Community Newsletter: Q&A: What is Windows ReadyBoost and does it improve performance?
- 6/27/08 4:33 PM
RE: What is Windows Readyboost
by DComander1 - 5/24/08 11:56 AM In reply to: What is Windows ReadyBoost and does it improve performance? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Windows Ready boost is basically Windows using a USB Flash Drive to put a page file on it to use it as extra memory before it hits the hard disk, which is slower than memory sticks and the usb flash drive, and Ready boost, when used with ready boost capable USB Flash Drives, can help performance when a little extra memory is crucial, such as playing a game, using photoshop or another photo editing program, or moving files around, i would suggest 2GBs or more for the size of the USB Flash Drive, as 1GB and lower will hurt performance rather than help it, and look for the ReadyBoost capable thing on the packaging, as that usually means its a bit faster than normal non-readyboost capable drives, and i would suggest using readyboost only when you need the extra memory, as that will keep it from deteriorating quickly.
ReadyBoost is a bit overrated.
by BigGuns149 - 5/24/08 4:17 PM In reply to: What is Windows ReadyBoost and does it improve performance? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
One big mistake a lot of people make is saying that Readyboost allows you to use a flash drive as RAM. The memory inside a flash drive or an SD/CF card isn't as fast as RAM, which is why the flash drives are cheaper than RAM.
Readyboost is really just an extension of the swap file on the hard drive. Not everything that your computer does can fit in RAM so some things normally are cached on the hard drive. The problem though is that the HD takes some time to find things, whereas a flash drive like RAM has virtually non-existent access time, which makes the computer more responsive.
That being said not EVERY flash drive supports readyboost. Just because a flash drive can copy data fast(20+MB/sec) doesn't mean that it has good access time. Vista checks for both transfer speed and access times for compatibility so having both good transfer speed and sub 1ms access times a needed. A lot of cheap flash drives will fail one of more of the tests for Readyboost compatibility.
A lot of drives on the market now list that they support Readyboost, but there are some drives on the market that support it that don't list it on the packaging so check online.
Grant Gibson has a website that has a good compatibility chart to see whether your flash drive or one you are considering purchasing supports readyboost:
http://www.grantgibson.co.uk/misc/readyboost/
That being said even if your flash drive is supported the benefits are somewhat weak for newer machines running Vista. Tom's Hardware did a story about Readyboost when Vista came out and they found a decent benefit for machines with 512mb of RAM, slightly less benefit for 1gb of RAM, and basically no benefit at 2GB of RAM. Most newer machines don't come with less than 2GB of RAM anymore so unless you bought a very cheap laptop you probably already have so much RAM that there would be little benefit to buying a flash drive for Readyboost alone.
Unless you have a machine with a 1GB or less of RAM Readyboost is unlikely to make a noticeable difference. Even then, RAM prices have fallen to the point where a 2GB kit of RAM regularly is sold for ~$50 and sale prices are regularly less than that.
When Vista first came out RAM was ~4 times more expensive depending upon the brand name and the speed. Readyboost may have made sense then when a lot of machines didn't have enough RAM and RAM was pricey, but most machines have enough RAM to run Vista well without Readyboost and even if they don't RAM is relatively cheap.
My advice is to not bother with Readyboost in most cases.
ReadyBoost Observations
by P Budgell - 5/24/08 8:05 PM In reply to: What is Windows ReadyBoost and does it improve performance? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have tried both a "Class 6" SD camera card, and a USB Stick that was "ReadyBoost compatible" and is said to be faster. On one computer, I have frequently needed to run the "chkdsk" utility from a command window to clean up the device since the ReadyBoost cache gets "messed up". I have also had incidents of the ReadyBoost cache simply seeming to disappear.
For speed, start by raising the amount of RAM on your computer to 2 GBytes or more. If you cannot do that, try a ReadyBoost device and get a USB stick that is both inexpensive and fast--preferably "ReadyBoost Compatible". For such a use of a USB stick, the U3 utility that is included on some new USB sticks is probably not needed and could be deleted or disabled.
Readyboost
by 3rdalbum - 5/24/08 11:30 PM In reply to: What is Windows ReadyBoost and does it improve performance? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Readyboost is where Windows can cache temporary data on a flash drive, so it has quick access to things that might be needed in the future. Unlike hard disks, flash drives don't take any time to "seek" to the necessary data, so this makes them good for use as cache - better than a hard disk. Of course, a better place for cache is system memory that is not currently in use, as the seek times are the same and the memory can transmit data faster than a flash drive.
If you want to use Readyboost, you need a fast flash drive. A $9 no-name special most likely won't do the job, or will barely improve performance. Fast flash drives usually have their throughput printed on the packaging.
The downside to Readyboost is that it can decrease the operational life of your flash drive. I don't know if the performance gains deteriorate; I see no reason for this to happen. Fragmentation isn't an issue with flash memory, as there is no additional time needed for the drive to seek to the correct location for reading or writing.
The other downside really is that when you have enough RAM to hold Windows' entire cache, Readyboost won't give you extra performance - it might even make things slower.
The very best solution to getting better performance is to increase the amount of RAM you have. Vista is a horrible piggy resource-hog of an operating system, so you really need to put in as much RAM as possible. Max it out to 3 gigabytes of RAM and you won't need Readyboost at all. If you have the 64-bit edition of Vista, you could even put in 4 gigabytes.
Windows Vista increase speed
by luxorsatellite - 5/25/08 5:55 AM In reply to: What is Windows ReadyBoost and does it improve performance? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hello.
Windows Vista is actually an OS that needs a lot of memory to run properly.
Improving your memory means: 1)installing more RAM, 2)using a flash USB via ReadyBoost.In both cases, improvement is obvious, but as you probably suspect it, either the new RAM or the Flash drive must be fast.
I have found out that, only if you purchase more RAM,the fastest your system can support, your windows will improve.2 GB RAM 667Mhz or beeter and with a good latency time is consindered as a minimum requirement for Vista. I, personally, use 4GB 667Mhz RAM with a fast Hard Disk of 7200rpm and the system is super, condidering that my laptop has already 512 MB of graphics card, which means that the CPU and RAM are "released from overload".Nevertheless, the additional RAM is neccessary.
Answer
by skmshaffer - 5/25/08 8:44 AM In reply to: What is Windows ReadyBoost and does it improve performance? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You Need a Flash Drive at least 4 GB big if you use all of it for Ready Boost it should be Perfect!
Ready Boost
by larryl1234 - 6/20/08 9:37 PM In reply to: Answer by skmshafferIt's really too bad that there's getting to be so little good information here, at least not without having to read all the childish rantings against Microsoft/Vista. To start with, come on Lee, can't you find the time to do a little investigation yourself before throwing out hearsay to 'start the discussion'. You offered no real technical background and couldn't provide a first hand assessment. Gee, where's the journalistic integrity - oh, I forgot, we're just in whiney-weenie land here. One person replied that Ready-Boost will only provide about a 10% increase in performance. Let's see, 10% just by throwing on a thumb drive; yeah, I can see why that's not nearly enough. There simply isn't enough conversation about the concept behind RB: what does it do? how does it work? No, that would be too technical. Better to just stick to the inane bashing that goes on. I read fewer and fewer of these "community newsletters", less and less often. Too many children with gripes and not enough adults to help steer the conversation.
Give Lee a break!
by tmmullin - 6/23/08 5:44 AM In reply to: Ready Boost by larryl1234"Journalistic integrity??" C'mon man, this is a place for people to give their experiences about Ready Boost, not an official CNET review. Lee's job isn't to review the technology, it's to facilitate the reviewing process. See the "Manager, CNET Community" below his name?" Shouldn't that influence your opinion as to whether he's doing a good job? I think he did a fine job.
As for being upset about the Vista bashing, maybe the folks at Microsoft who've paid you to blog about Vista should actually put a decent product out there. Why are so many people sticking with XP? Why are computer manufacturers still offering XP as an option? WHY DOES VISTA EVEN NEED READY BOOST? That should be the real question and the real topic of discussion.
who cares how big the flash drive is it doesnt matter much
by Keatonz - 6/25/08 5:59 AM In reply to: Answer by skmshaffer"You Need a Flash Drive at least 4 GB big if you use all of it for Ready Boost it should be Perfect!"
the size of the flash drive is of little consequence to the speed that it will provide. rather look at the access times / write speeds of the drive. and also 4gb is too much it will not all be used. 2gb is about the most you will need.
Already fast
by frollo17 - 5/26/08 10:23 AM In reply to: What is Windows ReadyBoost and does it improve performance? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I just bought a new laptop and its already fast. Its usually to do with the processor, mine is dual-core so its fast if its a rubbish processor then theres not much more you can do to it. Its either fast or slow.
I dont no What Readyboost is but
by chiskolo - 5/27/08 2:40 AM In reply to: What is Windows ReadyBoost and does it improve performance? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hello Garrett, I dont no about Readyboost, I have not use it befor, but i sojest, Uninsttal that window and insttal winxp sp-2. if you want to uninsttal it you can only do that with winxp home edition and insttal winxp sp-2. your computer will be verry fast.
From Joshua
sorry joshua
by REMincks - 6/21/08 5:43 PM In reply to: I dont no What Readyboost is but by chiskoloI was previously running XP but after considerable research I switched to Vista, and thanks to the fact that I actually bothered to do the research and learn about the system and the best ways to tweak it, it is running waaaay faster than XP. OH, and about ready boost it really does improve system performance, ad like someone else mentioned a good quality 4GB flash drive is the way to go.
How ReadyBoost works
by TechWire - 5/27/08 5:32 AM In reply to: What is Windows ReadyBoost and does it improve performance? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
ReadyBoost works by putting a file on the flash drive that will reserve space. Then, the computer uses the amount of space reserved as extra RAM.
More info here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/readyboost.mspx
If I were you, if you want to speed up your system, I wouldn't trust Ready boost. I have a 4GB flash drive, I want to it for want it was designed for, not speeding up the system a little bit. I would get some more RAM at http://www.crucial.com At Crucial, you can run a scanner teeling you how much you have, what you can get, and prices. If you currently have 1GB, go up to 2GB. If you have 2GB, 3GB should be enough.
Good Luck!
ERic Carlson
techwire.spaces.live.com
Windows Readyboost
by Baselbrush06 - 6/21/08 5:50 AM In reply to: How ReadyBoost works by TechWireHi,
Some time back, [4 years ago] having read the same repetitive advice in Computer Magazines and those on the net. I thought long and hard about keeping my computers as fast as they were when new and the answer was there for all to see.
You start up a new computer and load a program on, it therefore now has more of the Hard Drive capacity used, and this is repetitive thereafter, thus, slowing down our computer. I started with each new computer to put only on Anti Virus, SpyBot, Ad-Aware SE, and CCleaner and these are all not to heavy in usage. I bought an external HD and all [and I do mean ALL] work etc was load onto this drive, and since then, my computer remains virtually at the speed I received from manufacture. With the advent of 4 to 10 gig flash cards this would be another way to achieve the same, but, with a limit depending upon you demands.
Now, the most important reason for using an external HD was as stated above, however, more came to light, if, say, for instants your computer crashes or needs repairing, then [for most] your information goes with it [Bank, Credit cards and personal info etc] therefore, keeping your computer HD as new as it arrived, keeps your speed & your computer safe.........its just a thought 
(NT) Thank you
by lsh.purplepassion - 6/22/08 7:59 AM In reply to: How ReadyBoost works by TechWire
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