Vista and 6GB RAM

  • Thread starter Thread starter David
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David

Hi, I want to know if windows vista 32-bit is capable of fully take advantage
on a 6GB 800 bus Memory RAM, I dont care if it doesnt recognize it like a 6GB
as long as it works 100%

Thanks,
 
David said:
Hi, I want to know if windows vista 32-bit is capable of fully take
advantage
on a 6GB 800 bus Memory RAM, I dont care if it doesnt recognize it like a
6GB
as long as it works 100%

Thanks,
Click to expand...


It will work but you will only get access to a little over 3gb RAM, maybe as
much as 3.5gb..


--
Mike Hall - MVP
How to construct a good post..
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32-bit can access up to 4GB total. That includes the hardware address
area of around 3.2GB usually. You need 64-bit OS to access up to 16GB.
Click to expand...

Unless, of course, your hardware has PAE (physical address extension) in
which case if your OS is PAE aware you can do 64gb on a 32 bit system.
Linux provides that capability and, I'm informed, some of the MS server
OSs do as well.
 
i've just posted about fitting 4 gig, and it transpires Vista 32 bit can
access maximum 3.3 gig
 
That PAE is for Windows Server with the appropriate hardware I believe.

32-bit means it can only “see” 2^32 (2 to the 32nd power)
= 4GB.
The computer has to be able to see the (usable)RAM + VRAM + other
devices on Motherboard, etc.
e.g. If you have 1GB VRAM and “other devices” takes up
0.3GB, you will only be able to use a max of 2.7GB (4 - 1 - 0.3 = 2.7)
RAM.
In this case, if you install 3GB RAM, you waste 0.3GB…if you
install 4GB RAM you waste 1.3GB!
Click to expand...

If 1GB is being used for VRAM, how is it being wasted?
 
If 1GB is being used for VRAM, how is it being wasted?

Some of the 4G address space is used up the the VRAM on the video card.
Therefore any normal RAM in that space is disabled and inaccessible (except
using fancy address translation, which is only done on the server OSs).

SteveT
 
Hi, I want to know if windows vista 32-bit is capable of fully take
advantage
on a 6GB 800 bus Memory RAM, I dont care if it doesnt recognize it like a
6GB
as long as it works 100%
Click to expand...


I'm not sure what you mean by "fully take advantage " together with "I dont
care if it doesnt recognize it like a 6GB."

Yes, having that much memory will not hurt you. No, it won't use all that
memory. Here's the scoop on using memory:

All 32-bit client versions of Windows (not just Vista/XP) have a 4GB address
space. That's the theoretical upper limit beyond which you can not go.

But you can't use the entire 4GB of address space. Even though you have a
4GB address space, you can only use *around* 3.1GB of RAM. That's because
some of that space is used by hardware and is notxavailable to the operating
system and applications. The amount you can use varies, depending on what
hardware you have installed, but can range from as little as 2GB to as much
as 3.5GB. It's usually aroundx3.1GB.

Note that the hardware is using the address *space*, not the actual RAM
itself. The rest of the RAM goes unused because there is no address space to
map it to
 
i've just posted about fitting 4 gig, and it transpires Vista 32 bit can
access maximum 3.3 gig
Click to expand...

On *your* machine. However the exact number varies with different machines
(always under 4GB, though). It can be a little more than 3.3GB or
considerably less.
 
Bob Knowlden said:
Is that correct? I thought that Vista X86 was limited to 4 GB of physical
RAM. This appears to confirm that:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa366778.aspx#physical_memory_limits_windows_vista
Click to expand...


The BIOS will show 6gb.. Vista will only ADDRESS 4gb..


--
Mike Hall - MVP
How to construct a good post..
http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm
How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups..
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=newswhelp&style=toc
Mike's Window - My Blog..
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx
 
Just to add to the confusion, I've regularly seen numbers from 3.1 to 3.6 gB
in 4 gB system. The most common number is 3.26 gB

I have seen one system with 2.9 gB reported - but it was having other issues
so I couldn't be sure of that.

Also, I think that Vista SP1 has changed how it recognizes RAM - so with
SP1 you'll see the full 4 gB - but it's just sleight of hand and doesn't
change the discussion above.

- John
 
Thanks everybody, I guess I'll have to install vista 64-bit, the thing is, I
have heard that a LOT of things doesn't work properly in Vista 64-bit, is
this really true??
 
David said:
Thanks everybody, I guess I'll have to install vista 64-bit, the thing is,
I
have heard that a LOT of things doesn't work properly in Vista 64-bit, is
this really true??
Click to expand...


Some things may not work.. check out the product websites for any software
and hardware in your inventory..


--
Mike Hall - MVP
How to construct a good post..
http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm
How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups..
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=newswhelp&style=toc
Mike's Window - My Blog..
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx
 
Some of the 4G address space is used up the the VRAM on the video card.
Therefore any normal RAM in that space is disabled and inaccessible (except
using fancy address translation, which is only done on the server OSs).
Click to expand...

Sorry, I was referring to increased shared video memory, not onboard
video memory. My shared video RAM increased from 256MB to 700+MB when
I installed 4GB.
 
Vista x86 (32 bit) can support up to 4GB of memory INCLUDING: RAM, Video
Card, Motherboard, etc.
Click to expand...


No, that's not exactly correct.

All 32-bit client versions of Windows (not just Vista/XP) have a 4GB address
space. That's the theoretical upper limit beyond which you can not go.

But you can't use the entire 4GB of address space. Even though you have a
4GB address space, you can only use *around* 3.1GB of RAM. That's because
some of that space is used by hardware and is not available to the operating
system and applications. The amount you can use varies, depending on what
hardware you have installed, but can range from as little as 2GB to as much
as 3.5GB. It's usually around 3.1GB.

Note that the hardware is using the address *space*, not the actual RAM
itself. The rest of the RAM goes unused because there is no address space to
map it to.
 
Bob Knowlden said:
Is that correct? I thought that Vista X86 was limited to 4 GB of physical
RAM. This appears to confirm that:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa366778.aspx#physical_memory_limits_windows_vista
Click to expand...

It has a 4GB (physical) address space, and of course you can seat 4GB
of RAM in just about any 32-bit computer these days.

But Vista's - or XP's or any other 32-bit OS's(1) - 4GB address space
must be used to access video RAM, BIOS, and a few other things. What
address space is left over after that is used for system RAM. The
result is that you will be able to use only 3.3 to 3.5 GB of your RAM.

See http://members.cox.net/slatteryt/RAM.html

(1)The exception to the rule is PAE (Programmed Address Extensions).
That's basically a kludge that allows a couple more bits in the
address space. MS server operating systems implement this, as does
Linux. MS desktop OS's don't.
 
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