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Is it usefull to put more than 128 MB on a Linux machine?


Linux_Fan
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I have an AMD-based PC with 128 MB PC133 (SDRAM) of memory and running under LM 8.0.

I want to increase the memory with another 128 MB or 256 MB module. Is this speeding up Linux? But more important: will Linux used all the memory above 128 MB? So, is it usefull?

I know that for Windows it is not usefull to put more memory in your PC, because it uses not more than 128 MB (unless your are doing video-editing).

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I have 192 MB SDRAM and ML9.0 can easily use all of it, but barely. My 250MB swap has only reached about 10%-a long time ago-with a lot of intense programs running at the same time, while testing the low-latency patch and preempt patch for the kernel. For normal use with a light wm like fluxbox, I never touch the swap, which is what I want.. :twisted: If I run KDE or Gnome at normal use the swap hits about 5 to 10% use. If I had 128 I'd be using the swap all the time, but not too much. Linux is excellent with its swap usage. Would I? Heh...if I had 40/50 bucks to burn I get more RAM, because the thought of running a little slower than I should be, drives me nuts.

 

you could also do

procinfo

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Linux loves lots of memory, I say loves, not needs ( needs about 64mb min)

It uses memory completely different to windoze. If you give it 512 of ram it will allocate all of it, allocate not use. Lots goes into cache, so for instance, if you load up Mozillla or the gimp, close them down and open them up again five minutes later, they will load from cache . Its the most efficient way of using memory, both windoze and apple have been trying to get that efficient use of memory for years ( so I read ) Increasing your ram often makes a bigger improvement in performance than a faster CPU.

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Windows will use more if you have more mem.

So will linux. But linux does it in a smarter way.

 

You can see if more mem would be helpful, for instance:

 

$ free

            total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached

Mem:        515812     445684      70128          0      25048     229432

-/+ buffers/cache:     191204     324608

Swap:      1044184          0    1044184

 

So I have 512MB ram, which is well used, no swap is used, so a mem upgrade would not do much for me.

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The three things that are never a waste are:

1) More memory - I have 384. Others here have a gig.

2) Adding a hard drive - the largest you can afford and will operate under Linux limitations.

3) Adding a CD Burner - Wait until the dust settles before you go DVD burner unless you have either or both of an undeniable need and the Sony model that burns them all.

 

Counterspy

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Well for pc x86 you can put as much memory as the board will support 3gig or so max usually and linux can use it all, but unless you were using many apps at the same time you would not really be using most of it

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If u r using modern desktops like kde3.x and gnome2.x, 128MB is the minimum u need. But 192MB or 256Mb is what is recommended. I remember, KDE1.x was ok with 64MB but those days are gone. Here's my free output:

             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached

Mem:        256956     253160       3796          0      18688      80600

-/+ buffers/cache:     153872     103084

Swap:       497936      13676     484260

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ML9.0-KDE3.0.3-running 2 Aterms one with wvdial, Evolution, Gkrellm, and Opera+3 windows, right now.

 

192MB SDRAM

free

            total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached

Mem:        191112     186468       4644          0       7680      76468

-/+ buffers/cache:     102320      88792

Swap:       562192          0     562192

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And here my work stations free output:

 

[john@administrator john]$ free

total used free shared buffers cached

Mem: 248852 243844 5008 0 39380 70376

-/+ buffers/cache: 134088 114764

Swap: 248968 57808 191160

[john@administrator john]$

 

running KDE 3.03, 3 Konquerer directory windows, mozilla 1.1(navigator with 7 tabs open, mail window open), 1 Konsole terminal window, & 3 instances of Kwrite.

 

besides running apache & mysql servers. very average running tasks.

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I use my Linux OS as a desktop. I think 256 MB is about right for a simple desktop setup. On the machine with 128MB of RAM it uses the swap file. On the 256MB, it utilizes most of the 256MB but does not use the SWAP partition as far as I can tell.

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I have an Athlon XP 2100+ with 512 MB of RAM. I think that amount is just about optimal... Much more would possible create a headache (i.e. having to specify that there is 1GB of RAM for example,... I use Mandy 8.2 and it was quirky that way).

 

I do a fair amount of gaming and some of that in WineX, so the more RAM the better. It depends really on what you use your system for.

 

128 MB is good for simple desktop use. My old AMD K6-2 had that much and ran fine (except for AGP, but that was due to the ALi 1541 chipset).

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