Page file on OS drive only?

[ryanbatc 12,820]

I'm confused about my page file.  It says it's 1.6GB (but system managed).  This is for my C: which contains my OS.

I play P3D and XP11 on my B: which is my SSD.  This drive has the option select for "no page file"

Is that correct?  Do I only need it for the C drive?  And also being that I've now got 16GB of RAM, should I set the page file on C (or B) drive to something larger?

[lownslo 592]

Is it safe to assume your 120GB Mushkin is the C: drive?  If so, leave the Page File there.  The "No Paging File" you note for the B: drive means it doesn't have a Page File, nor do you want one on your flight sim drive (flight sims make life tough enough as it is ).  The Page File on the C: drive is indeed all your system needs.  And it's fine to let Windows manage the PF.

HTH,

Greg

[stans 702]

In all my years of running two or more harddrives, I have never put a page file on any drive other than the C: drive.  I don't think it would do any good to have a page file anywhere other than the C: drive as Windows manages the page file, so it makes sense to keep the page file on the Windows drive.

[ryanbatc 12,820]

Alright thanks!

[Dougal 165]

I know its controversial, but i've been running without any page file at all for several months now (16Gb RAM). It started out accidental. I was experimenting without it, but then one day realised I'd never turned it back on.  At the moment, I have a very smooth running PC in all areas I use it.

Edited April 3, 2018 by Dougal

[stans 702]

I have read that the page file on the C: drive is not really necessary if you have sufficient RAM.  I think deleting the page file was more of a problem with a 32-bit OS and the associated 4GB RAM limit.  With a 64-bit OS and 16GB or more of RAM, it is less likely to be an issue.  The only real problem might be if your computer crashes.  Windows keeps the computer's current state information on the page file, since a crash or power failure will result in the RAM losing such data.  So it might be best to manually set a small page file on the C: drive.

[lodestar 186]

if you have 8GB RAM, keep it, just system managed on OS drive. Without page file, you are going to get OOM with P3Dv4 at arround 4GB RAM in use, becouse of Commit Limit. With 16GB RAM or more, it's ok to disable it completely - you will gain some CPU cycles, sharper system, slightly faster loading and better fps and smoothness(of course, don't expect a miracle, only arround 1-2 average increase in fps has ben reported so far). 

If you have 8GB RAM, but maybe 2 SSD - it's a good idea to move your page file to SSD which is not in use(no FS on SSD). But only if it's near fast or faster then your OS drive. Same for HDD.

[lownslo 592]

5 hours ago, lodestar said:

With 16GB RAM or more, it's ok to disable it completely - you will gain some CPU cycles, sharper system, slightly faster loading and better fps and smoothness(of course, don't expect a miracle, only arround 1-2 average increase in fps has ben reported so far).

Interesting... please present scientific evidence to support this claim.

Thanks,

Greg

[lodestar 186]

8 hours ago, lownslo said:

Interesting... please present scientific evidence to support this claim.

Thanks,

Greg

here you go: https://www.tweakhound.com/2011/10/10/the-windows-7-pagefile-and-running-without-one/

[vortex681 806]

On 05/04/2018 at 10:36 PM, lodestar said:

With 16GB RAM or more, it's ok to disable it completely - you will gain some CPU cycles, sharper system, slightly faster loading and better fps and smoothness(of course, don't expect a miracle, only arround 1-2 average increase in fps has ben reported so far).

 

12 hours ago, lodestar said:

here you go: https://www.tweakhound.com/2011/10/10/the-windows-7-pagefile-and-running-without-one/

That link doesn't really support your claim. The author says at the end:

Conclusion

After 20 or so hours of prep and roughly 32 hours of benchmarking there was no difference between having a pagefile and not.

Does running without a pagefile improve performance?

Based on my observations there is no performance benefit to running without a pagefile.

[jabloomf1230 2,445]

That might be because the OS unloads memory snapshots of inactive background services to the pagefile and then reloads them as needed. Without a pagefile they either stay resident or the process is terminated and would need to be executed if needed again. It's a minor efficiency improvement but Microsoft occasionally knows more about their OS then we do.😉

[stans 702]

I just read on the Crash to Desktop page that P3D will crash on computers with 8GB of RAM and the page file disabled.  So perhaps completely eliminating the page file is not the best idea, but I don't think allowing Windows to manage it is very good either as Windows will scatter it all over the drive.  Perhaps the old concept of specifying a size and doing so when you first install the OS so as to keep the page file as close to the outer edge of a HDD as possible is still the best answer.

[lodestar 186]

10 hours ago, vortex681 said:

 

That link doesn't really support your claim. The author says at the end:

Conclusion

After 20 or so hours of prep and roughly 32 hours of benchmarking there was no difference between having a pagefile and not.

Does running without a pagefile improve performance?

Based on my observations there is no performance benefit to running without a pagefile.

He actually says:

"Does running without a pagefile improve performance?

Based on my observations there is no performance benefit to running without a pagefile.

It is possible that gaming performance might be improved marginally (but not significantly) without a pagefile BUT:

1 – It will depend on using game intensive enough to really push your hardware, especially memory.

2 – It will take benchmarks on that specific game to tell what difference if any it will make."

He also says:

"IMHO the average user (who is not going to test it) is best served by leaving the pagefile at its default setting of System Managed size.

Test it yourself…Test it yourself…Test it yourself…

Yes, I know I sound like a broken record (or a drunk parrot, take your pick). Perhaps there is a reason for that?!"

Now, in his testing, in almost all games there was a slightly improvement in Average FPS. If i can get average fps improvement in P3D, i'd go for it.

So, everyone interested should test it and see if there is a improvement. I tested it, my system was a bit sharper and i belive i had better FPS, but i couldn't bring a "scientific evidence" since i've got OOM message becouse i have only 8GB RAM. It would be nice to test it with Fraps Frame Time Benchmark and bring some real evidence. Maybe i'll try with lower P3D settings when i have time

[G-RFRY 1,708]

Quote

 

One should also bear in mind on your C drive, to avoid filling above 85% and that large installers for product`s use space on your C drive temp folder. This how some times you get not enough disc space to install even when you are installing a product on another drive.