How much system cache is the right amount?

[Mr Burns]

I am running windows xp sp3 on 1 gb ram. I notice that system cache is always around 300-400 mb in task manager.

I'm just wondering... Is this good?

And if it's not, is ther anything I can do about it. I've often added up the numbers of the ram usage of all processes of my pc (and rounded them up) and it's not come close to the amount of ram used (page file usage).

I'm wondering if system cache uses up ram at all. All I know about it so far is that cache is used by windows and internet browsers to save stuff so it loads quicker next time - but can have negative effects - such as using lots of hard disk and ram space.

Can anyone please explain if my system cache usage is normal and what is happening with my pc as my ram usage nearly always goes above 1gb if i use just internet browser and have a folder open when my processes are not using this much.

Thank you for your help.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Just leave it alone and let Windows manage it. Believe me, Windows can manage its memory FAR better than you can.

 

[skit75]

"I'm wondering if system cache uses up ram at all"

Not that I am aware of. Not an amount you would notice anyway. I think you are referencing website cookies which include a lot of stuff.. including sometimes a copy of the webpage. This is stored on your hard drive so your browser can pull info quicker from websites(only downloading what has changed on the website) rather than the whole page again when you re-visit. A Read call from your hard drive cookie will be faster than a download + write call to your hard drive from the webpage. Your browser will load a good amount of data into RAM when you open it as would any application you open/use. I am no expert here. This is just my understanding and I may indeed be wrong =)

 

[AndrewFrantz]

From everything I have heard, a good level to se aside is twice of the amount of RAM. It should rarely get accessed unless your system is lacking in RAM.
In that case what can happen is Hard drive Thrashing. If you find that your HDD light is always on, you definitely need to add more RAM. Running on Virtual memory is bad for hard drives, because the system is constantly reading from the drive, and may drastically reduce hard drive life and certainly hinder system performance ( RAM is much faster than HDD read/write)

 

[Mr Burns]

From everything I have heard, a good level to se aside is twice of the amount of RAM. It should rarely get accessed unless your system is lacking in RAM.
In that case what can happen is Hard drive Thrashing. If you find that your HDD light is always on, you definitely need to add more RAM. Running on Virtual memory is bad for hard drives, because the system is constantly reading from the drive, and may drastically reduce hard drive life and certainly hinder system performance ( RAM is much faster than HDD read/write)

But I am just wondering if it is normal and good for system cache to be around 300-400mb in task manager in windows xp. Also, what role does system cache play?

btw, I think I may be getting mixed up with internet cache, but I think system cache must be different.

 

[Ijack]

http/support.microsoft.com/kb/895932