Memory vs. Virtual memory vs. Paging file

[vw56german]

Ok so appearantly I am not the brightest bulb on the tree, so can someone give me a run down on the differences between memory, virtual memory and the paging file and how/when they are used? I guess I was under the misconception that if actual memory was low some hard drive space was allocated to act as a cushion or buffer so you did not run out of memory. I have been told I am way off base, so please educate me.

ty David.

[anonymez]

I have been told I am way off base,

you're very much on base.

it could be worded better, but:

first off, : memory = RAM.

memory != storage (hard disk)

RAM stands for random access memory. it plugs into the motherboard, it's what running programs/services are loaded onto. its very very fast-- data can be written in any order, on any part of the module.

Hard disk (storage) space is used (virtual memory), as a paging file (pagefile.sys), when little ram is available. the size of the paging file is limited only by free hard disk space. accessing data from the hard disk is much slower than accessing from RAM.

so virtual memory is a cheap substitute for phsyical RAM. they both store data that needs to be accessed quickly by the programs you are running. eg. if you're editing an image, the image will be loaded onto ram. if you're typing a word document, it'll also be loaded. if playing a game, the engine, some textures, sounds in the level, etc will be loaded (that's usually what's happening when you see the "loading" screen after finishing a level). generally, the more ram the better for multitasking, the faster the ram, the better performance without multitasking

ram and the page file are wiped after a reboot.

when you run many apps and you have limited ram, performance will drop as windows resorts to virtual memory to store data.

ps. the ram in graphics cards hold textures, not much else

[vw56german]

Thank you Anonymez for the reply, I knew my wording might not be the best but the sense I had was as you explained it. I wish the person who told me I was off base had left their screen name, I would have liked to get more info from their view point and debated it with them.

Thanks again.

David

[Chewy]

Windows uses virtual memory even if you have large amounts of ram.
Programs often ask for more ram than they need, windows maps part of that
to the swap file, reserving real memory for other uses.