SolidWorks Performance Blitz! (Part 3: Virtual Memory)
April 14th, 2008
| Part 1: /3GB Switch |
| Part 2: Anti-virus Tip/Trick |
| Part 3: Virtual Memory |
| Part 4: Computer Processor |
| Part 5: Computer Maintenance |
| Part 6: Autosave & thumbnails |
Although it is preferred to run software in physical memory, programs such as SolidWorks will need more space. In such events, Windows resorts to using virtual memory. Virtual memory is a paging file that resides on a harddrive to expand the memory used by a program beyond the actual physical limits of the physical memory plugged into the motherboard. This allows programs to work with files that extend in size over what is physically available on the computer.Â
Just as one may want as much physical memory available for SolidWorks as possible, one may also want to give SolidWorks access to as much virtual memory as possible. Additionally, increasing the size of virtual memory may improve computer performance to some degree. There’s a second trick that may help improve performance of the virtual memory in addition to increasing its size. If more than one harddrive is present on the computer, make sure to place the paging file for the virtual memory on the harddrive that is less frequently accessed and that is not used as a paging file location for other software (such as some Corel applications).
Here are the steps to change virtual memory size and locations (as with any changes to your computer, research your changes prior to making them; and any changes to your computer’s settings are taken solely at your own risk):
1. Open Windows Start menu
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select System
4. Goto the Advanced tab
5. Select the Settings button under Performance
6. Goto the Advanced tab
7. Select the Change button under Virtual memory
8. Choose the drive where you have or would like to have your virtual memory (in the Drive/Paging File Size field)
9. Enter the preferred minimum and maximum size of your Page File. It is recommended by some sources to make sure minimum and maximum values are set at the same value.
10. If you wish to move your Paging File, select No paging file and Set. Then highlight the drive where you would like your paging file to be, then go back to step 9.
11. Then OK, then OK again, and then OK again.
12. You should get a warning at some point about needing to reboot you system. Final step is to restart your system.
Categories: How-To, Tip/Trick | Tags: physical memory, SolidWorks performance, virtual memory, windows performance
I run SW2008 x64 with 2 x Zeon 5130 an FX3500 graphics card and 8Gb of memory. I also have 4 x 10k hard drives set as raid 0 and partitioned into 3 drives c: for installation, d: for Data and v: for virtual memory. Although I can contest that this works fine I have been keeping a close eye on what has been happening with the memory when using SW2008. It became apparent that even when loading a large assembly the memory being used never much goes over 3Gb. So! why the need for virtual memory on a hard drive (which is inherently slower). Armed with this info I decided to remove the virtual memory setting completly. I have had no regrets or problems and less crashes.
So if you have enough memory then try it, you may be surprised!
Hello I am curious about the size and amount of parts that your models you are running on the machine. We just purchase a super computer and are models are very large. And I am haveing problems savingas a Igs file. le
I too run large assemblies. Maybe several hundred parts. I have a server mother board and 4 gig ram. I also have a 215mg graphic card. I also have a second drive where I have my pagefile. What do I have to do to make my large assemblies functional.
This article contains a common misconception concerning virtual memory. The pagefile is NOT virtual memory. Virtual memory will be fully active even if the pagefile is disabled. However, the pagefile is necessary for virtual memory to function at peak efficiency.
In most cases you will gain little if anything by changing pagefile settings. In most cases the default settings will be near optimum. But in some cases it may be necessary to manually alter these settings if Windows issues warnings. A good initial value would be twice the Peak Commit charge as reported in Task Manager. This is probably larger than necessary but that is not a problem. A large pagefile will not encourage overuse. The pagefile allocation system works best when a lot of space is available.
Many sources have suggested setting the initial and maximum values the same. They are wrong. This serves no useful purpose and may cause application failures. Set the maximum to at least twice the initial size. This will allow for expansion in case you guess wrong about the initial size or you experience exceptional needs. The pagefile will never be resized unless the initial size proves too small. The larger maximum size provides a completely free safety net. There is no reason not to avail yourself of this feature.
Putting the pagefile on a separate physical drive MAY improve performance. But in most cases the page file is not accessed often enough for this to make a difference. Do NOT place the pagefile on a separate partition on the system drive. This will impair performance and has no real benefits.
Larry Miller
Microsoft MCSA