Good RAM Disk software?

I'm looking for a good RAM Disk. I really only want it for a 'scratch' drive that can store things temporarily.
I don't like ImDIsk, what's recommended that works with Windows 11?

I don't mind if it's not free software.

I really like Arsenal Image Mounter. It's part of a larger package but the RAM Disk software is free. It's nice because they don't charge even for very large RAM disks and it behaves and acts like a real HDD.

I have 128GB RAM and I sometime run a 100 GB RAM Disk with no difficulties.

hsehestedt said:

I really like Arsenal Image Mounter. It's part of a larger package but the RAM Disk software is free. It's nice because they don't charge even for very large RAM disks and it behaves and acts like a real HDD.

I have 128GB RAM and I sometime run a 100 GB RAM Disk with no difficulties.

Arsenal Recon

arsenalrecon.com

Click to expand...

That is seriously expensive!

Yeah, 128GB of RAM is a lot. I get some sideways looks from people when I say that I put in 64GB. I only need that much RAM to run virtual machines for work lap setups. Otherwise, I would have gone no more than 32.

The only ram disk software I have used in the past 10 years or so is IMdisk. I used to run a small VM in a 30GB RAM disk on a box at work for quick testing back in the days when I only had spinning disk. Since SSD, and now NVMe, I haven't had to do that .

cereberus said:

That is seriously expensive!

Click to expand...

However, the RAM Disk software has a free version which works very nicely.

These are options listed on wikipedia:

BrianInEngland said:

I'm looking for a good RAM Disk. I really only want it for a 'scratch' drive that can store things temporarily.
I don't like ImDIsk, what's recommended that works with Windows 11?

I don't mind if it's not free software.

Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity, what don't you like about ImDisk? I've been using it for quite a while on Windows 10; no problems, though maybe Windows 11 has issues with it. You can't beat the price.

It's been a while since I've played with ImDisk, but if I recall correctly, not everything seems to see the RAM Disk created by ImDisk as a real physical disk drive, limiting some apps from working with it.

BrianInEngland said:

I'm looking for a good RAM Disk. I really only want it for a 'scratch' drive that can store things temporarily.
I don't like ImDIsk, what's recommended that works with Windows 11?

I don't mind if it's not free software.

Click to expand...

Well I don't know if this is exactly what you are looking for, but probably will work. It is PrimoCache. This is a cache that works at the disk block level under the file system. You can assign a cache configuration to different disks with different amounts of read vs. write cache, write-back interval 9If you wish), and can have it persist across windows boots if you wish. So you could configure an entire drive or partition as a cache, or a portion of them.


I only have experience with PrimoCache, and it is really well done, reliable, and improves performance significantly - even with a high-end high-speed nvme drive.

The company, ROMEX, also has a RAM-disk product that I have not tried, called Primo RAMdisk. I expect it is also excellent, they have a free trial, and it only costs $25.

I had issues with ImDisk on Windows 11. I read somewhere that it flagged as a virus as well, good enough reason for me to avoid it.

Some options to consider here, thanks!
I think I used Dataram drive before. I'm sure AMD had a RAM drive as well?

hsehestedt said:

I really like Arsenal Image Mounter. It's part of a larger package but the RAM Disk software is free. It's nice because they don't charge even for very large RAM disks and it behaves and acts like a real HDD.

I have 128GB RAM and I sometime run a 100 GB RAM Disk with no difficulties.

Arsenal Recon

arsenalrecon.com

Click to expand...

pparks1 said:

Yeah, 128GB of RAM is a lot. I get some sideways looks from people when I say that I put in 64GB. I only need that much RAM to run virtual machines for work lap setups. Otherwise, I would have gone no more than 32.

The only ram disk software I have used in the past 10 years or so is IMdisk. I used to run a small VM in a 30GB RAM disk on a box at work for quick testing back in the days when I only had spinning disk. Since SSD, and now NVMe, I haven't had to do that .

Click to expand...

Same, I have 128 for VMs, and partcicularly being able to run many of them simultaneously without grinding them or the host to a halt.

cereberus said:

That is seriously expensive!

Click to expand...

hsehestedt said:

However, the RAM Disk software has a free version which works very nicely.

Click to expand...

So, just DL the package and extract it for the free tool?

Yes, just download the Arsenal Image Mounter component.

Lol - they host using Mega?

File scans cleanly, both locally and with VT Upload. Still, though....that, in and of itself, will probably be a turn-off for some folks.

I'll give it a whirl.

I've installed the AMD (Dataram) RAM disk on a virtual machine. It seems to work ok, I don't need a massive RAM disk but the 12GB licence is only about £9.

Installed on my main PC now, working fine so far.

I really don't want/need over 4GB drive anyway so the free version is fine 👍

OSFMount is both excellent and free. But then, on my laptop with just a simple 16GB G.Skill Ripjaws DDR4-3200 kit Primo Ramdisk with SCSI, NTFS, Dynamic Memory Management and Compact Mode gave me this:

I used OSFMount on Windows 10. For some reason on Windows 11 RamDisk is not always created at boot (for me).
Switched to ImDisk Toolkit.
If there are any updates I will try again.

And Windows contains an error.
At the first start-up Explorer


After refresh

Here is Primocache on my C: drive. I have 90% of the cache allocated for read, 10% for write, hence the sequential writes are a bit slower than the reads... C: is a 1TB WDC Black SN850. It is a very efficient and fast cache, and I have it setup to persist across reboots. I have g.skill 2x32GB 18-23-23-40 @ 4200 MHz.



and the same cache settings on a 2TB SK-Hynix P41:

Paying money for a very simple driver when an open-source alternative is available is unreasonable.
The performance cannot be fundamentally different because the same used API.

abactuon said:

Paying money for a very simple driver when an open-source alternative is available is unreasonable.
The performance cannot be fundamentally different because the same used API.

Click to expand...

I went with the AMD/Dataram free RAM Disk, it's all I need. I literally have it set to 128MB. I often download pics from social media to send to family/friends, I just needed somewhere I can quickly store them and forget about them once sent. The RAM disk does the job.

abactuon said:

Paying money for a very simple driver when an open-source alternative is available is unreasonable.
The performance cannot be fundamentally different because the same used API.

Click to expand...

None of them come close to Primo Ramdisk in pure terms of performance. But OSFMount and Asus ROG Ramdisk are still reasonably fast nevertheless, though certainly not always, as the speed tends to vary a lot depending on what settings you use with these two, which is kind of a bummer actually. But anyway. Dynamic Memory Management and Compact Mode are why Primo Ramdisk really mops the floor with them. When it comes to sustained sequential read/write performance, all the other choices also including all the ones that are not free either are slower or are not much faster than PCIe 4.0 speed. In that regard with only 16GB of 3200MHz DDR-4 in my grocery store laptop that is already more than two years old I get double the read speed and quadruple the write speed of the 2TB WD Black SN850X SSD. Minus all the fan noise.

On a side note. Sandboxie-Plus writes data to a sandbox the location of which can be on a Ramdisk, and, not ALL of the unmodified data necessarily HAS to be stored in the sandbox. That is, only THOSE specific files that are modified by processes that run sandboxed always ARE copied to the sandbox, transparently by Sandboxie-Plus, so as to keep the original files always intact─which is the key purpose of running a sandbox. As a result it usually is possible to save even MORE additional RAM space than what already is possible with Dynamic Memory Management and Compact Mode. Some people run a whole VM on a Ramdisk so the whole OS gets stored in RAM. By contrast, I only selectively put data on a Ramdisk, only where doing so actually helps to improve real world performance. Any type of workflow that uses a Ramdisk consumes more RAM, therefore it makes perfectly good sense to avoid consuming more RAM than necessary, as much as possible, wherever it is possible to avoid. I use PrimoCache also in addition to Primo Ramdisk. But PrimoCache doesn't let me choose what files I want to be cached in RAM. There used to be a time when Intel SRT (Smart Response Technology) was still more or less popular because you could cache your slow HDD by turning part of your SSD capacity into a cache with it. But you couldn't choose what files you wanted to be cached with it so, I called it Stupid Response Technology. By contrast, Marvell HyperDuo did let you select the files to be included in the cache. Fundamenal differences can be found by people who care to search, and, just because the vast majority of people aren't interested in them, doesn't also mean that fundamental differences aren't there. They are.