Virtual Memory

A

Acheron

Registered
Where can i see how much v.memory my computer uses in mac os x? and where can i set how much i want it to use? in classic i always had v.memory switched off, is this smart in classic as well? I have 896 MB memory.
 
The smartest thing is too leave the setting the way it is. There is no user-friendly way of setting the amount of virtual memory you want to use and there really isn´t any point doing it.
Mac OS X is totally differing in it´s use of memory when compared to Mac OS 9.

You wil have the best performance if you just leave the setting alone.:)
 
Well, I have to say this: MacOS X is very good about keeping resources off disk until it has to use VM. I have a 352MB setup, with Classic running, a few large apps running, etc. and it says that I am not using any VM space. So if you are worried about VM entering the scene, get at least 382MB, 512MB is best (balance of cost and efficiency) for gaming/etc.

RAM is cheap, cheaper than the 128MB FPM DIMMs I put into my 8600/300.
 
id like to say myself that i get approx 9000(0) pageouts

(what it says on top command in Terminal)

does that mean I need more memory?

since i dont check the boards much, email me your comment and helpful info: spencer@txk.net
 
Well, 9000 pageouts aren't really critical. Think about your machine writing 4KB * 9000 pages to disk: roughly 36MB since boot. If you are getting over 100 thousand pageouts after some work (say 20-30 minutes), and you can hear disk access often, then it is probably a good idea to get RAM. There is a utility on Versiontracker that graphically displays VM access... if you see a lot of access often, then it is a good indicator more RAM will help speed.

BTW, MacOS X forces Classic to boot with VM turned off, no matter what your settings are when you boot OS 9, for obvious reasons.
 
Go to the terminal. At the prompt type: top -u s10. That'll give you a list of tasks ordered by the amount of CPU consumption. It'll also show you the use of VM (pageouts). On a general note: OS X uses modern memory management. That means it uses VM if it is needed and only then. There's nothing for you to configure. Since you've gor 896MB of RAM, I think you'll virtually never need VM. So, you can't set how much you want it to use, since it only uses it when it needs it in the first place. Just as apps don't get any RAM allocated in a fixed way, but just use any of what is available. This way OS X makes much more efficient use of your memory.
Again, with 896MB VM shdn't be an issue for you anyway :)
 
If you're concerned about pageouts on your system, get RAM, it's cheaper than dirt right now, you can find 512MB SDRAM for less than $40, check ramseeker.com Anything more than 512MB should almost never have any pageouts. I've got 1GB RAM, I leave classic always loaded, TOP shows VM something over 2GB, never shows any pageouts. Get RAM and be happy :rolleyes:
 
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