About CleanMem
Short Version:
CleanMem keeps memory use in check on the system without the memory being
pushed to the page file. This in turn keeps the system running smoother.
Long Version:
The people who will notice the biggest performance increase are ones who don't
have a lot of memory installed. (More memory is always better!)
The reason is when your system starts getting low on memory Windows will start
to move memory to the page file. The page file is ran off your hard drive. The
hard drive is the bottle neck of performance on a system. So the slower the
drive the slower the system goes as it tries to work with the page file. When
you use CleanMem you help keep the system from using up all its memory. In turn
Windows doesn't push anything to the page file, and we avoid the huge slow down
from page file usage.
What if you have tons of memory? Should you still use CleanMem?
I have 8gb's of memory and I use Windows 7 64bit. I never hit the max memory
usage. But I still use CleanMem to keep the programs memory usage in check. Why?
Think of it this way. Say you have a ton of hard drive space. Would you want
your drive full of unneeded files? To the point where your drive is nearly full?
Sure I have the space, but why would I want all that crap?
The same goes for my memory. I want to make sure the memory is being used in the
best way it can. I don't want memory leaks and such using up all the memory.
Lots of people feel the memory is a resource and should be used as much as
possible. I agree, I just don't want the left over trash is all :-)
So how does CleanMem work?
CleanMem Works by calling a Windows API. CleanMem doesn't change the working
set of a processes. It simply asks Windows to do all the work. So Windows does
the trimming, the moving and manages everything. This is why there is never any
crashes of programs and any performance hit to the system. To put it short
CleanMem doesn't work against the Windows memory manager, it works with it :-)
Some facts about CleanMem (PLEASE READ):
1. CleanMem doesn't work magic on your system. The best thing you could
do is get more memory for your system! The goal of CleanMem is to help keep
windows from needing to rely heavily on the page file. Which is located on your
hard drive.
2. You will NOT notice a night & day performance increase. The users who
get the best performance out of CleanMem are the users who don't have a lot of
memory. I know others would yell at them and say "well just buy more memory!"
Well not everyone can run out and buy memory. CleanMem will help them until they
do.
3. CleanMem is snake oil! Snake oil I say!...Not. So far the only people
calling CleanMem snake oil are the users who don't bother trying it. I have one
"memory expert" after another tell me one thing and say the other memory people
are wrong! Its a war I don't want to fight and that no one will win. The true
memory experts are the programmers of Windows, the programmers! And lets face
it, they are not going to find their way to my corner of the web :-)
4. CleanMem WILL NOT make your system faster. What CleanMem does, again,
is help avoid the use of the page file on the hard drive, which is where your
slow down comes from. There have been users including my self who have noticed a
smoother system. A placebo effect perhaps? Who knows. I do know that CleanMem
hurts nothing, and does help, to a point.
5. CleanMem does help with programs that have memory leaks. The memory is
pushed to the system cache, not the page file. The system cache is still in
memory. And a program can call back what it needs instantly. This is why there
is never a hiccup in heavy 3D games as CleanMem runs. The memory that is not
reclaimed is freed and allowed to be taken over after a certain amount of time.
The system cache is not a bad thing! and is far better than the page file.
Mainly because it has the GB speeds in memory than the MB speeds of the hard
drive.
(Warning: Memory Terminology in Windows is completely screwed. System Cache
could mean something else, perhaps Memory Cache is better? as proof of this
confusing way the memory has been labeled in windows, in Windows XP the PF usage
in the task manager is actually commit charge, not page file usage)
Since the goal is less hard drive usage you can see here how the standby list
(or system cache) gives us what we are looking for.
http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/E/7/7E7662CF-CBEA-470B-A97E-CE7CE0D98DC2/MemorySizingGuidanceWin7.docx
"Standby List
The Standby list contains unmodified pages that have been removed from process
working sets, which effectively makes the Standby list a cache. If a process
needs a page that is on the Standby list, the memory manager immediately returns
the page to its working set.
All pages on the Standby list are available for memory allocation requests. If a
process requests memory, the memory manager can take a page from the Standby
list, initialize it, and allocate it to the calling process. This is called
repurposing a page.
Pages on the Standby list are often from recently used files. By keeping these
pages on the Standby list, the memory manager reduces the need to read
information from the disk. Disk reads can decrease system responsiveness."
The standby list is far better to use than the page file. Why? Speed!
A hard drive goes on avg. 50 to 75MB/s where memory is over 100x that.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-speed-tests,1807-3.html
So how does moving memory to the standby even help?
Take a process say, Firefox.exe
[50MB currently in use memory] - [25MB Unused, but still claimed by Firefox] =
total memory 75MB
When the memory is moved to standby Firefox claims the 50mb back instantly,
where the other 25mb isn't, so that memory will be free to the rest of the
system.
As proof stop CleanMem from running, let Firefox grow large in memory usage.
Then run CleanMem. You will see Firefox drop, then grow back up, but not to the
large size it was.
This is how CleanMem uses the Windows memory manager to its advantage. Now by
having that extra memory free to the system, Windows has no need to go running
to the page file, which is ran off your drive and is where the slow down comes
from.
That's why people who had high page file usage before CleanMem notice the
biggest improvements after using CleanMem.
6. CleanMem is FREE (Only the Mini Monitor is Free/Pro) and is there for users who want it. Don't know if it
will work or help? Try it! Don't take the word from others who don't bother
trying it. If it doesn't help, or doesn't work then uninstall it, no harm done
:-)
I think I should also clarify, I am no memory expert.
I am a tech who made a program to help my users.
I did the research, made the program, then tested the crap out of it.
So my backing and defending of my CleanMem program comes from the results I have
seen with my own eyes. And what a lot of other users have seen as well. :-)
-Shane
