What are huge pages in XMRig?

Huge pages are larger chunks of memory that XMRig can ask your operating system to use while mining Monero. They help your processor find mining data with less overhead, which can increase your mining speed without changing your hardware. They are a performance setting—not extra memory you need to buy.

Why larger memory pages help

Your operating system divides memory, also called RAM, into small units called pages. A normal page is often just 4 KB. Huge pages are much larger—commonly 2 MB, depending on your operating system and processor.

Your processor keeps a small, fast lookup list that helps it locate data in RAM. This is called the translation lookaside buffer, or TLB. With small pages, a large amount of mining data needs many entries in that list.

Huge pages let each entry cover more memory. Your processor spends less time looking up memory locations and more time doing mining calculations.

Think of it as finding a chapter using a few clear bookmarks instead of keeping a separate bookmark for every paragraph.

Why they matter for Monero mining

Monero uses RandomX, its mining algorithm—the set of calculations your computer performs to help secure the network. RandomX favors processors, or CPUs, and makes heavy use of memory.

In its faster operating mode, RandomX uses a dataset of about 2,080 MB. A dataset is a prepared collection of information used during those calculations. Huge pages make accessing this large memory area more efficient.

For you, that can mean a higher hashrate, which is the number of mining calculations your computer completes each second. The improvement depends on your processor, memory, operating system, and existing settings. There is no guaranteed percentage.

Huge pages do not:

• Add RAM or processor cache to your computer.
• Reduce RandomX’s basic memory requirements.
• Guarantee a profit or a particular amount of XMR.

How to check whether XMRig is using them

Read XMRig’s startup output, especially the lines about RandomX memory allocation and CPU mining.

A message such as “huge pages 100%” means that allocation successfully used huge pages throughout. A lower percentage or “0%” means some or all of that memory is using normal pages instead.

A general message saying huge pages are supported or available is not enough. Check the actual allocation results.

XMRig normally attempts to use huge pages when they are enabled in its configuration. If allocation fails, mining usually continues with normal pages, but performance may be lower.

Enabling them and understanding 1 GB pages

The setup depends on your system:

• Windows: XMRig needs the “Lock pages in memory” permission. Running it once as administrator can let it configure that permission; a restart may be needed. Use only a trusted copy of XMRig.
• Linux: Your system may need huge pages reserved beforehand. With suitable privileges, XMRig can often handle the reservation automatically.
• Other systems: Support varies. Check XMRig’s startup messages rather than assuming the setting worked.

Closing memory-heavy programs or restarting can help if memory is too fragmented to allocate huge pages.

You may also see 1 GB pages mentioned. These are a separate, optional Linux optimization requiring compatible hardware and additional setup. Ordinary 2 MB huge pages already provide the main benefit; 1 GB pages generally offer a smaller additional gain.

The bottom line

Huge pages help XMRig access mining memory more efficiently. Check for successful allocation in its startup output, then compare your hashrate under similar conditions to see what they actually improve on your computer.