If the cache is very large disk access will be slowed because the OS will waste too much time searching through the cache for data that is not there before each disk read.
Searching? It's not like it looses track of it, the searching is MUCH
quicker than a single instance of having to go out to the HDD...
something that without question, will happen very, very often with
only 64MB vcache.
Memory is not always released from disk cache when an application needs it.
Well it's true that memory management isn't perfect, but if that
vcache memory that isn't released is that holding the code being ran,
it's hardly a problem... still greater performance in the (by far)
slowest subsystem in a PC.
Windows has a nasty habit of occasionally allocating up to 2/3 of system
memory for disk cache. That is why we started setting MaxFileCache. When
memory was limited, 1/8 of system memory for disk cache was generally
accepted as a good compromise. Now that we can all afford as much
memory as we need, 1/8 of system memory is more than enough cache.
It'll only do so when there's no upper limit. That's not a reason to
set an incredibly low upper limit instead of what's needed.
If you want to constantly access the HDD and slow the system down, be
my guest. Right now I can load an Office application in under 1
second on a Win98SE system, that was previously ran over 1 hour ago.
Why? Because I didn't limit the vcache so small that it was flushed
out yet... I suppose it depends on the use of the system, I use
Win98SE mostly for specific-function systems these days, not
power-user all-in-one purposes.
