id: 114
uid: HzWet
insdate: 2026-02-26 01:05:04
title: Origin of the rule that swap size should be 2x of the physical memory
additional: 🚀 Swap Size Optimization: The classic rule of thumb for determining swap size, which dictates that it should be twice the amount of physical memory, originates from older systems where this ratio ensured efficient memory management and prevented performance degradation, thereby providing a safety net against out-of-memory errors and improving overall system stability. This guideline has practical value in preventing system crashes and maintaining smooth performance under heavy memory usage.
category: Hacker News
md5:
guid: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47159364
source_url: https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/questions/32492/origin-of-the-rule-that-swap-size-should-be-2x-of-the-physical-memory
updated:
image:
author_name: SeenNotHeard
author_link: