ReadyBoost in Windows Vista: Does it Make a Difference?
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USB memory keys are compact little devices that can store and transfer anywhere from 128MB to 8GB of data, all it takes is a USB slot.
As consumers, we've seen USB thumb drives evolve in storage size as well as speed, replacing the antiquated 1.44MB floppy disk in the process. As USB drives have gotten faster, Microsoft recognized that these little devices could serve a dual purpose, and act as a dedicated read buffer for a computer system. Essentially, what that means is the USB memory drive could be used to store temporary data the computer needs, instead of on the hard drive or in system memory. A hard drive is not as quick as solid state memory, so it can suffer from read latency. ReadyBoost was envisioned to allow the PC to temporarily store non-critical operating system data on the USB memory flash drive for quicker access. On paper, ReadyBoost has the potential to boost the speed of older PC systems and make running Vista a more comfortable experience.
What many people failed to realized is that newer PCs, with quick hard drives like the Western Digital Raptor (for example) don't necessarily see the same impact from ReadyBoost as first thought. It's really only older computers, which have been upgraded to Microsoft Windows Vista but barely meet the minimum operating system requirements, that potentially benefit from ReadyBoost.
Making ReadyBoost Work
To take advantage of the ReadyBoost feature built into Microsoft Windows Vista, the computer first and foremost has to have USB 2.0 slots.
ReadyBoost requires a certain level of performance from the USB memory stick, so while there are many high speed USB drives on the market, compatible USB drives must be able to meet certain minimum data write/read levels. Microsoft requires the USB key to reach a 2.5MB of throughput for 4K random reads, and 1.75MB/s throughput for 512K random writes.
Those requirements may not sound particularly intensive, but consistency throughout the entire drive is crucial to ReadyBoost operating correctly. You'd be surprised how many high speed USB drives fail this test.
Luckily for us, the memory industry has embraced ReadyBoost compatible USB drives, and packing is well labelled in sizes ranging from 256MB to 4GB. At the moment 4GB is the largest size ReadyBoost supports, but Microsoft has not ruled out supporting larger sticks in the near future.
