Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Ready Boost - What size Flash Memory to Get Best Results?

Dec 8, 2009 6:34AM PST

The Ready Boost feature in Win 7 which allows you to insert a flash drive and use it to speed up the "Super Pre-Fetch" features of Windows is the subject of my question.

I had a spare 1GB flash drive and I used it for this purpose but I was wondering if I used one of my 4GB flash drives for that if it would make a performance difference. Basically, is there a limit to the size of the flash memory you make available for this feature at at what point are you wasting the available flash memory?

Pat

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
None.
Dec 8, 2009 7:15AM PST

I've tried a few times and simply resuming from hibernation beat a boot with readyboost.

- Collapse -
This is a solution
Dec 8, 2009 7:22AM PST

This is a solution desperately seeking a problem, because it really isn't a solution to the problem it's attached to.

You will get some small benefit from readyboost, but honestly, just spend the money on some additional RAM. You'll get far more benefit, save the environment by not running through these USB drives every 6 months, and it's cheaper over the long term.

- Collapse -
RAM
Dec 8, 2009 7:54AM PST

ReadyBoost is handy if you have a bare-bones machine, but personally I find it easier to just add more RAM. This way you don't have to worry about carrying a USB with you, plus it frees up a USB port for other uses.

Anyways, if you want some (older) reading material on ReadyBoost, this QnA post is worth reading- http://blogs.msdn.com/tomarcher/archive/2006/06/02/615199.aspx

- Collapse -
agree, agree, agree!
Dec 8, 2009 11:00AM PST

imho, readyboost was a 'gimmick' to improvie vista performance on PCs with 1gb of ram. having 2gb or more of ram made readyboost's problems far outweigh any benefits.

if you must use readyboost, the deciding factor is not the size of the flash drive, but rather its speed. a slow 4gb flash drive will *perform worse* than a faster 1gb drive. finding a *fast* flash drive is the issue since some drive's claims are exaggerated.

and more real ram lets you use the full capacity of your flash drive for what it's intended -- to use your files on multiple PCs.