What is 1GB huge pages support and does it help RandomX?

1 GB huge pages support lets your computer handle memory in much larger chunks than usual. It can give RandomX, Monero’s mining algorithm, a small speed boost in a native miner such as XMRig, but it usually does not help mining inside your web browser because a web page cannot request this memory setting directly.

What “1 GB huge pages” means

Your operating system divides memory into chunks called pages. On most Intel and AMD PCs, the standard page size is 4 KB. Huge pages are larger chunks, commonly 2 MB or, on supported systems, 1 GB.

Your processor keeps a small, fast record of where recently used memory pages are located. Bigger pages let each record cover more memory. That can reduce the work needed to find data.

This does not mean your processor gets 1 GB of extra memory or cache. It changes how existing RAM is organized and accessed.

For 1 GB pages to work, you need all three:

• A processor that supports 1 GB pages.
• An operating system configured to provide them.
• Mining software that can use them.

Why RandomX can benefit

RandomX has been Monero’s mining algorithm since November 30, 2019. It favors CPUs and makes frequent, unpredictable memory accesses.

In fast mode, RandomX uses a 2,080 MB dataset, a large collection of data used during mining. It also uses a 256 MB cache when building that dataset; light mode uses the cache without the full dataset.

Huge pages reduce the overhead of accessing this memory. However, there is an important difference between two upgrades:

• Standard pages to 2 MB huge pages: Often a substantial improvement.
• 2 MB huge pages to 1 GB huge pages: Usually a much smaller extra improvement.

XMRig’s guidance puts the additional benefit from 1 GB pages at roughly 1–3%, although your result can vary. That means slightly more hashrate, or mining calculations per second—not a dramatic jump in earnings.

What you need on a PC or server

For XMRig, 1 GB huge pages are a Linux feature. Its Windows huge-page support uses smaller large pages instead.

You normally reserve 1 GB pages through Linux system settings, sometimes at startup. Reserving them early can help because each page needs a continuous block of physical memory.

Budget roughly 3 GB of reserved huge-page memory per RandomX dataset allocation. The dataset is slightly larger than two 1 GB pages, so it cannot fit in just two.

On servers with NUMA, where different processors or processor groups have their own nearby memory, a miner may allocate a separate dataset for each memory region. Your reservation can therefore multiply.

Reserved huge-page memory is not freely available to ordinary applications. On a shared server or everyday PC, that trade-off may matter more than a small mining speed gain.

Does it help browser mining?

You cannot switch on 1 GB pages from an ordinary browser mining page. The browser manages memory through its own security boundaries, rather than giving the page direct control over Linux huge-page allocations.

For native mining, check the miner’s startup log to confirm that 1 GB pages actually loaded. Then compare stable hashrate and power use with and without them.

The bottom line

Treat 1 GB huge pages as a small, optional RandomX optimization for a compatible Linux native miner. Get ordinary huge pages working first. For browser mining, this is generally not a setting you can use directly.