How to add virtual ram on Ubuntu

Question

I was just trying to play some games on Ubuntu with a 2 GB RAM and it does not run very well. Is there any way I could add virtual RAM from a flash drive?

Solution

I'm guessing you're drawing this idea from Microsoft's ReadyBoost implementation in the Windows line.

ReadyBoost works in conjunction with SuperFetch. SuperFetch, also introduced in Windows Vista, monitors the programs you use on your computer and automatically loads their application files and libraries into your computer’s memory (RAM) ahead of time. When you launch the application, it will start faster — your computer reads its files from memory, which is faster, instead of from disk, which is slower. Empty RAM doesn’t do any good, so using it as a cache for frequently accessed applications can increase your computer’s responsiveness.

SuperFetch normally uses your computer’s memory – it caches these files in your RAM. However, SuperFetch can also work with a USB stick – that’s ReadyBoost in action. When you connect a USB drive to your computer and enable ReadyBoost, Windows will store SuperFetch data on your USB drive, freeing up system memory. It’s faster to read various small files from your USB stick than it is to read them from your hard drive, so this can theoretically improve your system’s performance.

HTG Explains: Is ReadyBoost Worth Using?

If you were to treat your flash drive as RAM, your computer would be depending on it as though it had the same access speeds as RAM. This introduces the possibility of your computer actually waiting for data to be read/written to/from this "RAM" before moving on and performing the next task. As you should be able to tell, this may actually end up slowing your computer down rather than speeding it up.

While it would be a very interesting experiment, it's probably not what you're looking for. You'd be better off adding more RAM, but only if the RAM is the culprit of the problem. Perhaps perform some testing before going out and spending money on it.

Comments

[Thomas E]

I assume count=6 gives 6GB. How can the process be reversed?