RAM Disk

[Laquer Head]

So I regularly get magazine articles sent to me, and today was using system RAM to create a RamDisk for specific apps.

Long story short, I allotted 8GB of 16GB to a RamDisk using trial software from SuperSpeed called RamDisk Plus x64

I installed Firefox, Photoshop, Office 2010, and a few other core apps, and I'm shocked at the time, or lack thereof, that it takes to open Photoshop. The responsiveness of FireFox is also ridiculously high now.

Has anyone done this? I know RAMDisks were common in era's past but it's new to me.

 

[LukeAge]

So question. Are you trying to make your system faster with this program?

 

[strollin]

RAM disks can speed things up dramatically BUT how long did it take you to install the programs on it? Since a RAM disk is volatile (meaning its contents don't survive after a power cycle) you will need to reinstall those same programs every time you reboot your computer. Unfortunately, the time required to reinstall or repopulate the RAM disk will pretty much negate any performance gain you receive.

Some programs allow you to save a "snapshot" of the RAM disk and allow that snapshot to be restored during boot up but (depending on how large the saved file is) it can take minutes to save and minutes to restore. The "snapshot" needs to be re-saved anytime something new is saved to the RAM disk.

I used a RAM disk very effectively on my 2 floppy only computer back in the mid 80's to be able to keep certain programs available (such as an editor or DOS's command.com) that otherwise would require me to swap floppies in and out to load.

Once computers came along with HDDs the usefulness of a RAM disk diminished.

An SSD is like a permanent RAM disk and doesn't use up any of your system RAM. It may be true that the RAM disk is "free" but you won't really realize a true performance gain from a RAM disk unless you never (or rarely) reboot your computer.

 

[Benny Boy]

I allotted 8GB of 16GB to a RamDisk using trial software from SuperSpeed called RamDisk Plus x64

DataRam is another one and it's 4gb license is free.
Maybe you can give us a comparisome on boot times, w/ program(s) installed to ramdisk vs no ramdisk?

 

[Laquer Head]

RAM disks can speed things up dramatically BUT how long did it take you to install the programs on it? Since a RAM disk is volatile (meaning its contents don't survive after a power cycle) you will need to reinstall those same programs every time you reboot your computer. Unfortunately, the time required to reinstall or repopulate the RAM disk will pretty much negate any performance gain you receive.

Some programs allow you to save a "snapshot" of the RAM disk and allow that snapshot to be restored during boot up but (depending on how large the saved file is) it can take minutes to save and minutes to restore. The "snapshot" needs to be re-saved anytime something new is saved to the RAM disk.

I used a RAM disk very effectively on my 2 floppy only computer back in the mid 80's to be able to keep certain programs available (such as an editor or DOS's command.com) that otherwise would require me to swap floppies in and out to load.

Once computers came along with HDDs the usefulness of a RAM disk diminished.

An SSD is like a permanent RAM disk and doesn't use up any of your system RAM. It may be true that the RAM disk is "free" but you won't really realize a true performance gain from a RAM disk unless you never (or rarely) reboot your computer.

Hey, thanks for the input..

One thing with the program I tried, you have a checkbox to retain the stuff you put on the RamDisk.

Otherwise, I'd totally forget about using it--having to reload each reboot!

 

[S.T.A.R.S.]

One thing with the program I tried, you have a checkbox to retain the stuff you put on the RamDisk.

Otherwise, I'd totally forget about using it--having to reload each reboot!

Exactly lol.It's a pain in the ass to reinstall what you use on each reboot.