Performance Options: pagefile.sys and the "system cache"

[just about clueless]

With respect to the setting under My Computer -> System
Properties -> Advanced -> Performance Options -> Advanced:

I understand the what RAM is, how Virtual Memory works by
swapping data back and forth from pagefile.sys, and what
settings to use Processor Scheduling and Memory Usage.
However, I am getting caught up in the terminology used in
the Memory Usage Group-box. Specifically, the term "System
Cache". Is the System Cache another name for
pagefile.sys, is one a component of the other, or are they
two distinct entities? And if they are distinct entities,
how are they related under the broad umbrella
of "Memory"? I know these may seem like a naive questions
but in my many years developing computer software, I have
come across just a few ambiguous and sometimes synonymous
terms.

 

[Jim Eshelman]

MVP Alex Nichol has covered the broad subject rather well in his "Virtual
Memory in Windows XP" FAQ:
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm

--
Jim Eshelman, MS-MVP Windows
http://aumha.org/
http://forum.aumha.org/

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