Ready boost - Is it worth it

  • Thread starter Thread starter Metta
  • Start date Start date
M

Metta

I have a new PC with 4x1gig 1066 PC2 RAM, is it worth it have additional
ready boost memory added?

If yes can anyone recommend something?

M
 
In a nutshell, No. Ready boost is fine for PCs with 512MB of RAM and, maybe,
up to 1GB. Over 1GB you will probably not see any speed increase. With 4GB
you definitely don't need ready boost.

Personally I've tried it on a 2GB machine and haven't noticed any
performance increase.

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

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I have a new PC with 4x1gig 1066 PC2 RAM, is it worth it have additional
ready boost memory added?
Click to expand...
You won't notice any improvement and in fact you will see a system slowdown
(every time) after booting the computer while the ReadyBoost data is being
written.
 
Metta,

If you have 4 GB of ram you will be wasting your time and money by
purchasing any ReadyBoost products. In fact, you may experience a slowdown.

Have a nice day.

C.B.
 
Time and again there are posts about ReadyBoost and time and again there are
lousy replies.

ReadyBoost is not an extension to RAM or a substitute for it. ReadyBoost is
an auxillary function of Superfetch (successor to XP prefetch). If an
exteranl device has better Read/Write characteristics than the HD, Vista
will "OK" it for use as a ReadyBoost cache.

Cerification for use as an external ReadyBoost device depends on the
installed HD specs - a reason most devices are acceptable on laptops.
A HD performance index of "5" (tops 5.9) precludes Vista certifying an
external device.

In doing so, non-sequential read/writes are directed to the external device
while sequential types are sent to the HD - performance boost depends
therefore on type of HD activity.
In addition, ReadyBoost monitors, over a period of time, application
activity and modifies boot and page file times. It also works in concert
with two other "Ready" functions 0ne is ReadyDrive and the other escapes me
at this time.

Whether or not you use a capable external device a ReadyBoost cache is
established on the HD. BTW - data sent to ReadyBoost is encrypted (why you
do not have to worry about data on a removed device) and cannot be accessed
outside of the device's use in Vista.
 
In message <[email protected]> "AJR"
ReadyBoost is not an extension to RAM or a substitute for it. ReadyBoost is
an auxillary function of Superfetch (successor to XP prefetch).
Click to expand...

Sure -- But Superfetch uses RAM as well, so the amount of otherwise
available RAM is directly relevant to the performance improvement from
using ReadyBoost.
 
AJR,

thanks for the explanation. i was hoping you could elaborate on the exact
specs that vista looks at when making the comparisons for caching on HD vs
Flash. are these things that a user can look at as in a certain app that
gives these numbers?

and finally, should i even bother? from what i've been reading up on, the
general consensus seems to be that over 1GB RAM readyboost doesn't make a big
difference anyways. (i need to upgrade my hardware, i know. it's maxed out)

thank you in advance,
benjiroo

Athlon XP 2100+ (1.73gHz)
1.5GB PC133 SDRAM
Vista Home Premium
Dual HDD
Triple VGA
DVD/RW
 
Talk with the man who put it into Vista:
http://blogs.msdn.com/tomarcher/archive/2006/06/02/615199.aspx

If used with a laptop, it is reported to provide a 10% savings on energy use
whether it speeds anything up or not due to lowering demands on the
hard-drive.

On a desktop, the savings become mute as your total RAM increases due to
less of a need for external caching. But, it will improve boot time no
matter how much memory you have. (I think that this last is because
"ReadyBoot" is part of "ReadyBoost", but here any improvement is deleted 90
seconds after boot and recalculated.)
 
Effectiveness of ReadyBoost depends on several factors. Vista checks the
read/write specs of the memory device and if it does not equal or exceed
those of the HD it will not "certify" the memory device for ReadyBoost.

ReadyBoost is more effective on laptops due to the HDs having "lower" specs
than desktops.

Performance also depends on the ytpe of activity - non-sequential
read/writes are directed to the ReadyBoost device and sequential to the HD.
If the memory slot has an indicator LED it provides visual ReadyBoost
activity.

ReadyBoost is one of a triad of "Readys" - ReadyBoost, ReadyBoot and
ReadyDrive.
 
benjiroo said:
and finally, should i even bother? from what i've been reading up on, the
general consensus seems to be that over 1GB RAM readyboost doesn't make a
big
difference anyways. (i need to upgrade my hardware, i know. it's maxed
out)
Click to expand...

I have 2Gb of RAM. When I've inserted 2Gb Flash for ReadyBoost I've noticed
that there are less irritating delays because of HDD activity.
 
With 2GB of Ready Boost and SuperFetch enabled I can log on to Internet
within 45 seconds when I boot. Also my other applications all start faster.
 
With 2GB of Ready Boost and SuperFetch enabled I can log on to Internet
within 45 seconds when I boot. Also my other applications all start faster.
Click to expand...

OK... let's all join in on the Readyboost lickfest: it's doing what
it's supposed to do.
 
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