whatever it's worth, personally I wouldn't disable the pagefile entirely - Windows' handling of virtual memory is a complex subject and I don't pretend to understand it in any real depth, so I'd stick with the usually recommended "leave it alone" advice, at least as far as possible.

so reducing the pagefile would be another option?

Why didn't you just leave it as default I bet it was no trouble at all.

Never, ever, disable the page file. 16GB of RAM is nowhere near enough to make it a real option.

Depending on your usage pattern with your PC you should be fine reducing the Pagefile to 4GB or less, with 16GB of memory I doubt you're coming close to having an issue. I personally only set a 2GB Pagefile with 6GB of memory and don't have any problems.

iDroid84 said:

Why didn't you just leave it as default I bet it was no trouble at all.

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Except that it takes up ssd or hd space that you could use for other software. It's rather stupid, what if you only have 2 gb or 1gb of ram?, it's only going to make a small pagefile anyway, so what is the point of a large pagefile??. Each to their own but i don't need one simples as that really.

NathanE said:

Never, ever, disable the page file. 16GB of RAM is nowhere near enough to make it a real option.

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Explain why ?

iDroid84 said:

Why didn't you just leave it as default I bet it was no trouble at all.

Click to expand...

The issue is that it uses 16gb rof a 80gb ssd

NathanE said:

Never, ever, disable the page file. 16GB of RAM is nowhere near enough to make it a real option.

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lol!

Go on oh wise one explain why?

Please note it's been four years since mine was disabled..

I moved mine from my SSD to a mechanical drive and I have experienced zero issues.

Neil79 said:

lol!

Go on oh wise one explain why?

Please note it's been four years since mine was disabled..

Click to expand...

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18256398

If you disable it you're technically worse off whether you notice it or not. You could write essays on the subject of virtual memory but the pagefile has many advantages, killing it may under certain sceneries be detrimental to your box.

So either move it off the ssd to another drive, or if you really want to you can make it smaller.

Ultimately it's micro management though and you will probably gain nothing and lose some technical befits you are not aware of.

If space is your issue, I'd set a custom value on the pagefile, reduce it to 2/4/8GB, as, 16GB on an 80GB SSD is a massive hit. Like several people have stated though, I wouldn't disable it entirely.

I'm running 8GB of RAM, and IIRC, reduced the pagefile to 4GB, no issues whatsoever, Windows can still use the pagefile as/if needed, and the other 4GB back which is handy, alternatively move it to your other disc. I've not done so because if Windows IS using the pagefile, I can live with 4GB gone, and it means the speed boost is there, regardless of whether I notice it or not. My other HD is technically a RAID block as well, so fewer chances of issues on the main drive incase one of the RAID drives fail

lots of conflicting comments, but i appreciate the input. at the moment then i'm leaning towards reducing it to 8gb and keeping it on the SSD

CaptainCrash said:

...the whole "should I disable the pagefile" debate, which never seems to end well....

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NathanE said:

Never, ever, disable the page file. 16GB of RAM is nowhere near enough to make it a real option.

Click to expand...

Neil79 said:

lol!

Go on oh wise one explain why?

Please note it's been four years since mine was disabled..

Click to expand...

Here we go.

"grabs popcorn"

If space is of a premium on your SSD then the best thing to do is to have two page files.

Create a smallish one on the SSD, of say a 1 or 2GB. Then create a large one on a HDD. The large one should be at least the size of how much RAM you have.

Neil79 said:

lol!

Go on oh wise one explain why?

Please note it's been four years since mine was disabled..

Click to expand...

Go study Computer Science or do a search on this sub-forum? I've posted on the subject countless times over the years. As have others.