I set about 300MB for the swap mem but only 4% of it is used. Instead it's using 68% of the pysical memory
and things are slowing down quite a bit. How do I fix this?

How do you fix it ??? Why do you need memory, just to lay around there ??? Linux utilizes your emory for a quicker access to teh apps you are running, if instead it will make a trip to a swap your linux will crawl to unbearable state.

Linux uses as much physical memory as it can get. Only if physical is all used, it starts using swap. 68% of memory used isn't much, my system is using all physical all the time.

it's BAD that your computer is using teh high speed RAM, and not the very very slow virtual memory on your archaicly slow harddrive? that's a new one to me...

Ok, so what does this all mean to you? It means that you have a certain amount of RAM, Linux knows how to use it best, and when the time comes that Linux needs to dump a little over to the hard drive, it can.

Do not worry too much about your RAM, it's most likely not the problem to your system being slow, more likely it's your Window Manager. If you haven't yet, try out something a little less resource hungry than KDE or Gnome, maybe Fluxbox, which is my example of choice out of dozens that are available. If you are interested in something else besides the "Big 2" then poke around the site a bit and see what people have to say about different ones, the above is just an example, and not meant to be a suggestion or start a debate.

If however you feel you are running too little RAM and wish to make up for it in SWAP space, you will definitely see a slow down in that case.

HTH

I have a problem with my mem/swap.

When I boot up already about 168/256 MB of mem is used. By the time I run a few games ALL my physical is used, and spilling into the HD.

Eventually things slow down and the machine hangs?!?!

Crucial DDR333 2700 if that helps.

Sorry to hijack the thread

T.