RAM Disk vs RAM File System: which should you choose?
Two ways to put files in memory
SoftPerfect offers two products that store files in the computer memory: RAM Disk and the newer RAM File System. Both make your files far faster to access than any physical drive, and both clear their content on shutdown. They reach that goal in very different ways, and the difference has a real effect on speed and features. This guide explains how each one works and helps you pick the right one.
The difference is in the architecture
A RAM disk takes a block of memory and presents it to Windows as if it were a physical drive. Windows then formats that virtual drive with a standard file system such as NTFS or exFAT. It works well, but there is a cost. Every time an application reads or writes a file, the request travels down through the file system, through a block device layer, and only then reaches the memory. That is a lot of machinery for data that is already sitting in RAM.
RAM File System (RAM FS) takes a more direct route. It is a file system in its own right, built to live in memory. There is no virtual block device and no NTFS or exFAT layer on top. Your files are stored directly in RAM, and a request reaches the data with almost nothing in between. Removing that middle layer is what makes RAM FS faster, and it also allows features that a plain RAM disk cannot offer, such as instant copies that share memory until you make changes to them.
Put simply: a RAM disk is a disk that happens to live in memory, while RAM FS is memory that behaves as a file system. RAM FS is best thought of as the next generation of the idea.
How they perform
When tested on the same hardware, RAM FS came out ahead on every task that involves real file activity:
| Task | RAM FS vs RAM Disk | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Create or delete a lot of files | 2–3× faster | No NTFS index or journal to update, just a light index kept in memory. |
| Copy files within the same drive | 3–5× faster | The copy shares storage with the original until you make changes to it, so few bytes actually move. |
| Small random direct reads and writes (unbuffered I/O) | 2× faster | A short path straight to the data, with no block device layer in the way. |
| Everyday application reads and writes (buffered I/O) | 5–10× faster | Served straight from memory, with no extra copy through the Windows file cache. |
Copying files within the same drive is a good example of what the newer design makes possible. Rather than duplicate every byte, RAM FS lets the original and the copy share the same memory and only stores something new when you change one of them. The copy finishes almost at once and uses next to no extra RAM until an edit is made, so even a large folder duplicates quickly and cheaply.
When to choose RAM File System
For most people, most of the time, RAM File System is the better choice. Pick it when you want:
- The highest possible speed, especially with large numbers of small files.
- Instant copies with reflinks, without using extra memory.
- Transparent compression to fit more data into the same RAM.
- Persistence with smart sync, boot mounting and live resizing.
When to choose RAM Disk
- You need a specific file system, such as NTFS or exFAT.
- You need macOS or Linux compatibility; RAM FS is currently available only for Windows.
- You work with block-level disk images or need HDD emulation.
For the full range of options, you can install and use both RAM Disk and RAM FS simultaneously.
In short
RAM File System is the newer and faster of the two. It wins on almost every real task and adds features that a block-based RAM disk cannot provide. Select RAM Disk when you specifically need NTFS or exFAT, macOS or Linux, or block-level images. For everything else, RAM FS is the best choice. The licence price is the same, so choose purely on what fits your requirements.