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K-Meleon Web Browser Forum
If k-meleon is installed in a ramdrive, does it make any difference to have a memory cache vs a disk cache? Am I correct in thinking that both caches are in ram? Thank you.
Hi Jim.
I have run a RAM drive both with and without KM's Memory (RAM) cache enabled and have noticed no difference. But off-hand it does sound like one would cause conflict with the other.
Charlie
~~If it ain't broke, why screw it up?~~
Charlie,
"Ramdrive is a virtual solid state disk that uses a segment of active computer memory, RAM, as secondary storage," which I believe means that the ramdrive memory is put aside for the ram drive and won't conflict with normal ram usage. Others who know more can jump in here (please!).
N
If you are running KM from a RAM drive, and your cache folder in your profile is located on that RAM drive, then your disk cache is really in RAM. So it's the same as cache in RAM or on a RAM drive. There are no possibilities of any kind of conflicts - other than your RAM drive decreases the amount of memory available for KM and other programs to actually run in, and in extreme cases will lead to swap file usage ( when the computer runs out of RAM and starts using the disk as substitute). Swap file usage will really slow down and can be detected by frantic disk activity. Using the swap file is the exact opposite of a RAM drive.
I would be very surprised if running from a RAM drive produced any speed increase in browsing, startup will certainly be faster, but when you are browsing, the entire KM program is loaded into RAM anyways. Also, the disk drive is cached, meaning once a file such as KM is loaded into RAM, a copy is also saved into RAM in the disk cache area. It is just like having it on a RAM drive after it has been loaded once. You ask it to be loaded again and the computer will just copy it from RAM cache to the running area, not using the disk at all. Copying from one are of RAM to another is also what will happen if you use a RAM drive.
This is why, when you first start a program, first time since bootup, it takes longer to load and you see a lot disk activity. Now close program and reopen without rebooting. Much faster, little, maybe even no, disk activity - your program (such as KM) was cached in RAM until the computer needs the RAM space for something else.
There is very little to be gained from running in a RAM drive, if anything at all. So why do RAM drives exist? They are relics from before the days of disk caches and abundant memory.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2011 07:07AM by snuz2.
General discussion about K-Meleon
memory cache vs disk cache
Posted by:
Jim
Date: January 22, 2011 01:14AM
If k-meleon is installed in a ramdrive, does it make any difference to have a memory cache vs a disk cache? Am I correct in thinking that both caches are in ram? Thank you.
Re: memory cache vs disk cache
Posted by:
caktus
Date: January 22, 2011 01:34AM
Quote
Jim
If k-meleon is installed in a ramdrive, does it make any difference to have a memory cache vs a disk cache? Am I correct in thinking that both caches are in ram? Thank you.
Hi Jim.
I have run a RAM drive both with and without KM's Memory (RAM) cache enabled and have noticed no difference. But off-hand it does sound like one would cause conflict with the other.
Charlie
Re: memory cache vs disk cache
Posted by:
ndebord
Date: January 22, 2011 04:19PM
Charlie,
"Ramdrive is a virtual solid state disk that uses a segment of active computer memory, RAM, as secondary storage," which I believe means that the ramdrive memory is put aside for the ram drive and won't conflict with normal ram usage. Others who know more can jump in here (please!).
N
Re: memory cache vs disk cache
Posted by:
snuz2
Date: January 25, 2011 06:56AM
If you are running KM from a RAM drive, and your cache folder in your profile is located on that RAM drive, then your disk cache is really in RAM. So it's the same as cache in RAM or on a RAM drive. There are no possibilities of any kind of conflicts - other than your RAM drive decreases the amount of memory available for KM and other programs to actually run in, and in extreme cases will lead to swap file usage ( when the computer runs out of RAM and starts using the disk as substitute). Swap file usage will really slow down and can be detected by frantic disk activity. Using the swap file is the exact opposite of a RAM drive.
I would be very surprised if running from a RAM drive produced any speed increase in browsing, startup will certainly be faster, but when you are browsing, the entire KM program is loaded into RAM anyways. Also, the disk drive is cached, meaning once a file such as KM is loaded into RAM, a copy is also saved into RAM in the disk cache area. It is just like having it on a RAM drive after it has been loaded once. You ask it to be loaded again and the computer will just copy it from RAM cache to the running area, not using the disk at all. Copying from one are of RAM to another is also what will happen if you use a RAM drive.
This is why, when you first start a program, first time since bootup, it takes longer to load and you see a lot disk activity. Now close program and reopen without rebooting. Much faster, little, maybe even no, disk activity - your program (such as KM) was cached in RAM until the computer needs the RAM space for something else.
There is very little to be gained from running in a RAM drive, if anything at all. So why do RAM drives exist? They are relics from before the days of disk caches and abundant memory.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2011 07:07AM by snuz2.
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