Swap file : on which drive ? 7200rpm or 10000rpm

**justpassingby** · 03-21-2007, 06:37 PM

I've got this computer with 2Go of RAM and 2 sata HD :
Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 320Go 8Mo 7200rpm
Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150Go 16Mo 10000rpm

XP Home SP2 will be installed on the Raptor's first partition (10Go). Other programs will be installed on the same drive, on a second partition. The Hitachi drive will be used for stockage. I won't use Raid nor NCQ.

For Windows XP, I've read it's recommended to move the swap file to the first partition of another drive if possible, and to leave a minimum amount of swap (50Mo) on the OS drive for compatibility issues with some programs. But what to do when the drives are not running at the same speed ? Are there issues if the OS and swap file are on drives with different speeds ? Do I have to put the swap file on the fastest partition regardless of the OS being on the same partition ?

More precisely, do you think I'll have better performances with windows swap file on :

- the same partition as Windows XP on the 10000rpm Raptor ?
=> swap acces is theoretically faster but if the swap file is accessed at the same time as OS files and/or other programs, the writing heads will have to move back and forth, possibly decreasing performances.

- the first partition of the 7200rpm Hitachi ?
=> swap access does not interfere with other operations on the OS drive, and wont probably be disrupted by any other operation at all, but will be limited by the slower speed of the 7200rpm drive (which is still very fast since it uses 160Go platters). A minimum amount of 50Mo would be left on the Raptor.

Fragmentation shouldn't be a factor if I specify a given size for the swap file, right ? I thought I'd set it to 600Mo since with 2Go of Ram I don't think I'll use it a lot.

If this is all nit-picking and waste of intellectual ressources, don't be afraid to tell me :)

crazijoe · 03-22-2007, 05:59 AM

For performance, the swap file should be on the first partition of a separate physical drive.
RPM of the spindle does not neccissarlly mean a slower drive. If partitioned correctly the 7200rpm drive can perform as good as a 10,000rpm drive because the head does not have to "stroke" over the entire platter.
I would create a small partition on the 7200rpm drive and place the swap file there.

**justpassingby** · 03-22-2007, 07:49 AM

thx crazijoe, I think I'll do that

2 more questions :

Can I size the swap file to the exact size of the partition or does XP want some room to write things like system volume information and such ?

Can I "hide" the swap partition on my non-system 7200rpm drive by non assigning it a letter in the drive manager (I'll never access that partition anyway) or will XP want it to have it's own letter ?

crazijoe · 03-22-2007, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Can I size the swap file to the exact size of the partition or does XP want some room to write things like system volume information and such ?

I would size the swap file to about 90% of the partition size.

Quote:

Can I "hide" the swap partition on my non-system 7200rpm drive by non assigning it a letter in the drive manager (I'll never access that partition anyway) or will XP want it to have it's own letter ?

I am not aware of a way to hide the partition but you can hide the file itself in the partition. I don't believe you can not assign it a letter because the OS will need a map to the file.

03-21-2007, 06:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
justpassingby Moderator, Microsoft Support Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 5,205 OS: XP Home SP3 / Ubuntu My System	Swap file : on which drive ? 7200rpm or 10000rpm I've got this computer with 2Go of RAM and 2 sata HD : Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 320Go 8Mo 7200rpm Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150Go 16Mo 10000rpm XP Home SP2 will be installed on the Raptor's first partition (10Go). Other programs will be installed on the same drive, on a second partition. The Hitachi drive will be used for stockage. I won't use Raid nor NCQ. For Windows XP, I've read it's recommended to move the swap file to the first partition of another drive if possible, and to leave a minimum amount of swap (50Mo) on the OS drive for compatibility issues with some programs. But what to do when the drives are not running at the same speed ? Are there issues if the OS and swap file are on drives with different speeds ? Do I have to put the swap file on the fastest partition regardless of the OS being on the same partition ? More precisely, do you think I'll have better performances with windows swap file on : - the same partition as Windows XP on the 10000rpm Raptor ? => swap acces is theoretically faster but if the swap file is accessed at the same time as OS files and/or other programs, the writing heads will have to move back and forth, possibly decreasing performances. - the first partition of the 7200rpm Hitachi ? => swap access does not interfere with other operations on the OS drive, and wont probably be disrupted by any other operation at all, but will be limited by the slower speed of the 7200rpm drive (which is still very fast since it uses 160Go platters). A minimum amount of 50Mo would be left on the Raptor. Fragmentation shouldn't be a factor if I specify a given size for the swap file, right ? I thought I'd set it to 600Mo since with 2Go of Ram I don't think I'll use it a lot. If this is all nit-picking and waste of intellectual ressources, don't be afraid to tell me :)

03-22-2007, 05:59 AM	#2 (permalink)
crazijoe Tech Hardware Forums Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	Re: Swap file : on which drive ? 7200rpm or 10000rpm For performance, the swap file should be on the first partition of a separate physical drive. RPM of the spindle does not neccissarlly mean a slower drive. If partitioned correctly the 7200rpm drive can perform as good as a 10,000rpm drive because the head does not have to "stroke" over the entire platter. I would create a small partition on the 7200rpm drive and place the swap file there. __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

03-22-2007, 07:49 AM	#3 (permalink)
justpassingby Moderator, Microsoft Support Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 5,205 OS: XP Home SP3 / Ubuntu My System	Re: Swap file : on which drive ? 7200rpm or 10000rpm thx crazijoe, I think I'll do that 2 more questions : Can I size the swap file to the exact size of the partition or does XP want some room to write things like system volume information and such ? Can I "hide" the swap partition on my non-system 7200rpm drive by non assigning it a letter in the drive manager (I'll never access that partition anyway) or will XP want it to have it's own letter ?