The Pros & Cons of Virtual Memory

Any magnetic storage can work just the same as physical random access memory (RAM). Virtual memory can improve the efficiency of your computer when you lack adequate physical RAM, but you should not rely on virtual memory instead of physical RAM.

Benefits

Without virtual memory, you cannot run more programs when you run out of space on your physical RAM, according to Microsoft. On some Apple computers, large programs require less RAM than if stored in physical space.

Considerations

In an ideal computing world, you would not need any virtual memory because transfer rates on storage devices, such as hard drives and memory sticks, are much slower than dedicated RAM.

Tip

You will probably need to allocate some hard drive space to virtual memory. If possible, you should dedicate your virtual memory, called "pagefile," on a drive separate from your operating system. Virtual memory settings are found under the settings of the "Advanced" tag in the System icon.

References

• Webopedia: What is Virtual Memory?
• Microsoft: What is Virtual Memory?
• Apple: Virtual Memory: How It Differs On Power Macintosh