I have a 9800x3d, 5090, and 64gb of ram. Any idea why the physical ram being used is so low but the page file usage is so high in comparison ?
I have 64 GB of RAM but my page file is 4 GB.
This is the Windows page file and system managed.
The developer display of SwapFile is something different.
I donât know what it is. Maybe uncommitted RAM.
Maybe someone can advise.
My page file is also set to system managed but it has it at 73GB
Agreed - while we donât know what this âSwapFileâ is in the FPS window some people seem to think it is the same as the Win 11 pagefile. Not sure why the two are being referenced as one and the same.
I have had that issue in the past. If the pagefile is set to system manage and it is unusually high it could be that the debugging information for the memory dump is set to something other the the default. Check in Startup and Recovery /System Failure section to ensure itâs set to the default âSmall Memory Dumpâ. Then reboot.
When set to small memory dunp
When set to complete memory dump
Well, when I let Windows manage my page file, the SwapFile is low and flashing red. When I manually increase my page file, the SwapFile increases significantly and never flashes red. Theyâre related somehow but it doesnât seem 1:1.
It would be nice if the devs would chime in with an explanation.
Yes, it would be nice but not expected. Explanations would most likely lead to asking why the team is looking at this data and snow ball to an onslaught of more questions (especially from geeks like us 
) and Iâd much rather the team focus their time on improving the sim.
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I understand your point. Perhaps ordinary users (like me) shouldnât use Developer Mode then. 
The information presented can be confusing if we donât know what it means. Iâm sure itâs there for a reason.
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The swapfile IS directly related to the page file, ive tested it by playing around with different page file sizes. The sim will always try to use a pagefile, even with 128gb of system ram. Its just the way windows is programmed. The issue I had with the low physical memory usage was fixed by regenerating the page file, now the sim uses about 20GB of ram and is MUCH smoother. Swap file usage is about as high as physical ram, but I dont think its actually using the page file, just allocating some space on it as many programs do.
Here what a Google search showed. I can understand having 64GB RAM and still needing a Windows page file.
Not sure I understand needing a swapfile - unless itâs referring to the rolling cache, or some other cache the sim stores frequently accessed data in.
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File Names in Windows:
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pagefile.sys: The traditional paging file for system processes and older applications. -
swapfile.sys: Specifically designated for modern Windows apps, like those from the Microsoft Store.
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Purpose:
Both files serve as an overflow area for RAM, allowing the computer to run more applications than its physical memory would otherwise permit.
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You can read an explanation of the pagefile.sys file here.
Pay special attention to the explanation regarding its use in systems with a large amount of ram.
Page files in Windows with large physical memory
When large physical memory is installed, a page file might not be required to support the system commit charge during peak usage. For example, 64-bit versions of Windows and Windows Server support more physical memory (RAM) than 32-bit versions support. The available physical memory alone might be large enough.
However, the reason to configure the page file size hasnât changed. It has always been about supporting a system crash dump, if itâs necessary, or extending the system commit limit, if itâs necessary. For example, when a lot of physical memory is installed, a page file might not be required to back the system commit charge during peak usage. The available physical memory alone might be large enough to do this. However, a page file or a dedicated dump file might still be required to back a system crash dump.
pagefile.sys & swapfile.sys are disk storage used when RAM is overrun.
My 64 GB RAM system:
Windows 11 with Chrome Browser & File Explorer running.
Pagefile: 4 GB
Swapfile: 16 MB
FS2024 & pagefile: 4 GB
FS2024 & swapfile: 16 MB
Devmode swpafile: 16709/10783 MB or 16.7/10.8 GB
I donât know what the Devmode swapfile is about or for.
With FS2024 running and search âThis PCâ for âswapfileâ with no extension:
The only swapfile on the PC is the C:\swapfile.sys - 16 MB.
You have 64 GBs of memory with approx 36.5 GBs free. Under those conditions the SIM does not require any swapfile so my recommendation is to ignore it, close down Dev Tools and enjoy your flying
I donât use DEV Mode.
UmmâŠYou took a screen shot while in it. In any event donât worry about the swapfile size. You have plenty of RAM
The OP started with a screenshot of the FPS display in DEVmode
and asking about the pagefile size.
That is why I displayed it to show that the Devmode screenshot Swapfile is not the same as the Windows System pagefile and swapfile.
Understood. My bad⊠I do wish the Dev team explained their reasons for including it in their counters. It seems to be confusing to many but users with 32GB or more, a swapfile shouldnât come into play.
BTW⊠If you manually increase the size of you pagefile in Windows, you will see the swapfile size (counter on the far right) increase as well so the pagefile and swapfile are related. I still donât get why Asobo decided to include it.
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Thats the problem, I cant enjoy my flying. Because when the swapfile gets higher and the physical mem usage gets low the sim turns into a stutter fest. It starts out smooth with both being almost equal. When physical ram usage drops the performance drops too.
Yeah, maybe its good they included it, I didnt realize this was new with su4 beta or I would have posted it there. But maybe this is related to the longstanding issue of fps drop over time that msfs has. Once the swap file gets bigger or approaches the âlimit" and physical ram usage drops in half performance really starts to degrade. This typically is happening after landing at the destination airport.