Readyboost & SD Card Slot

[Idjit BoB]

I understand that Readyboost will perform not only through the USB slot, but
also the SD card slot. I own a Sony VGN-N220E notebook, and the knowledge
base at Sony was not very helpful. The manual says that the SD card slot
does not support high-speed data transfer feature of the SD memory card.

Does anyone have anything that will contribute to my understanding of
Readyboost, and whether getting a SD memory card will help when running
labor intensive (read memory hog) programs?

Thanks.

 

[Guest]

hi, i tried ready boost and it didn't make that much difference to my system
i used a 4 gig usb stick (compatible with readyboost)with 3gig alocated to
readyboost and like i said not much difference so i would'nt rely on it to
much

 

[Idjit BoB]

A little bit more info.

I have 1Gig RAM.

There are two reasons for wanting to use the SD slot.

1 I have two USB slots, and one is being used for a mouse, the other for
an external HD, and
2 It is my understanding that the SD slot will run faster than the USB
slot.

 

[Guest]

it appears that your that your only choice is to use your usb slot which you
have stated are in use remember vista is recomended to run on a minimun of 1
gig of ram a better option is get another gig of ram installed it will make
a bigger difference

 

[David]

I understand that Readyboost will perform not only through the USB
slot, but also the SD card slot. I own a Sony VGN-N220E notebook, and
the knowledge base at Sony was not very helpful. The manual says that
the SD card slot does not support high-speed data transfer feature of
the SD memory card.

Does anyone have anything that will contribute to my understanding of
Readyboost, and whether getting a SD memory card will help when
running labor intensive (read memory hog) programs?

Thanks.

what I've read states that using Readyboost on a system with a slow hard
drive (laptop drives running 4,200-4,500 RPM qualify) will provide some
tangible improvement in apparent speed. I've got such a system and I
see a SLIGHT improvement in some functions, but it is subtle, at best.
start up and shutdown times are identical to running without Readyboost
on my 2 systems. I use 2GB SD on mine and run a 1 GB SD on my wife's
laptop. The only way it made sense for me was buying the SD chips on sale.

Dave

 

[Paul Randall]

I understand that Readyboost will perform not only through the USB slot,
but also the SD card slot. I own a Sony VGN-N220E notebook, and the
knowledge base at Sony was not very helpful. The manual says that the SD
card slot does not support high-speed data transfer feature of the SD
memory card.

Does anyone have anything that will contribute to my understanding of
Readyboost, and whether getting a SD memory card will help when running
labor intensive (read memory hog) programs?

If you believe your manual, then the SD card slot won't help you.

One way you could test it is by comparing the time it takes to copy a large
file to an SD card and to a fast thumb drive.

Read this article on using various size readyboost devices on systems with
various RAM sizes:
http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i=2917&p=6

-Paul Randall

 

[Idjit BoB]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Being new to the group, I didn't realize
that I didn't have all the headers downloaded. Once I finally got that
accomplished, I found tons of stuff on Readyboost.

I find that opinions are quite varied, and at least my question wasn't
already covered.

When I feel energetic, I will max out my Sony notebook RAM.

Going OT...

In anticipation of this endeavor, the Sony manual says that I need to remove
the battery. Of course they didn't mention the pitfalls of doing so.
Except for static discharge, does anyone have any advice or horror stories
to prep me for this task?

Thanks again.

 

[AJR]

Idjit BoB I do not know what info you have received regarding ReadyBoost,
however I'll add some of interest:
First - SD cards can be used providing Vista verifies the Read/Write
specifications as adequate - important here to note that USB bus specs meet
the specs no problem and whether or not a specific USB (Flash Drive) will be
OK by Vista is the specs of the drive itself.

Second - Not so regarding he SD Slot bus - for some reason many have "low"
read/write specs and Vista will not certify ANY SD card inserted in the
slot - if the bus on your computer meeets Vist specs than the SD card is
checked.

Third - A major "player" in Vista certifying a device for ReadyBoost is the
Vista "Expereince Index" for the HD - if the index is 5 or better - no
certification.
Fourth - Non-sequential read/writes are directed to the ReadyBoost cache -
sequential to the HD Paging File. Therefor perfomance depends on HD
actions. Data to the device is encrypted in case a device is removed with
data still stored.
Fifth - Device can be removed at any time without loss of data since data
sent to the device are "copies" of actual data.

 

[Michael Solomon]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Being new to the group, I didn't
realize that I didn't have all the headers downloaded. Once I finally got
that accomplished, I found tons of stuff on Readyboost.

I find that opinions are quite varied, and at least my question wasn't
already covered.

When I feel energetic, I will max out my Sony notebook RAM.

Going OT...

In anticipation of this endeavor, the Sony manual says that I need to
remove the battery. Of course they didn't mention the pitfalls of doing
so. Except for static discharge, does anyone have any advice or horror
stories to prep me for this task?

Thanks again.

What's the maximum ram of your notebook? If you are running the 32.bit
version of Vista, in most cases, that version can't handle 4GB of ram as it
cannot address 4GB. Some chipsets and BIOS configurations allow for memory
mapping:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929605/ and can sometimes overcome this
issue. However, if your system doesn't have this feature, you'd have to
check the system BIOS and be sure you have the appropriate chipset, the
system won't see and properly use much more than 3GB and if your graphics
card has onboard memory, the amount the system sees and addresses might be
less based on that additional memory.

If your system is compatible with and can run memory in dual channel mode,
since that memory must be installed in pairs, you might be better off
matching your current memory with an additional 1GB of RAM assuming the gig
you currently have is dual channel capable. Under those conditions, you
could have 2GIGs of system ram running in dual channel mode and a graphics
card with its own 512MB of graphics memory and the system will see and be
able to use it all. In fact, if necessary, you could probably run two SLI
cards with 512MB each if your system is SLI compatible. Given SLI is
generally used for gaming rigs, it should handle most of your needs.

 

[jonathan perreault]

humm if you were in tampa i would do it for you free of charge, but i'm
guessing you not close to me, so i would say leave to the expert like
compusa or something they charge 30$ for it, but if they damage anything
they pay for it, if you decide to do it yourself be ready to do surgery and
have a anti-static wrap on bracelet, hookup to a ground but don't touch
anypower source cuz you could get hurt or killed because your grounded, i
once had 3000 volts with medium amp running through me, but i lived cuz of
my experience with electricity and i wasn't grounded though it hurts like
hell, while the power is running though you

--


Jonathan Perreault
Forget Do Not Undermine Windows's Work,
Or It'll Undermine You As A User.

New Word Of Advice: Torture Windows (Any) Now
Before It Tortures You

 

[Idjit BoB]

*****Edited out*****

What's the maximum ram of your notebook?

2 gig. I will read the rest later, it looks too technical for my brain.

Must focus, Rutgers is playing tonight.

 

[Epidemic]

humm if you were in tampa i would do it for you free of charge, but i'm
guessing you not close to me, so i would say leave to the expert like
compusa or something they charge 30$ for it, but if they damage anything
they pay for it, if you decide to do it yourself be ready to do surgery
and have a anti-static wrap on bracelet, hookup to a ground but don't
touch anypower source cuz you could get hurt or killed because your
grounded, i once had 3000 volts with medium amp running through me, but i
lived cuz of my experience with electricity and i wasn't grounded though
it hurts like hell, while the power is running though you

In 20 years of being an electrician, i've never heard so much bullshit in
all my life..

 

[Michael Solomon]

*****Edited out*****



2 gig. I will read the rest later, it looks too technical for my brain.

Must focus, Rutgers is playing tonight.

If your laptop has maximum memory of 2GB, the rest of my previous post is
irrelevent to you. You can use 2GB with Vista and all memory will be
recognized.