System Cache...differing opinions..........long

[hightower 8]

In the excellent post by Jimmy Richards, "FS2004 and WinXP Optimization Guide, Jim suggests not to try and increase memory usage by changing from the default setting "Programs" to "System Cache", which would speed up data transfer resulting in a smoother and more fluid operation of FS2004. This setting is found by following this path: Control Panel > System > Advanced > Performance > Advanced.In an article found on the PC Aviator website, the author states exactly the opposite, to use "System Cache" to enhance performance. Here is tweak # 3 from that article.Tweak #3

[Guest _patrol_]

BUMPI believe this is an important issue. On my old Win98SE machine I increased the V-Cache by quite a bit and got noticeably better performance in FS2002. On my new (just built) machine with WinXP I havn't gotten around to it yet. Since I don't want to reformat just yet I'd REALLY like to hear other peoples experiences/comments on this subject. ThanksDavid

[Guest SlimDady]

hmm i would be interested in this becauz my gig of ram never gets used completly, i dont want to risk having to format though untill I know for a fact that it wont mess my pc up

[robert young 2,897]

Slimdady,I wrote you a reasoned e-mail about your un-called for post in another thread.I am waiting for your apology though it seems you do not have the courage and decency to post one.Rob Young

[hightower 8]

Still hoping for some feedback on this subject. Is there no one out there who hasn't tried the tweak as proposed by the PC Aviator article?

[Guest _patrol_]

Aw, come on. Other people must have tried this. So what happened? Did it increase performance? Did it crash your computer? Inquiring minds want to know.David

[Guest cw1011]

I too would love a definitive look at this issue. I have 764 megs of ram and the program never uses all of it, even with a very small virtual memory file designated.

[Gridley 257]

My FS resides on a physically separate hard drive than my OS - is it possible to cache data from just the FS drive, thus keeping my OS safe from "delayed write" failures?Tweak on!sg

[Guest james_2k]

hi,i tried this tweak after reading the post, needless to say i wont be doing so again! it took about 10 seconds longer to boot and it didnt get to the log on screen, it just said end point not found, when i clicked ok it restarted, it kept on doing this so i restarted in safe mode and thankfully it was fine after i changed the setting back. so my advise, steer clear! James

[Guest _patrol_]

JamesThanks for the reply. Guess I won't try this until I'm about ready to reformat anyway. That brings up another question. In Win98 you could set the size of the system cache. This was done by entering values for MaxFile and MinFile in some .cfg file, I think. I'm wondering if and how this can be done in WinXP. I remember this gave a substantial performance boost to FS2002 under Win98SE. Any info would be greatly appreciated.ThanksDavid

[Guest product]

There have been some good posts a while back on this- the "tweak" can really mess up some peoples systems. A general consensus of "use at your own risk" was the conclusion I remember.Joel

[brucek 38]

Correct- try at your own risk.I read on a ATI forum (for those of us that have ATI cards) that this tweak can cause real problems with the way that the card interacts with the system (I may have this wong, it's been many months). The warning included the results of people having to reformat after trying this.Once again, this may work on some systems. We have to be careful.BTW-This sounds like a post intended for the PC hardware forum?Thanks,Bruce.

[Guest Bigshot]

System cache is for servers. Everyone should know this. It is not to be used on Desktops. Especially if you're running an ATI card. It'll literately destroy/corrupt your Windows system. Go to the blackboard and write: DO NOT USE SYSTEM CACHE, DO NOT USE SYSTEM CACHE, DO NOT USE SYSTEM CACHE Repeat that 97 more times.http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php...readid=33683515 _________________________________________________Quote from WaltC:First of all, the Large system file cache is not a "tweak"--not even close. It is a "setting" for the OS cache which robs applications of cache and resources and hands it over to system resources. Leaving the OS set to the default "Program cache" instead of "System cache" has never meant you couldn't transfer "gigabyte-sized files" from one drive to another. I do it all the time with the OS set to the default "Program cache" setting--which allocates more resources to running applications--which often need them and don't react well to being choked out by the System cache setting.This setting is meant for server duty in machines which operate as servers and have a minimum of 1GB of ram...not a "tweak"--it's an OS setting designed for specific hardware and software environments. The mistake most often made with this setting is that it is perceived as a "tweak" to the default system settings that is "supposed to" increase system performance. In a normal workstation hardware and software environment it will almost always degrade performance and sometimes cause serious stability problems.IMO, if you have a multi-gigabyte machine which is dedicated to server duty you just don't need a high-performance 3D card running in it anyway, since it is doing server duty and not running 3D games--and if you have a normal workstation with a high-performance 3D card running 3D games you sure as heck don't want to set the OS to Large System Cache. If you use the machine on a 50-50 basis as a server and game machine then the default Large Program Cache setting will work wonderfully well with any ATi driver. Again, the problem is looking at the setting as a "tweak" when it isn't--it's a hardware/software configuration setting only--and Large System Cache was never intended for workstation use (and is therefore absolutely not a workstation "tweak.")_______________________________________________________

[hightower 8]

Excellent feedback for which a few of us have already been bitten...disasterously. What I find equally as interesting is the endorsement by the author of the article at the PC Aviator website who recommends its usage, referring to application on a PC and nowhere mentioning servers. As Bigshot said, DON'T USE IT.

[lago 0]

HiFollow the link below. There you find Cacheman, a neat program for system tweaking.http://www.outertech.com/