Windows – Does ReadyBoost slow down systems with more RAM

memoryperformancereadyboostwindows 7

I have 4 GB of RAM and would like to make use of ReadyBoost to speed up hard drive access, by taking advantage of its hard drive cache method.

However, as I understand the technology, ReadyBoost focus is reducing RAM usage, instead of increasing hard drive access times. That is, before anything gets sent to RAM, if it can be stored in the ReadyBoost enabled pen drive, it will.

For a 4GB system that doesn't do much memory paging between RAM and the hard drive, isn't this going to actually make my system run slower since reading access times on a USB flash drive, while faster than on a hard drive, is still much slower than on RAM?

Or, in other words, does ReadyBoost slow down systems with more RAM than what they usually require?

Best Answer

I don't know that I agree with the statement: "ReadyBoost focus is reducing RAM usage, instead of increasing hard drive access times."

It is primarily used for caching files, so they do not have to be read from the hard disk again, which is slower. Unless you have an SSD drive, I believe you would probably notice the difference. I saw a big difference, especially with things associated with the Interface.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReadyBoost

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