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PostPosted: 26 Aug 2012, 22:58 
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This tool sounds amazing, can you post a little more details on how you're doing it? Is it like the WS fixers where it injects new code into the game memory to overwrite the disk read/write calls, or is there something built into Windows that allows you to cache files into RAM?


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PostPosted: 27 Aug 2012, 01:52 
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hehe so 18gb gets the message but 32gb does not ?



I wondered about that myself and ran it several times, but never got it. I'm guessing that it has something to do with me not already having ImDisk installed.


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PostPosted: 27 Aug 2012, 20:42 
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[quote]hehe so 18gb gets the message but 32gb does not ?



I wondered about that myself and ran it several times, but never got it. I'm guessing that it has something to do with me not already having ImDisk installed.
hehe so 18gb gets the message but 32gb does not ?

btw: Zencyde: how the heck did you manage to get 18gb ? 4x4 +2gb ?

P.S Cynagen, while browsing the web for fancyCache and other RamCache tools i found ou that Windows automatically uses the RAM as Cache for files. If we know set up a RAMdisk of 10GB there will only be 2gb for Windows caching. Might decrease the overall windows performance ?


1. You do not meet all qualifications, therefore you are not presented with any inkling that you are capable of running this tool. This is to avoid confusion on if you currently support the tool or not.
I wondered about that myself and ran it several times, but never got it. I'm guessing that it has something to do with me not already having ImDisk installed.

This is why.

2. I've used SuperSpeed's SuperCache and was woefully unhappy with how they handle it. They catch reads from disk and try to cache results based on most requested data to speed things up, however, this requires driver injection and an extra interrupt to the read stack to check if there's already data cached. Furthermore, when you're playing a game like SWTOR which is making upwards hundreds of calls to the HDD to read data to build the dynamic clothing on EVERY CHARACTER in your visible range, you can see how this extra layer, while after population might help, the initial performance hit was enough for me to say screw it. Also, they didn't have a signed driver so I had to boot in test mode all the time. ImDisk HAS a signed driver preventing anyone from having to do anything extra to make my tool work. Since the files are completely loaded into RAM before running the game, this makes the read times instant and cuts out the middle man software such as SuperSpeed and the like. You are correct, windows caches, to the Pagefile, if you're running more than 8GB of RAM, why are you running a page file? You don't need it anymore, mine has been disabled the entire life of this build with no ill-effects (besides WoW bitching until recent patches because they're old and stupid).

3. If you have 16GB of RAM, your MAX RamDisk size will be 10GB, leaving 6GB (more than enough for most 64bit games (most are 32bit and can't directly address larger than 3.5GB due to addressing limits) and your OS (64bit Windows)) to operate in normally. If you have 32GB, this cap will be lifted to 26GB. The RamDisk estimated (these numbers are NOT final and may be adjusted as needed based on user performance reports) max disk sizes based on total RAM are as follows:
6GB (Minimum total RAM supported): 2GB RamDisk (4 Reserved)
8GB (Average 'gamer' total): 3GB RamDisk (5 Reserved)
10GB: 4GB RamDisk (Full 6 Reserved)
12GB: 6GB RamDisk
14GB: 8GB RamDisk
16GB: 10GB RamDisk
32GB: 26GB RamDisk

There's a method to the madness, a science to the math. ;-)

This tool sounds amazing, can you post a little more details on how you're doing it? Is it like the WS fixers where it injects new code into the game memory to overwrite the disk read/write calls, or is there something built into Windows that allows you to cache files into RAM?


This tool does nothing of the sort. No code injection, no intra-process redirection. There is only the NTFS junction (redirect) which is seamless to the user and games run on the machine. The process is relatively simple: Figure out which files to pre-load, generate a pre-calculated RamDisk based on the max disk size permitted and the total size of files to be loaded, move originals to safety deposit, copy originals into RamDrive, junction the files on the RamDrive back into their original places on the HDD/SDD, launch the game. Upon close of the game, unload the RamDrive (freeing up your RAM for normal operation), and then restore files to their original locations from safety deposit. Pretty simple (for those technically inclined), it's just the fully automated management is what I'm providing. Technically you can all do this now, I'm just making it a no-brainer and readily available for every user to take advantage of. Not everyone is comfy running all the command line tools required for this operation to be completed successfully.

There was also talk in the IRC chat of why this tool was not written up and released years ago... well there was 2 reasons. First, RAM was not cheap like it is today. Second, most machines before the Phenom/i5 series could not address more than 8GB of RAM, the "cap" on desktop computers has recently been lifted to allow greater and greater quantities to be installed. Yes, server hardware has traditionally had a much higher "cap" however these components were usually much more expensive than desktop, and thus prohibitive to enthusiast gamers by being outside their price range.

I wanted to further update everyone, I will have a 5-day weekend coming up here shortly, 6-day if I don't get called in on Labor Day, and plan on getting a beta out sometime on the weekend. I look forward to everyone's feedback.

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 Post subject: Cynagen wrote:You are
PostPosted: 27 Aug 2012, 22:16 
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You are correct, windows caches, to the Pagefile, if you're running more than 8GB of RAM, why are you running a page file? You don't need it anymore, mine has been disabled the entire life of this build with no ill-effects (besides WoW bitching until recent patches because they're old and stupid).


And Two Worlds 2 -.- to many games bitching around without pagefile :( (or 64mb pagefile) Mhmmm maybe creating a Pagefile and loading it into Ramdisk? ... what a hoax -.-



There's a method to the madness, a science to the math. ;-)


So 48GB results in 42Gb Ramdisk ? :) But there also is an "advanced option" right? Most games aren't bigger than 35GB.


Looking forward to the beta :) but don't forget to enjoy your Weekend.

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PostPosted: 28 Aug 2012, 00:06 
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[quote]You are correct, windows caches, to the Pagefile, if you're running more than 8GB of RAM, why are you running a page file? You don't need it anymore, mine has been disabled the entire life of this build with no ill-effects (besides WoW bitching until recent patches because they're old and stupid).


And Two Worlds 2 -.- to many games bitching around without pagefile :( (or 64mb pagefile) Mhmmm maybe creating a Pagefile and loading it into Ramdisk? ... what a hoax -.-



There's a method to the madness, a science to the math. ;-)


So 48GB results in 42Gb Ramdisk ? :) But there also is an "advanced option" right? Most games aren't bigger than 35GB.


Looking forward to the beta :) but don't forget to enjoy your Weekend.
[quote]You are correct, windows caches, to the Pagefile, if you're running more than 8GB of RAM, why are you running a page file? You don't need it anymore, mine has been disabled the entire life of this build with no ill-effects (besides WoW bitching until recent patches because they're old and stupid).


And Two Worlds 2 -.- to many games bitching around without pagefile :( (or 64mb pagefile) Mhmmm maybe creating a Pagefile and loading it into Ramdisk? ... what a hoax -.-



There's a method to the madness, a science to the math. ;-)


So 48GB results in 42Gb Ramdisk ? :) But there also is an "advanced option" right? Most games aren't bigger than 35GB.


Looking forward to the beta :) but don't forget to enjoy your Weekend.

Enjoy... weekend? What? These words do not compute. My first day of that weekend will be spent asleep, hibernation style. Then I'll get back to programming, and I'm hoping to have the basic beta (no advanced options) available for Friday evening/Saturday morning so people can check it out on their 3-day Labor Day weekend, give me solid feedback. I thought about the pagefile in RAM before, even tried it, then said "screw pagefiles, and screw any games that require it because it's an ancient fix to an old problem that doesn't exist anymore, and if they must rely on this crutch, they're obviously not programming for me."

48GB of RAM would indeed result in an available 42GB RamDisk. Also, the advanced options are for people to take full control to optimize a game's pre-load how they see fit (turning off all auto-pilot, not recommended unless you know exactly what you're doing, hence, 'advanced' mode).

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PostPosted: 28 Aug 2012, 00:49 
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I look forward to trying it out, though I'm away next weekend, so I'll get to it early the week after.


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PostPosted: 28 Aug 2012, 11:36 
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The idea of this tool sounds amazing. How will it work with Steam Library's though? Most of my games are there and from what I've read about ramdiscs, steam doesn't like them very much.

Example of this is here...

Steam and Ram Discs

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PostPosted: 28 Aug 2012, 13:33 
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Ignore my last post.

I set something similar up using a RAMDisk and Steam Mover. The boost in speed is great. Only down side is the size of the files that I need in the RAM disc are often too big. E.g. most game installs are over 8gb and I dont want to use more that for a RAMDisk.

That said, the options in your app sound like the perfect solution. I cant wait.

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 Post subject: sparx1981 wrote:I set
PostPosted: 28 Aug 2012, 14:06 
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I set something similar up using a RAMDisk and Steam Mover. The boost in speed is great. Only down side is the size of the files that I need in the RAM disc are often too big. E.g. most game installs are over 8gb and I dont want to use more that for a RAMDisk.


Since I am using steammover, we will see how the interaction will work when the beta is out. Am very excited. I have read that ram prices will go down in october, so might be shopping for a 32gb kit.

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PostPosted: 28 Aug 2012, 16:11 
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My test setup just failed, the computer crashed and although it was saving my ramdisc to an image on a shutdown, because it crashed the ramdisc was lost.

With this in mind, it might be a good idea to ensure that your app doesn't remove the original game files. Perhaps they could be copied to a temp folder within their original location. This way they can be re-initialised in the event of the ramdisc failing.

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