Windows Vista: SuperFetch and External Memory Devices

[HSLAB]

Takeaway: Windows Vista sports a new memory performance enhancement
system called SuperFetch and a new way to extend the virtual memory by
way of External Memory Devices (EMD).

If you've been using Windows for any length of time, you're very
familiar with the terms virtual memory and paging file. In the past we
all spent lots of time tweaking virtual memory settings in order to
make the paging file as efficient as possible on our poor memory
deprived systems.

Then, the price of RAM came down to a much more affordable range and
instead of tweaking virtual memory, we could afford to improve system
performance simply by adding more RAM. Although the operating system
still makes use of virtual memory, having more RAM in the system
reduces the operating system's dependence on virtual memory.

Read more at
http://www.hs-lab.com/usage/faq/content/6/54/en/windows-vista-superfetch-and-external-memory-devices.html