SD and readyboost

[Guest]

Has anyone found a 4gb SD card that works with Readyboost?

SD seems far more practical to me than USB as I can leave it plugged into my
notebook all the time.

 

[StevenW]

I'm using a 2 gig and it works fine. I don't think anything larger than a 2
gig will benefit you any with readyboost.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Steven, what make and model is the one you are using? are you seeing
any benefit from it?

 

[Fat Bastard]

I am using a cheap-ass aData MyFlash 2gb SD card and it works fine for
ReadyBoost. I second the other guy that said going over 2gb or so is a
waste.

 

[StevenW]

I'm using a SanDisk SD 2 gb. Yes there is a noticable difference. I have 1
gig of Ram installed.

 

[Ben Enfield]

Transcend 150x 4GB. It works, but it rarely uses more than a gigabyte. You
can check this in the reliability and performance monitor. If you are
thinking about getting a 4 gig card, I would try plugging in a 2GB card and
seeing how much it uses. I have used this same computer with 2 GB of ram
instead of 1 and it rarely uses *any* of the drive as readyboost in that
case. Microsoft could be changing the way this works later, but right now
it doesn't help. In short, get more ram. Readyboost only helps *right now*
(it may help in the future) if you have less than a gig of ram available.

The only exception to this rule is when when multiple Virtual PCs are taking
up the ram, then 2 GB of ram are not enough and readyboost cache begins to
be used. Make sure you remember: the computer first uses system ram and
then uses the flash drive.

Ben

 

[Richie Hardwick]

I am reading a lot of suggestions here and as a newbie to these flash
drives I'm a bit intrigued. I have my USB currently plugged in optioned
under readyboost. I been trying to get better performance for some time
now. I went out and bought 2GB of memory and installed it. But since I
have these 2GB flash drive sticks (3 total) I figured I'd plug one in
and see what happens. Jury still out. But I will continue to read all
you guys suggestion nonetheless.

Your installed RAM is fine. With that much, Readyboost is doing
nothing for you. It's meant for systems running less than 1G of RAM.

Richie Hardwick

 

[AJR]

Regarding "...Readyboost is doing nothing for you. It's meant for systems
running less than 1G of RAM..." - not so!
ReadyBoost is not a substitute for RAM.

ReadyBoost works in concert with Superfetch Most important single item that
determines value of ReadyBoost are the read/write specs of the HD - Vista
will check the device read/write specs and determine suitability for use as
ReadyBoost.
Non-sequential Read/writes are directed to the ReadyBoost device -
sequential to the HD. Due to the low caliber of HDs in laptops - ReadyBoost
is most likely suitable for laptops.

Vista, over a period of time, uses Superfetch to track usage as a means of
improving boot time - a secondasry function of ReadyBoost is to assist.

Many ReadyBoost devices have LEDs which can be observed as to whether or not
the device is functioning.

 

[Richie Hardwick]

Regarding "...Readyboost is doing nothing for you. It's meant for systems
running less than 1G of RAM..." - not so!

Yes, so!

I was saying that it would give no performance boost on systems having
more than a gig of RAM. Which it won't.

ReadyBoost is not a substitute for RAM.

I have no idea why you bring that up because I never said it.

Richie Hardwick