Looking to speed up L4?
I'm running L4 on a Table PC and performance was really poor. The latest version fixed the Table PC problem and the system became usable, but still below expectations.
Good news! I just discovered something that really boosted things, via a disaster. This weekend my harddrive went totally bad - completely caputz. Not a decay - it was gone.
My disk system was:
- 160gig drive
- 7,200 RPM
- unknown disk Cache size
- regular speed 2gig flash memory for ReadyBoost (a Vista feature)
Now I have (Everything else identical):
- 320 gig drive
- 7,200 RPM
- 16 Meg disk cache
- high speed 8gig flash memory for ReadyBoost
There is a notable improvement in speed - even with follow features like "Power Lookup" and "Cited By". I think the key is using a harddrive with a large cache. L4 writes to PreferencesManager.db and history.db like there's no tomorrow.
The new hard drive was $125 over at best buy and the flash memory was about $40. The system still jerks on scrolling and I still can't type in the Notes box, but for me the money was worth the boost.
[BTW: Of all the things I had to restore, Logos 4 was the easiest. I downloaded the install program, logged in, and the Logos restored everything I had! Notes, prayer lists, reading plans, the works ... it was wonderful.!)
Comments
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Steve Sando said:
I'm running L4 on a Table PC and performance was really poor. The latest version fixed the Table PC problem and the system became usable, but still below expectations.
Good news! I just discovered something that really boosted things, via a disaster. This weekend my harddrive went totally bad - completely caputz. Not a decay - it was gone.
My disk system was:
- 160gig drive
- 7,200 RPM
- unknown disk Cache size
- regular speed 2gig flash memory for ReadyBoost (a Vista feature)
Now I have (Everything else identical):
- 320 gig drive
- 7,200 RPM
- 16 Meg disk cache
- high speed 8gig flash memory for ReadyBoost
There is a notable improvement in speed - even with follow features like "Power Lookup" and "Cited By". I think the key is using a harddrive with a large cache. L4 writes to PreferencesManager.db and history.db like there's no tomorrow.
The new hard drive was $125 over at best buy and the flash memory was about $40. The system still jerks on scrolling and I still can't type in the Notes box, but for me the money was worth the boost.
[BTW: Of all the things I had to restore, Logos 4 was the easiest. I downloaded the install program, logged in, and the Logos restored everything I had! Notes, prayer lists, reading plans, the works ... it was wonderful.!)
Can you quantfy that " ReadyBoost " is helping with preformance or could it be the disk cache?
I also wonder the writting to "PreferencesManager.db and history.db" could be my problem in that the AV/Firewall software are hindering/slowing the writting?
I'm going to give ReadyBoost a shot.
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If the cache is the reason for the performance increase, then that would mean having L4 on an SSD should be really quick.
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Anthony Hamlin said:
Can you quantfy that " ReadyBoost " is helping with preformance or could it be the disk cache?
I also wonder the writting to "PreferencesManager.db and history.db" could be my problem in that the AV/Firewall software are hindering/slowing the writting?
I'm going to give ReadyBoost a shot.
Hey Anthony,
I tried before with ReadyBoost on and off. I didn't notice a difference with the old card. Right now, I kinda swamped so I can't run a comparison with the new card. If you are running a laptop (Or have some other UPS system) you can set your harddrive for write-caching. It might help:
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Pat Flanakin said:
If the cache is the reason for the performance increase, then that would mean having L4 on an SSD should be really quick.
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I was going to try it, but they run about $500+ for a good one. I couldn't justify it. I did have to buy a harddrive, so the $40 for a highspeed flash card was worth the try.
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Steve Sando said:
high speed 8gig flash memory for ReadyBoost
High speed is the key for using ReadyBoost successfully. Flash memory can be fast or slow. Unfortunately, most USB flash-drives don't give actual speeds (USB 2.0 doesn't really tell you anything). I've had to dig for performance reviews when purchasing flash memory suitable for ReadyBoost.
Prov. 15:23
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Kevin,
Yup, my previous flash card was just fast enough to qualify, this one is better. Also, my laptop has a flashcard slot - it isn't a usb drive. I don't know if that's better or not. The card I paid for was a Class 4 - they are about double the price of a normal one.
Here's another note: you can enable write-caching for the flash drive too.
Here's another, another note: Logos 4 uses your Temp directory for something. I moved my Temp directory to the flash drive too - that helps minimize disk access. You have to be willing to change your environment variables, but if you are bold I can explain that.
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Steve Sando said:Anthony Hamlin said:
Can you quantfy that " ReadyBoost " is helping with preformance or could it be the disk cache?
I also wonder the writting to "PreferencesManager.db and history.db" could be my problem in that the AV/Firewall software are hindering/slowing the writting?
I'm going to give ReadyBoost a shot.
Hey Anthony,
I tried before with ReadyBoost on and off. I didn't notice a difference with the old card. Right now, I kinda swamped so I can't run a comparison with the new card. If you are running a laptop (Or have some other UPS system) you can set your harddrive for write-caching. It might help:
THANKS!!
I did some checking with a USB 2 flash stick and there is a plus to the performance. I'll check out write-caching.
I appreciate this insight. [:D]
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Anthony,
I now have:
- A 7,200rpm HDD with 16 meg cache
- A class 4 8gig flash card with 4 gig devoted to ReadyBoost
- Write Caching and Advanced Performance set for both the HDD and the flash card.
- I moved the Logos Temp directory to the flash card.
- I turned on the Windows Font Cache service.
Oh Baby! It's running great.
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