How big pagefile do I need

vsub · 03 Feb 2022

Compumind said:

@vsub -

What CPU do you have in the system?

If it is of recent vintage, just upgrade your RAM to 32GB and put in a 500MB SSD (or 1TB SSD) - preferably NVMe.
Then let windows automatically mange the pagefile.

If it's an older PC I would like to suggest ProcesLasso:

Bitsum. Real-time CPU Optimization and Automation

It works!

Laptop....MSI GE72VR 6RF
CPU - i7 6700HQ
RAM - 2x 8GB
128GB M.2
2TB HDD
DVD-RW
GTX 1060 if it matters

I don't need some massive main drive,I store my things in the HDD and play my games from my external ssd if they load slowly from the hdd(some are fine and there is no benefit of running them from an ssd)

I also have 5TB backup external hdd

steve108 · 03 Feb 2022

You should just use your SSD and not worry about paging file wearing it out.

Good idea to keep an eye on drive health. I recommend using Crystal Disk Info in resident/startup mode so you can always see drive health and temperature. I don't want last minute drive failure surprises ... CDI helps with early detection of problems.

CrystalDiskMark Project Top Page - OSDN

LMiller7 · 03 Feb 2022

zebal said:

Why not just disabling page file completely?

I know it's sounds wrong, and it is, but you have 16GB of memory and it should work.

It sounds wrong because it is.

If you are having a problem with the commit charge hitting the limit, as the OP is having, then disabling the pagefile will make the problem worse, not better. If you have 16 GB RAM and the workload requires more, even momentarily, bad things will happen. If you are lucky you will only have an application failure. Some applications can handle this situation gracefully, others will not. Many games will simply crash, and most likely when it is most inconvenient.

If you are not so lucky you will have a system failure and BSOD.

Compumind · 03 Feb 2022

@vsub -

I see your basic specs...

Specification GE72VR 6RF Apache Pro | MSI Global - The Leading Brand in High-end Gaming & Professional Creation

Suggestions:

1) Let Windows 10 manage the paging.
2) Put all of your frequently used software on the internal SSD and run TRIM (Defragment and Optimize Drives.) - leave 30% of the SSD capacity free.
3) How many running processes do you have at any one time?
4) Could you run Perfmon and post a screenshot?
5) Is your system software and BIOS up-to-date?

Don't run anything off your external right now.

Please post back with your findings.

sygnus21 · 03 Feb 2022

zebal said:

Have you ever heard of "Pushing the limits of Windows memory"?
It's a 6 pages MS article that is unfortuantelly no longer available.

There is a reason for that.... it's no longer applicable with newer versions of Windows

zebal said:

Formula is my own, but it's close enough to recommended setting explained in that article.
To make a correction recommended page file in this case would be 16GB not 32.

Yeah, it used to be that the recommended page file be twice the RAM. But again, with system having more RAM, plus the way newer versions (since Win 7), there's no need to do anything but let Windows manage the RAM.

The last time I manually managed my page file was back in the XP days. Now Windows manages it without issue.

Bottom line, let Windows manage the page file; especially if you've got more than 4gig.

steve108 · 03 Feb 2022

So there you have it @vsub ...... 5 pages later back to post # 2

MaloK · 03 Feb 2022

Small SSDs loaded to the throat will end with not enough erasable blocks to cope with new write cycles.

And finish their lives full of bad sectors. While large areas of the disk remains brand new... Effectively defeating Wear levelling...

I don't recommend running your OS Drive more than 66% full, aiming at 50%. Even on HDDs. This has no relation with speed, it's about strength, having a OS drive able to cope with the demand is primordial. In Speed and Space.

If you suffer from a memory leak. There's not Swapfile size that is going to fix it anytime soon. Commit charge should lower when you close all applications and should come near boot times reading.

I always fixed my page file ram ratio to 1 to 1 and have never reached the bottom.

Get the EVO 1TB it's a great deal !!!

margrave55 · 04 Feb 2022

That article needs to be amended to correct its errors. As it stands I wouldn't rely on it.

Bree · 04 Feb 2022

zebal said:

Have you ever heard of "Pushing the limits of Windows memory"?
It's a 6 pages MS article that is unfortuantelly no longer available..

Actually it's still available in the blog archive here:

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/...ry/ba-p/723750

...and while the links in the article haven't been updated to take into account its move to the archive, the current correct links are in the first comment below the article.

Oh, and I just let Windows manage mine

vsub · 06 Feb 2022

I set it to 4-8gb since I don't like it windows increasing and decreasing the size(with windows managing it,it sets the minimum to 3gb and that often hits the limit)and I don't know if that did the trick but for now,windows seems to behave and reduces the commit charge to around 6gb every time I close all of the programs(before it was rarely going down below 10gb)

PS.I have nothing to store in 1TB SSD,all of my programs take around 30gb