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MPG Table of Contents   Page 1: MacBook Pro Virtual Memory Considerations Page 2: How The MacBook Pro Virtual Memory Tests Were Done Page 3: Terms Used in Virtual Memory Test Graphs Page 4: Virtual Memory with 32-bit Snow Leopard Kernel (MacBook Pro) Page 5: Virtual Memory with 64-bit Snow Leopard Kernel (MacBook Pro) Page 6: MacBook Pro Virtual Memory Recommendations

Virtual Memory with 64-bit Snow Leopard Kernel (MacBook Pro)

This page shows the results using the 64-bit Snow Leopard kernel.

Performance of virtual memory with the 32-bit kernel is awful. Switch to the 64-bit kernel for virtual memory and other performance improvements.

The same performance pattern is seen with the 32-bit and 64-bit kernel: fast SSDs outperform hard drives.

RAID-0 Stripe size really matters on the 2009 MacBook Pro. Choose a 16K stripe size for a substantial speedup over a 32K stripe size.

Click any graph to see a larger view.

Results

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The run-away winner is the dual OWC Mercury Extreme solid state drive in RAID-0 stripe setup. Use of a 16K stripe size is fastest, but 32K and 64K are not far behind.

Hard drives are no match for the fast solid state drives used here, but among the hard drives, the Hitachi 500GB Travelstar 7K500 is a standout.