[EMAIL PROTECTED] on 1/8/05 4:06 PM wrote: >Linux uses a swap partition, and a general rule is double the amount of >RAM you have, so you are looking at 500 MB to 1 GB of drive space >dedicated to swap.
The "general rule" dates back to the days when a machine with 16 MB of RAM was a big machine, and it made a lot of sense back then, particularly on multi-user machines, where there was a high likelihood that the users would need more than the physical RAM of a system. On more modern machines, this is a less likely occurance, particularly on personal workstations. The better rule is to identify how a system will be used, to understand what its peak loads are likely to be, and then to make the total memory (physical RAM + swap) large enough to accomodate the load. In my experience, unless a user is working with large image/audio editing applications (or maybe Star Office ;-), it is rare to need more than 256 MB of swap on a workstation, and many systems are quite happy with 128 MB of swap. I was only half kidding with my Star Office remark -- some of the current productivity apps and desktops are just too beefy for older systems. While large swap might make it possible to _run_ such apps on old/small systems, only more physical RAM or a CPU upgrade will make them _usable_. By the way, many newer systems with large physical RAM (1 GB+) have swap partitions which are much _smaller_ than physical RAM, and they perform very well! >Even if you don't start out with that much RAM, you >will need to establish the swap partition that is capable of handling >future RAM upgrades. Unless you are willing to backup all your data, >reformat your hard drive, and reinstall the OS just to add more RAM ;) Not true. If you weren't having swap troubles before the physical RAM upgrade, you won't need more swap after the upgrade (unless the load on the machine increases dramatically). If you do find that you need more swap space because of a performance issue, you can always add a swapfile without modifying the swap partition. (I admit that performance of a swapfile may not be quite as good as a real swap partition, but it's usually close enough.) On a different note, folks might be interested in a recent review of YDL 4.0 at http://www.apple-x.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=12 59 -j -- MaX-list is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... / Buy books, CDs, videos, and more from Amazon.com \ / <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/lowendmac> \ Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> MaX-list info: <http://lowendmac.com/linux/max.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[email protected]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/max-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal www.1800ipod.com
