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Cacheboost

Started by saoirse, January 12, 2004, 16:44 hrs

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Chandler

Memory managers - unneeded in Windows NT/2000/XP?  Yes
Cache managers - unneeded in Windows 2000/XP?  NO!

Windows NT (referring to 2000 and XP too) has a very good memory manager, much better than Windows 98 does.  However, when it comes to caching, it can go overboard.  Take for example you copy a large file, or lots of small files over your network or from a CD.  Windows immediately caches this file and the System Cache grows to a point whereby your programs are put into the pagefile.  

Result?  Your computer is unreponsive for a long while as Windows realises its mistake and furiously tries to remedy it by thrashing (something Windows 98 used to do before tweaking it).

Take another scenario.  You're burning some discs with Nero.  Nero does its own caching but Windows XP decides that its better if it helps out too.  Right?  Wrong.  Result?  Buffer underruns through diminished hard drive performance.

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Microsoft, in their infinate wisdom decided that there should be no limit on the size the cache can grow to any size and even better deny users a way to control it.  (it is simple to limit VCache in Windows 98).

So you have to use a 3rd party utility.  One of these is Cacheboost from Systweak.  I had tried another software package which promised the same thing (O&O Clevercache) but for some reason it didn't work.  I may try it out again before I register Cacheboost.

Cacheboost does have one of those memory recovery things, which I turn off because I feel it's not needed with the NT kernel.  The best feature is the Cache limit facility.  Now, I can limit the System Cache to 200MB and it doesn't grow a byte over this.  Result:  Programs stay in main memory.  I have a reasonable sized cache and only unused programs go to the pagefile.

Try it at:
http://www.systweak.com

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