Yes. I'm running a lot of add-ons and do a lot of large transfers. My Swap file has between 1GB and 2GB usage atm. The CPU cycles aren't high judging by iStat, but the memory usage is. Less than 100MB free a lot of the time.
Yup. It's reducing the usage of the swap-file that is what motivates me at this time. Also, some other issues that I know are related to memory usage (not stability related) that are prompting me to do the upgrade. Smoothing out of performance is the goal here. When i originally put the 2GB stick in, i didn't have many add-ons running concurrently. That's no longer the case. I Know CIFS will cache up most of the memory for transfers. Like I say, the lack of free memory isn't what's bothering me, it's the ever-increasing swapfile size.
I'm about to get an Ultra 4 and I'm thinking about getting 4GB memory to it. I have a few questions:
1) Is there only one memory slot? Can I use 2*2GB?
2) Does anyone know how much the performance depends on the frequency of the memory. That is, 800MHz vs 667MHz. Should I get one with 800MHz? The 800MHz DDR2 SO-DIMM 4GB seem to be so expensive...
3) Does anyone know the statistics of compatible memories? Could I just get the cheapest memory there is and be fairly certain that it will work, or is there a big percentage of memories who are not supported by the Ultra 4?
What about the number of chips on each side of the memory? In "Memory test ReadyNAS Ultra 2", I read that people suspected that the reason some memories don't work is because they have totally 16 chips, while those who work have 8.
In this case the memories are DDR2, but does anyone know if this problem applies to the Ultra 4 as well? Has anyone tried memories with 16 chips? The one I just got has 16, but if this is a known problem, then I better return it rather than wasting my money on it. I have the PSD24G8002S. I saw that you, Chirpa, have the PSD24G6672S, so it should be the same but with different frequencies. Could you check how many chips it has?
EDIT: I ran a memory test 12 hours with the PSD24G8002S without any errors and now it's up and running!
I'm speaking from my personal experience with PC's now, and not with the ReadyNAS, having said that - the ReadyNAS is a mini computer in it's own right, so you can read into this what you will.
In my opinion, the most critical factors to a stick of memory "working" or not is usually the rated speed it supports and the CAS timings at that rated speed. You may have a stick of memory whose default rated speed is 3200, at a CAS level of 3.5. But putting it in a system that does a maximum of 2700 and requires only CAS 2.5, it may work at the reduced speed with the improved latency. Sometimes manufacturers specify multiple values on the specs, sometimes they don't. I wouldn't bet against the number of chips on a stick of memory affecting the latency, and the other lesser known timings like Command rate, etc will also have a bearing. But in my experience the speed and CAS timings are the most critical.
At the end of the day, the NAS houses your data. Only you can judge if it's worth the risk trying a stick of memory not on the HCL. But if you buy a stick that conforms to the basic specs the NAS requires, as long as it's memory from a trusted source you may get lucky. I do it, as do others on here but it's a practice that is not without it's risks.
