Question about virtual memory...

[Millenniumtiger]

I just found out to change the amount of virtual memory on my computer. I only have 256mb of actual memory...if i upp the v-memory, will it make my computer faster? also, is there a limit that i should stop at or can i go as high as i want?

 

[Ste]

Virtual Memory Is alot Slower then Regular memory regaurdless of the amount.

It probably won't make your computer faster by increasing it.
However there are some things you can do to Optimize it.
Virtual memory should be 2.5 times Real memory. So set it to 640 MB and make it static, as in change both the maximum and minimum values to 640. This decreases fragmentation.

 

[Soundmaster2.0]

How exactly do you go about changing that

 

[Ste]

Control Panel>System>Advanced>Settings under performence>advanced>Change

 

[penfold]

Virtual memory - if you bump it up to 1GB - will speed up your computer!

However, I recommend that you go purchase a 512MB memory stick. This will DRASTICALLY increase your speed. We get our memory from http://www.northalabamacomputers.com/ - you can call and talk to Brett, and he can hook you up with the right memory for your machine. They ship via UPS. Their prices are definitely competitive.

Your virtual memory is a huge file on the hard drive that Windows uses to store currently-unused items from RAM; and it swaps them out in the RAM as needed. Virtual memory IS slower than actual RAM, but increasing it will still have an effect on your machine's speed.