By: Sarju Shah - Posted on Friday, Mar. 8, 2007

Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system looks great and offers several improvements over Windows XP, but it's also a memory hog. Using Vista with 512MB of memory is like wading through quicksand. Moving up to 1GB of memory feels slightly better, but the new operating system only smoothes out when you give it two or four gigabytes of memory.

Fortunately, Windows Vista offers a ReadyBoost memory expansion feature for those of us who either don't know how to upgrade memory, or simply don't have the money or system capacity for extra memory. ReadyBoost allows users to plug in a spare USB flash drive in lieu of cracking open the computer case and slapping more RAM onto the motherboard. Installation couldn't get any easier than that--and did we mention it's cheap? A 2GB flash drive won't set you back more than $20, but an extra gigabyte of RAM can easily cost $70 or more.

ReadyBoost will take advantage of flash drives as small as 256MB and as large as 4GB. For the time being, you won't gain any benefit from stuffing all your USB slots full of flash memory, as Vista allows for only one ReadyBoost drive.

Installing a ReadyBoost drive is literally as easy as plugging it in. Once you've inserted the flash drive, Vista will test to see if it can use your flash drive for ReadyBoost purposes. Chances are older drives won't pass the test. Numerous flash drive manufacturers have released labeled and pretested drives. If the drive passes the internal tests, Vista will bring up a prompt that asks if you want to use the drive for ReadyBoost. At that time, you can also set how much of the drive you want to dedicate to ReadyBoost.

We tested ReadyBoost partition sizes of 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, and 4GB on our 4GB Super Talent flash drive, which effectively simulated different sized flash drives in our tests. We also checked to see how ReadyBoost affects performance with different quantities of RAM.

Company of Heroes

(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Ultra Quality, 1600x1200

512MB RAM
16
512MB RAM, 256MB ReadyBoost
75
512MB RAM, 1GB ReadyBoost
86
512MB RAM, 4GB ReadyBoost
85
1GB RAM
89
1GB RAM, 256MB ReadyBoost
104
1GB RAM, 1GB ReadyBoost
105
1GB RAM, 4GB ReadyBoost
107
2GB RAM
110
2GB RAM, 256MB ReadyBoost
110
2GB RAM, 1GB ReadyBoost
110
2GB RAM, 4GB ReadyBoost
110
4GB RAM
110
4GB RAM, 256MB ReadyBoost
110
4GB RAM, 1GB ReadyBoost
110
4GB RAM, 4GB ReadyBoost
110

Half-Life 2 Lost Coast

(Longer bars indicate better performance)

High Quality 2048x1535, 4xAA

512MB RAM
54
512MB RAM, 256MB ReadyBoost
64
512MB RAM, 1GB ReadyBoost
66
512MB RAM, 4GB ReadyBoost
66
1GB RAM
68
1GB RAM, 256MB ReadyBoost
68
1GB RAM, 1GB ReadyBoost
68
1GB RAM, 4GB ReadyBoost
68
2GB RAM
68
2GB RAM, 256MB ReadyBoost
68
2GB RAM, 1GB ReadyBoost
68
2GB RAM, 4GB ReadyBoost
68
4GB RAM
68
4GB RAM, 256MB ReadyBoost
68
4GB RAM, 1GB ReadyBoost
68
4GB RAM, 4GB ReadyBoost
68

System Setup: Intel Core 2 X6800, Intel 975XBX2, Corsair XMS2 Pro Series Memory (512MBx1, 512MBx2, 1GBx2, 1GBx4), 160GB Seagate 7200.7 SATA Hard Disk Drive, Windows Vista. Graphics Cards: GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB, Forceware 100.65. Super Talent 4GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive.

How well does Windows Vista run on your system? Do you think you’re going to upgrade your system memory or possibly get a ReadyBoost drive for better performance?

171 Comments

  • aandrew610

    Posted Jun 14, 2007 7:32 am PT

    im going to have to try this here in a few min

  • AnnoyedDragon

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 9:30 am PT

    So this is why most of the PC World Vista computers only have 512mb ram, they are taking advantage of this feature to cut costs. Jeez people who buy retail really do get screwed, I'm glad I build my own.

    Other than DX10 Vista is just a bloated and DRM infected version of XP; there really is no reason to use it right now. Seriously other than DX10 what reasons are there to get Vista? XP is just as functional as Vista with far lower hardware requirements, better software/driver support as well.

  • helpzmenowz

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 4:20 pm PT

    Lol. I think my parents found out about this. There is a flash drive in the side of my laptop already.

  • serag2006

    Posted Apr 15, 2007 3:52 am PT

    XP is way better in performance than VISTA...I wich they make DX10 for Xp

  • severen721

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 8:01 pm PT

    Personally, RAM is the only way to go, may be more expensive but does have alot more reliability than a standard flash drive. Have allready had two (sticks) fail on me in the past, RAM has never failed for me.

    Secondly I would never buy vista, when I need 64bit processing I will just get the XP Pro X64 version of XP, it should still be able to have ^4gb ram/quad cores etc.

    In my eyes M$ stuffed up with putting DRM into to Vista system, too many driver problems and it limits what computers are about - seeing what can be made without restrictions...........

  • ldavidtw2000

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 1:09 pm PT

    THERE'S PROVE, RIGHT HERE: http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTMwNiw3LCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

    MAX OUT IN XP OR MIN OUT IN VISTA, YOUR CHOICE!!

  • tirasus

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 6:58 am PT

    At this moment in time, the readyboost seems pointless for me. The 2GB RAM and up doesnt ever really seem to benefit from ReadyBoost, and I have 2GB. Yet it may prove useful if I use Vista virtualised on parallels desktop

  • rokkuman09

    Posted Apr 9, 2007 6:34 am PT

    This is really sweet. This along with Direct X 10 are some of the main reasons I'm wanting to get Vista (once SP1 is out of course). I also like how it handles drivers better, so it may slightly improve framerate over running the same game in XP.

  • Nismo400RR1

    Posted Apr 8, 2007 12:52 pm PT

    I cannot believe some of the members of this site. Vista does NOT need 4GB of Ram to work; it will run happily on 1GB or less. The reason GS test 4GB is that Vista WILL use all of that if it's available, it will pre-cache the game into Ram so that it will launch quicker and smoother. XP will NOT use all of the 4GB of Ram unless you're running Photoshop or multiple programs at once that use up the 4GB. Microsoft's next OS code name "Vienna"¯ (released 2009), will be 64-Bit only. The migration to 64-Bit is to allow for more Ram to be used. 32-Bit processors can only address up to 8GB of memory, 64-Bit processes can address up to 16GB of memory. It is inventible that you will need more memory - so just stop your **** and learn the facts.

    Oh and the reason you can't use a HDD is cause its too slow... it would be like using the page file on a HDD, its not optimized for speed and fast access times, its mechanical. Even proposing the idea that a HDD could be used shows the level of intelligence and lack of knowledge of you people.

  • zombiefruit

    Posted Apr 7, 2007 7:03 am PT

    Could you use an external hdd as RAM? Imagine it...300 GB of RAM

  • LouieV13

    Posted Apr 6, 2007 5:41 pm PT

    all the noobs that say that vista is crap gtfo cause I can play all my games (BF2 CSS LOTRO WOW COD2) and have no problems. The people that say vista is crap are complete morons. Im sick of hearing this. Dont listen to what others say and be a conformist cause conformists are stupid. Now I can respect staying with XP and all just dont bash Vista can I can bash XP too.

  • farcryxbox

    Posted Apr 3, 2007 6:19 am PT

    vista is crap

  • xatman911

    Posted Apr 1, 2007 6:56 am PT

    XP rules.

  • TKOVG

    Posted Mar 31, 2007 8:33 pm PT

    Xp was better!

  • adamclarke

    Posted Mar 29, 2007 2:14 am PT

    "I've got 1 GB of DDR2 RAM (NOT DDR1), so my computer's probably the equivalent of 1.5 - 2 GB of DDR1 RAM. Of course, I'm still looking into the prices for a 1 GB stick of RAM...if this works with Windows XP." - HyperMetaDragon

    You dont seem to understand quite how memory works there.....

  • MichaeltheCM

    Posted Mar 28, 2007 3:34 pm PT

    ehhhhhh..................

  • gatsbythepig

    Posted Mar 28, 2007 2:26 pm PT

    sweetness, check it out

  • BounceDK

    Posted Mar 28, 2007 8:51 am PT

    Is this a feature in all vista versions or just 1 or 2 or 3 of them ...
    So many to choose from, it's pissing me off.

  • Cheesefreak33

    Posted Mar 27, 2007 11:34 pm PT

    Jeez ... all Microsoft needs to do is release an update that supports ReadyBoost for more than one drive... say... three or something. You should see results shoot up. With "dual/ quad/ whatever eight would be" core processors getting to be popular, I think systems could handle it. Accessing three 256mb Flash drives at once would kill accessing one 1gb one... and if you could use hardrive space on networked computers too! The possibilities are limitless!

  • lancerex6

    Posted Mar 27, 2007 8:28 am PT

    sigh...the statement "with prices so low on USB flash drives" does not apply to Australia, everything cost so much here, its a rip off....>"

  • imrlybord7

    Posted Mar 26, 2007 3:39 pm PT

    The point of moving to vista is dx10, and 360 and ps3 can't handle a lot of pc games. Crysis, Crysis, Crysis

  • xxxtheonexxx

    Posted Mar 26, 2007 1:08 pm PT

    isnt M$ making a new operating system that's going to come out in like 2010?? what's the point of moving to vista?..... I have a PS3, so the next gen experience can be found then. And if there is a game in PC that's worth playing, it will probably be ported to the x360, so no sweat...... Plus vista has been out for less than a semester

  • tiggerlu

    Posted Mar 26, 2007 12:23 pm PT

    Seems with all the real and possible hardware / driver problems, not to mention no DX10 games yet ;-) sounds like a good idea to wait a bit. Sure Vista has some extra window dressing, but really for gamers, DX10 is the *only* real reason to upgrade to it.

    p.s. anybody see those latest mac ads? allow, deny...hilarious. If only macs ran pc games, and didn't cost 2 million $$$!!!

  • Kfoss

    Posted Mar 26, 2007 9:07 am PT

    as with all things visa im waiting for more hardware so i can build a vista specific machine...

  • Kfoss

    Posted Mar 26, 2007 9:02 am PT

    im sorry but when you need 4GB of memory to run an o.s then there is a serious design flaw with vista...granted ready boost is nice..but still what now were going to have 2gb sticks of DDR or 10 memory slots..i know how about an expansion board for memory like how was in 1990....riiiggghhht

  • luttman23

    Posted Mar 26, 2007 2:46 am PT

    You should mention that ReadyBoost doesn't work like ordinary memory:

    "Using ReadyBoost-capable flash memory devices for caching allows Windows Vista to service random disk reads with performance that is typically 80-100 times faster than random reads from traditional hard drives. This caching is applied to all disk content, not just the page file or system DLLs. Flash devices are typically slower than the hard drive for sequential I/O, so to maximize performance, ReadyBoost includes logic to recognize large, sequential read requests and then allows these requests to be serviced by the hard drive".

    Excerpt taken from Wikipedia.

  • Son_Jazrin

    Posted Mar 25, 2007 1:26 pm PT

    That's sweet, I'm gonna give it a try right now

  • mattius1989

    Posted Mar 25, 2007 12:43 am PT

    cool idea that there. wish my xp machine could be like that *wishes*

  • rex41e

    Posted Mar 24, 2007 6:26 am PT

    i have an ati 1950 pro crossfire, 1gb of ram and an intel duo core e6400 overclocked at 3.2 ghz each. vista runs well on my machine, but reads only graphics card instead of the crossfire. Only Guild Wars reads my crossfire, sims 2 and gta san andreas dnt in vista. but vista is ok, at least my favourite games work.

  • mdaltonm5

    Posted Mar 24, 2007 12:21 am PT

    I'm using a 32bit P4 478 Northwood computer with 2 GB Dual Channel DDR 400, but I will either get a new mainboard with 4 GB, which is near to impossible or I will just get a 1 GB USB Flash drive & a build a second system.

  • Glordit

    Posted Mar 22, 2007 9:30 pm PT

    Nvidia needs to fix thier driver problems 8800GTX is supposed to be most powerfull DX10 display card! so WHY! cant it run under vista!? .........Drivers! Sigh*

  • fib112

    Posted Mar 22, 2007 9:08 pm PT

    I don't know. I think you need a Cray super computer to run Vista. My system is old (2.4 ghz P4 with 1gb pc2700 and geforce 6800 card). Vista runs fine, although it seems a little slower, but frame rate is disatrous. A game like Falcon 4.0 is beautiful and fast in XP but down to 1 frame per sec in Vista. I've have the latest geForce Vista driver and my second monitor doesn't work with it. I'm not sure what the deal is, so I'm back on XP for now.

  • rdeken2

    Posted Mar 22, 2007 3:35 pm PT

    You know what guys, I bought Vista and it works perfect. Sure it was frustating the first day, to sort out all the drivers and stuff. However, when that was fixed it sure was faster then XP. I only use 1GB of memory with ATI X1600 on a laptop and the loading time for the OS to start is pretty much the same as for XP. But Vista in action, is hell much faster. Every software loads like in 2-5 sec and games are faster and more reliable. There are some buggs in some places, but hey they are hardly noticable.

    ROB---- Sweden

  • leo4578

    Posted Mar 22, 2007 1:49 pm PT

    I have the same card except pci -e , not noticed any problems, have u tried the nvidia drivers?

  • truemattyz

    Posted Mar 22, 2007 7:25 am PT

    this looks great but i have one problem , i bought vista the first day it came out and i bought the 7600gt xfx agp ddr3 qwhich aparently was VISTA READY, my graphics are messsed up ripped across the screen, there has not been much feedback at all from xfx and vista i cant use vista with this card i dont know what to do so it would be nice to see a benchmark with a working agp 7600gt and vista just so the problem can be highlited please follow this up because this would be more of a comarison for some ppl.

  • arc_salvo

    Posted Mar 22, 2007 1:26 am PT

    Hmm... unless the 8800GTX makes the results a fluke, it looks like using more than a 256mb or 1GB readyboost max is basically overkill, and doesn't give you much performance.

    Anyhow, I'm not getting anything close to the 8800GTX or Windows Vista any time soon, so it's a moot point to me.

  • Vorknykx

    Posted Mar 21, 2007 4:32 pm PT

    thepowermonkey
    "did you see the graphics card they used.... only about 100 people in the wholw world own one. They should have used a more mid range card and also no one is ever gonna have a rig with a GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB and only 512Mb of system memory, its just stupid."

    I agree. The 8800 needs 1GB to run, I'm using 2GB for my 8800 GTX.

  • brain20035

    Posted Mar 21, 2007 3:03 pm PT

    great!
    I wish I could do sth like this on XP as well!

  • mcompton69

    Posted Mar 21, 2007 11:45 am PT

    SO MICROSOFT HAVE FOUND A WAY TO MAKE VISTA ALMOST AS FAST AS XP - WELL DONE MS!!!

    1. Anyone who can afford that system can afford more RAM instead of a cheap USB drive
    2. No mention of what the "benchmarks" actually refer to - i am sceptical as to whether they indicate a massive performance gain as it looks with the fancy graphs. All other reviews i have read in magazines that put serious money into testing kit have all said it is makes no difference - or in a few cases actually slows performance!

    STAY AWAY FROM VISTA UNTIL ITS WORTH IT!!!

  • thepowermonkey

    Posted Mar 21, 2007 4:44 am PT

    did you see the graphics card they used.... only about 100 people in the wholw world own one. They should have used a more mid range card and also no one is ever gonna have a rig with a GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB and only 512Mb of system memory, its just stupid.

  • wljohnso

    Posted Mar 20, 2007 3:54 pm PT

    Seems like anyone who is a power gamer would probably upgrade to 2GB before buying Vista... but the gains for weaker machines seems okay, though the drop off is pretty significant if they have 1GB... this seems more like a gee whiz feature than one that people woudl really care about... much less use.

  • joey4uncw

    Posted Mar 20, 2007 9:27 am PT

    It depends on your notebook. Most can updatr some.

  • Mcgnnis1

    Posted Mar 20, 2007 8:22 am PT

    I think that i might use th Ready Boost option since it is easier for me and i also have a 1 Gig ram in my notebook but i don't know if i can upgrade my notebook. Although i have a desktop but it's a measly dell. Does anybody knows if i can upgrade the ram in my notebook?

  • fuser197

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 1:09 pm PT

    More tech info on ReadyBoost:

    http://blogs.msdn.com/tomarcher/archive/2006/06/02/615199.aspx

  • g_storrow

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 8:30 am PT

    I tried to use this myself and it says my
    "This device does not have the required performance characteristics for use in speeding up your system".
    It is an Integral 1GB USB2.0 Flash drive. Just letting you know it might not work with all USB drives.
    Does anyone know why this devise isn't usable?

  • FearNeutron

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 6:12 pm PT

    I've got an Athlon XP 2500+ with 1.5GB of RAM and a GeForce 7800GS AGP.

    It runs Vista just fine, and playing WoW gives me the same framerates I had pre-Vista. But after trying Oblivion and NWN2 I am finally forced to accept that my processor is bottlenecking my system. Now, if only there were USB CPUs.

  • HyperMetaDragon

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 10:44 am PT

    I've got 1 GB of DDR2 RAM (NOT DDR1), so my computer's probably the equivalent of 1.5 - 2 GB of DDR1 RAM. Of course, I'm still looking into the prices for a 1 GB stick of RAM...if this works with Windows XP.

  • pmmmmp

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 10:19 am PT

    hmm...nice post...thx man...interesting !

  • mindless1987

    Posted Mar 17, 2007 7:36 pm PT

    its interesting how the 512 ram with 4 gig boost did worse than the 512 ram with a gig boost

  • tomdunn21

    Posted Mar 17, 2007 11:32 am PT

    sound report.. but I think I will stick with the tryed & tested RAM

advertisement

Under the Hood: Windows Vista ReadyBoost Report

If you find your Windows Vista machine a little sluggish, it might need a little jolt of power from ReadyBoost.

Tags