Fine-Tuning Your SunPCi Configuration

The following sections describe some aspects of SunPCi configuration that you can change to improve performance of the SunPCi software.

Memory

The more system memory you have, the better the performance of the SunPCi program. A minimum of 64 Mbytes on the SunPCi card is suggested for running SunPCi software; a 64-Mbyte memory module comes installed on the SunPCi card by default. Windows software runs best with at least 48 Mbytes of RAM.

If you want to increase the amount of RAM allocated to SunPCi, you may want to purchase the optional 128 Mbyte memory module. You can purchase two of them and replace the 64 Mbytes memory module, for a total of 256 Mbytes. Refer to the SunPCi Installation Guide for more information, or contact your Sun reseller.

Emulated versus Extended Drives

You should specify as large a drive size as possible when creating a new C: or D: drive. (Depending on the available space on your hard disk, you can specify up to 2 Gbytes.) Remember that the actual file size of your emulated drives varies, depending on the applications and data you store on them.

For more information about using emulated hard disk drives, see the section Emulated Hard Drives. For information about using extended drives, see Extended Hard Drives.

Improving Video Performance

If your workstation video display is running in 8-bit mode, you can improve video performance by selecting a simple pattern or None for your desktop wallpaper. A complicated wallpaper pattern causes the screen to repaint more often while you work, thus slowing down video performance.

Changing your desktop wallpaper does not affect performance for 24-bit video.

Improving Emulated Disk Performance

By default, SunPCi creates your C: drive (a large UNIX file) in a ~/pc directory within your home directory. If your home directory is not located on your workstation's hard drive, but on the network, the performance of your C: drive may be affected. To improve performance, you may want to move your C: drive to your local workstation's hard drive.