Today there are more and more powerful computers that are fast and have huge amounts of memory. This is justified by the fact that there are more powerful operating systems, as well as programs and applications that are highly demanding. In this regard, you can observe computers and laptops equipped with huge amounts of memory.
For the most part, budget devices are equipped with 4GB RAM. However, many are trying to find suitable options with 8GB, and professionals who use demanding programs buy laptops and computers with 16GB of memory and above. The more memory, the faster your laptop performs tasks.
However, at the same time, the larger the amount of memory, the greater the cost of the device. In this regard, not every user can afford to buy an expensive device. The issue of how to make the computer quicker and more powerful emerges. This can be alleviated by installing a RAM disk. There are RAM drives for Windows 7 and other recent versions of the operating system.
What is a RAM disk?
It is a virtual drive that your computer views as a disk drive, unlike an external hard drive, which you may optionally install to enhance the amount of memory.
To put it another way, if you aren’t running any especially demanding applications, a portion of your computer’s RAM may be utilized to make it into a lightning-fast disk with an endless number of writing cycles, unlike a RAM hard drive. It’s also worth noting that the speed of such a disk far outperforms that of any Solid-State Drive.
The main pros and cons of using a RAM drive
Pros
- This is said to be the quickest sort of disk that can only be utilized. The access time is low, and the reading and writing processes are substantially faster than with other types. Many users and experts agree that the speed is much higher and exceeds 5 thousand megabytes per second.
- If you utilize such a drive, you will be able to extend the life of your other non-RAM hard drives by preventing them from undergoing unneeded writing. This is critical as hard drives have a certain number of write cycles. RAM, unlike them, does not degrade over time and can store a limitless quantity of data.
- It should be understood that such memory only works when your device is connected to the power supply, and when disconnected, all data is erased. This may be a disadvantage for many, but for those who work with sensitive information that needs to be secure, it will be a significant advantage.
Cons
- In the event of a power outage or some failure, RAM volatility can become a disadvantage, as all content stored on the drive may be lost. However, before disconnecting the device from the mains, you can save the necessary data to your existing hard drive and restore it when you turn the device on again.
- You reduce the amount of computer memory that may be required for the functioning of programs that are important to you. In this case, you face the danger of running out of memory, as well as causing the file to be heavily used. However, if you put the swap file on this virtual disk, you can simply solve this problem.
- When using such a disk, you may notice that the system shutdown procedure and restart take longer.
Scope of use
First and foremost, this method is appropriate for users who operate with a large number of compressed ZIP/RAR files. With this technology, you can speed up the process of unpacking such data.
A large variety of apps that utilize the Windows TEMP folder are used by many people. The data stored in this folder is important for work, but such a folder must be cleared periodically so that this does not affect the speed of the computer. Thus, you can make your task easier if you transfer this folder to a RAM disk, which will be automatically cleared after turning off the computer from the power supply.
In addition to placing a temporary folder, you can place the cache of the browsers you use, as well as other similar information. This will provide an increase in the speed of the device, and such files will be automatically deleted, which is also a huge advantage and you won’t need to do this manually.
In addition, you can use this disk for other tasks:
- To install various programs that place their installers in the Windows TEMP folder;
- For accelerated work of editors when working with large graphic images;
- For video transcoding;
- For processing large data arrays;
Who does not need a RAM disk?
If you are a gamer who plays demanding video games, then installing a RAM disc is not the case for you, because games require a huge amount of memory, and you can simply slow down your video games. This will only help those who have 32 GB or more of computer memory.
Some users may utilize several browsers at once, containing many open tabs. As you may be aware, many browsers, particularly Google Chrome, use a huge memory space, and as a result, all browsers will slow down. Utilizing such technology will not help you if this is your usual situation.
If you have a budget computer with less than four gigabytes of RAM, installing such a disk is not recommended since your system simply does not have enough memory to operate.
How much memory to allocate for the RAM drive?
Having decided to install such a disk, many wonder how much memory to allocate for this. In general, it depends on many factors such as:
- How you use your device;
- The total amount of memory;
- Processor performance;
- Memory type.
Conclusion
For many users, installing a RAM drive can be a lifeline in terms of speeding up their computer or laptop. However, before you begin the installation, you must carefully consider all of the benefits and drawbacks of such technology, as well as determine the best amount of RAM you can devote for this reason.
