Paging file + partitions???

[Phil1976]

I've been reading some of the posts on moving the paging file to a different physical drive, does it really provide a noticeable performance boost? I ask because I'm getting mixed feedback on this.

I'm currently building a new pc, which will be running XP HE.

I currently use 2 45Mb IBM Deskstart HDDs in a RAID 0 array, but I'm toying with the idea of using 1 HDD for paging file. I'm thinking of this because I really haven't seen any drastic performance increase using RAID 0.

My usage is purely surfing / gaming, and I'm thinking of doing the following :

- Partition 1st HDD, C: for WinXP / progs (say 15Gb) and D: for my games (40Mb remainder).
- Use 2nd for paging file (have 512Mb RAM, so do I use x1.5 or 2.5
to get file size?).

I appreciate I'll be leaving approx 44Mb untouched on the 2nd HDD - so any suggestions on what to put on this drive other than the paging file?

Also, does a dual DDR setup mean a different multiplier is used to calculate the paging file?

Finally, what is the best 3rd party firewall software? Most forums I have visited say this :

- Norton = bloatware
- ZoneAlarm / BlackIce are open to attack as virus writers are currently posting details on how to bypass these products (could be a load of BS though).

Sorry this post is garbled, but any info would be greatly appreciated.

[Cricket]

Originally posted by Phil1976 I've been reading some of the posts on moving the paging file to a different physical drive, does it really provide a noticeable performance boost? I ask because I'm getting mixed feedback on this. I'm currently building a new pc, which will be running XP HE. I currently use 2 45Mb IBM Deskstart HDDs in a RAID 0 array, but I'm toying with the idea of using 1 HDD for paging file. I'm thinking of this because I really haven't seen any drastic performance increase using RAID 0. My usage is purely surfing / gaming, and I'm thinking of doing the following : - Partition 1st HDD, C: for WinXP / progs (say 15Gb) and D: for my games (40Mb remainder). - Use 2nd for paging file (have 512Mb RAM, so do I use x1.5 or 2.5 to get file size?). I appreciate I'll be leaving approx 44Mb untouched on the 2nd HDD - so any suggestions on what to put on this drive other than the paging file?

The performance increase (if any) will be very minimal as it would depend on how much your system accesses the paging file (or swap file). If you already have a lot of system memory, your computer might not be going to the paging file that much anyway.

Originally posted by Phil1976 Also, does a dual DDR setup mean a different multiplier is used to calculate the paging file?

No, I don't believe so. You would just go by how much physical RAM your system has...not what type of memory it has.

Originally posted by Phil1976 Finally, what is the best 3rd party firewall software? Most forums I have visited say this : - Norton = bloatware - ZoneAlarm / BlackIce are open to attack as virus writers are currently posting details on how to bypass these products (could be a load of BS though).

Currently, I'm using Sygate Personal Firewall for my Win9x machines and using the built in firewall in WinXP. I had trouble with the later versions of Zone Alarm so I stopped using it. I try to stay away from Norton products. I've never tried BlackIce defender, but my understanding is it's not a true firewall.

Cricket

[Phil1976]

Cricket - thanks for the info. My understanding of the XP firewall was that it only blocks incoming traffic - is that true?

If so, I guess the idea is to make sure I know nothing is dialing home - I'll be trimming the services down to the bare bones anyway, so that should cover me shouldn't it?

I used to use Zonealarm and check I was full stealthed against grc.com.

[Cricket]

Originally posted by Phil1976 Cricket - thanks for the info. My understanding of the XP firewall was that it only blocks incoming traffic - is that true?

I believe so. I was thinking of installing Sygate on my WinXP box, but since I hardly ever use that computer I've been putting it off. I know Sygate blocks out-going traffic.

Cricket

[Phil1976]

Is Sygate freeware?

[Cricket]

Originally posted by Phil1976 Is Sygate freeware?

Yes, Sygate Personal Firewall 5.0 is free to private individuals.

Cricket

[Phil1976]

Excellent - thanks for all the info Cricket.

[Blakhart]

In a raid situation, I would make sure that there was a part of about 2gigs in size at the beginning of the array. This would have perhaps a 700meg swap installed on it. Ok, a 1.5gig partition would do, and you could place the internet folder here, along with temp windows files too. (With a two drive raid0 array, it is said that you can have two separate swapfiles, but I wonder at that, as raid0 treats the drives as one volume. Nevertheless, you can always experiment to see what works best. The basic rule is 1 swapfile per physical disk.) Wasting the second drive with just swap on it is kinda crazy. Some folks place data/music/kazaa crap on it, as that will only infrequently be accessed, leaving the disk to handle swaps. If it is not devoted to swaps only, or nearly so, there will be little, if any, benefit. If you have two drives, on separate channels, and both have a swap at their outermost area, you have maximized swap bandwidth, IF there are no more than 1 fragment(s) to each swap file. 2K (and xp I think) can have 16 swapfiles, and these should all be on separate physical disks, not parts of the same disk(s), unless raid is used. That would rock but be costly and noisy. The best bet, as always, is to have plenty of ram, and I am now of the opinion that 1gig is not a bad idea.

[Tuf]

It would depend on the apps you are running. I see a pretty noticeable increase in AutoCAD by moving my swap to it's own partition on a different drive than the OS is located on. Apps like Phototshop that need large scratch files are similar. Some Apps are written to use the drive and not the system memory and the swap can be enormous at times. I have seen my swap go to 1.2GB when rendering a large multi layer 3D drawing.

[Blakhart]

Well, yeah. What I am saying is that if the drive swap is on is used for other things at the same time, there is less performance increase over the typical single disk/single part install. Hard to justify the use of a 60 gig drive for a swap only. Hard but by no means impossible.

[reboot]

Ideally, you should monitor the swap file size, and usage for a while before deciding. If you have enough system RAM, you may not even be using the swap file, although XP (and 2k I think) require one. In most cases you can leave the swap file on the system drive, given that you have enough space for it. You can sometimes get increased performance by moving it to a separate partition on a second drive, but most people won't notice, nor do they have a second drive to play with.
I have 3 drives (that may change at any time), and I put the swap on it's own partition, right at the beginning of the fastest drive that is not my system drive. If your second drive isn't as fast as your system drive, there's no point.