If your new laptop comes equipped with a high-speed NVMe storage system but has a fixed RAM capacity of 8GB with no option for physical upgrades, then to effectively extend your computer's memory capacity beyond this limit, Windows employs a feature known as a Pagefile. This is essentially a hidden system file (ending with .SYS) located on your device's primary storage drive, typically the C:\ drive.
Think of the Pagefile as a supportive mechanism that helps your computer manage more tasks smoothly, even when the physical RAM is fully utilized. Here's how it works: when you run multiple applications that collectively require more memory than your available RAM can provide, the system automatically shifts some of the data from the RAM to the Pagefile. This operation, known as Paging, effectively uses your NVMe storage as an extension of your RAM, albeit at a slower pace compared to direct RAM access.
This auxiliary memory space, often referred to as Virtual Memory, acts as a temporary RAM. The size of the Pagefile can be adjusted within Windows settings, typically ranging from 1.5 to 4 times the size of your physical RAM. For a laptop with 8GB of RAM, this means you could configure the Pagefile to be as large as 32GB, leveraging the fast NVMe storage to compensate for the inability to physically add more RAM.
You can access the "Virtual Memory" dialog in Windows by using a command. The quickest way to do this is by using the Run dialog:
- Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog.
- Type SystemPropertiesPerformance and press Enter.
This command will open the Performance Options window directly, where you can then navigate to the
Advanced tab and click on
Change... under the Virtual Memory section to manage your paging file settings.