Ram Disc?

[av8tor]

I'm thinking of maxing out this boards ram (Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3) with 32GBs of 1600 ram.Since I have no programs to utilize this amount I was thinking of using 16gbs or more for a ram disc.I read that this will be a very fast disc, so I would like to use it in the most efficient way possible.Anyone know how to set this up and what kind of program(free one) should I used? What would be a good use for this type of setup or is it a complete waste of time and $$

 

[redduc900]

Because this is a fairly common question, I've linked you to the search results for "RAM disk" in the thread title (18 threads)...

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/search.php?searchid=9567718

 

[Humanoid1]

Sadly that link does not click right through to the results - but comes up 0 results.

Of course searching for "RAM Disk" does work

Anyways...
I have Just this last month done this RAMDisk thing, but with rather less RAM than that.
For my own setup I have 12GB of installed RAM and made a 4GB RAMDisk using that linked Free for Personal Use software.
This software is considered the best and fastest software that is free as long as you do not need more than 4GB of space for your RAM Disk.

I made Win 7 use that 4GB for its Virtual Memory - has made a fantastic difference to my PC's performance (combined with the RAM upgrade itself blurring where the speed directly came from).
Various software (many games I read) Will use Virtual Memory no matter how much RAM you have, as part of their design - tied in with the way Windows architecture likes to run. This is potentially one of the best uses for a RAMDisk I have come across.

With this configuration I have not had any apparent low memory issues - running FireFox with many windows and LOTS of tabs open + various apps like PhotoShop 7, Word, Excel, Media Player + VLC and running folding@home and sometimes a game at the same time is almost enough to make me wonder why I would need more RAM...

I could see myself going for 24 maybe but more would seem pointless... for now lol


If 4GB is Not Enough RAM Disk space... then you would be wanting to use ImDisk. It's RAM Disks are a little slower than RAMDisk's - but at these kinda speeds only benchmarks will notice I am sure lol
It is also a little more techy to use but will do what you need.

The Bad thing about Large RAM disks = if populated by data = takes time at PC startup to write that data to them... dependent on your data source drives speed. Could take Many minutes to write the data to them...
I am not yet familiar enough to know how this app handles saving data at the end of a session - except manually saving an image, but am sure there are options for that somewhere

Am curious what uses you will come up with for yours, let us know

 

[av8tor]

Thanks ...I know, I know, I should of searched I was just lazy.Sorry. I have no idea what to use it for but 32gbs of Crucial Ballistic 1600 Cas 8 for 150$(used) is hard to pass up.That's why I was asking what to do with it when I buy it.

 

[kmo_9000]

Yes ImDisk is probably the best ramdisk program to use. It's free, light, has lots of features and has no limit to ramdisk size.

With 16gb I have a ramdisk image saved of a Skyrim install that I can load up anytime I want to play the game. Or since ImDisk is integrated into windows, I can right click on any ISO disk file and mount it to a ramdisk automatically (which means no more deamon tools for me, one of the biggest bonuses for me). So with 32gb you will be able to load up even larger games to your ramdisks.

I don't see why one program would be slower or faster than the other. However, I haven't run or seen any benchmarks surrounding this so I wouldent know. I don't think the difference would be all that big. I have been using ImDisk for months and it serves its purposes for me.