Speeding up Windows Vista
I was over at Staples yesterday, picking up a new hard disk and some other goodies, when I walked by a bin full of 1G USB keys for $29 each. $29 for a 1G key is a good price, so I grabbed one.
For some time, Microsoft has been promoting a new technology in Windows Vista called ReadyBoost. ReadyBoost caches the pagefile, extending the virtual memory cache onto USB memory, if available, rather than using the hard disk. Since flash memory is 10x faster than disk, theoretically it should be a significant performance improvement.
Sounds cool! Moreover, using ReadyBoost is trivial. It's just an option that appears anytime you plug in a USB connected device.
So how well does it work in practice? The performance boost was immediate and obvious. Applications load faster, the hard disk pages less often, and the machine generally feels much more responsive. That 1G key now has a permanent home in one of the rear USB ports on my PC. It's the best $29 I've spent on performance in a long time!
April 4th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Hat tip to you Alec. I informed my cousin about this and he immediately ran out and bought a new 2G flash drive. He also saw a nice performance boost.
April 28th, 2007 at 10:19 am
[...] Alex Saunders explains, For some time, Microsoft has been promoting a new technology in Windows Vista called ReadyBoost. ReadyBoost caches the pagefile, extending the virtual memory cache onto USB memory, if available, rather than using the hard disk. Since flash memory is 10x faster than disk, theoretically it should be a significant performance improvement. Sounds cool! Moreover, using ReadyBoost is trivial. It’s just an option that appears anytime you plug in a USB connected device. So how well does it work in practice? The performance boost was immediate and obvious. Applications load faster, the hard disk pages less often, and the machine generally feels much more responsive. That 1G key now has a permanent home in one of the rear USB ports on my PC. It’s the best $29 I’ve spent on performance in a long time! [...]
May 10th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
[...] Alex Saunders explains, For some time, Microsoft has been promoting a new technology in Windows Vista called ReadyBoost. ReadyBoost caches the pagefile, extending the virtual memory cache onto USB memory, if available, rather than using the hard disk. Since flash memory is 10x faster than disk, theoretically it should be a significant performance improvement. Sounds cool! Moreover, using ReadyBoost is trivial. It’s just an option that appears anytime you plug in a USB connected device. So how well does it work in practice? The performance boost was immediate and obvious. Applications load faster, the hard disk pages less often, and the machine generally feels much more responsive. That 1G key now has a permanent home in one of the rear USB ports on my PC. It’s the best $29 I’ve spent on performance in a long time! [...]
January 26th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
I think thats a really great concept! I run a DELL INSPIRON 1501 that is running Windows Vista Home 32-bit. For the overall specifications of my computer, all applications run very slow. This rings true for the operating system itself. I work in tech support, and hear a lot of users experiencing performance issues. I will test out the USB concept. If it can offer the relief that I hope it has potential for, then I will begin recommending it to the mainstream.