weird RAM

  • Thread starter Thread starter Aaponline
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Aaponline

hi all!

I have a problem with my ram memory. I have vista ultimate sp1 with 4gb ram.
When i look at my computer > properties it shows i have 4,00gb ram (windows
experience = 4,5 is that normal for this amount?). But task manager shows
1534 mb ram... it also shows i have 1gb occupied, which is 66% according to
task manager. Is this a hardware problem or an OS problem? I don't hope
windows is limiting itself to 1534mb's of ram when i'm having 4gb.

Thanks!
 
Aaponline said:
hi all!

I have a problem with my ram memory. I have vista ultimate sp1 with 4gb
ram.
When i look at my computer > properties it shows i have 4,00gb ram
(windows
experience = 4,5 is that normal for this amount?). But task manager shows
1534 mb ram... it also shows i have 1gb occupied, which is 66% according
to
task manager. Is this a hardware problem or an OS problem? I don't hope
windows is limiting itself to 1534mb's of ram when i'm having 4gb.

Thanks!
Click to expand...


32 bit Vista? With SP1 it shows total installed memory (4 GB) , but the 32
bit OS addressing limitation still applies (4 GB total including address
space for drivers, etc.). That said, 1534 seems way low. It should be more
like 3GB available. You might want to see what a third party utility tells
you.
As far as your Windows Experience is concerned, the "composite" score is
actually the lowest of all scores recorded during the performance test, So,
you'll need to look at the details to see which component is responsible for
the 4.5 before assuming the memory is at fault. If that is the memory access
score, readers here would still need to see your hardware specs to know if
it might be the memory itself or a side effect from other components.
 
Yes 32bit vista. I also looked at Start>Run>type: msinfo32.
It says:
Installed memory : 4,00 GB
Total memory : 1,50 GB
Available memory : 700 MB
Total virtual memory : 3,25 GB
Available virtual memory : 1,91 GB
Does that help?
I also downloaded AIDA32 to see what my memory is, and it shows 2 DIMMs
occupied with 2gb each (which is correct), but it shows 1,5gb of memory
'overall'.
by the way, i just want to know if my computer doesn't limits itself to 1,50
GB.
more info:
AMD 64x2 6400+ (scores 5,5)
8800gt SLI (scores 5,9 on both graphics indexes)
500gb HDD (scores 5,9)
which means the 4,5 is due to RAM. I've looked some more on internet, and
some sites say 4,5 is the highest score you can get, because it's set at
1,5gb+ = 4,5.
A friend of mine scored 5,4 though, but he has slightly faster RAM.
 
Wow. I don't think I've ever seen anything below 2.2GB available on 32bit
Windows with 4GB installed. What do you see if you remove one module? The
BIOS will remap will take considerable space for memory-mapped IO for the
video card but not anything like this.
 
i've removed one, same results. i put it back in, nothing happend. Is it
possible to add it somehow in BIOS?
 
i checked, everything is indeed greyed out.
once again, i would like to know if windows doesn't limit itself to 1,5gb RAM.
if it still uses the whole 4gb, it's ok with me.
and thanks for all you help btw :)
 
Windows does not have a limit other than the mathematical one imposed by
32bits. A 32bit address space is 4GB (more bits are required for additional
addresses above this). The BIOS in a computer can set aside some memory for
memory-mapped IO for your devices, but that is the BIOS, not Windows. The
remaining amount is the memory available for user programs and ranges on
modern computer from about 2.2GB to 3.5GB, depending on the hardware
installed and the defaults set in the BIOS. There is nothing in Windows
itself that limits it to 1.5GB, except that Windows Starter Edition is
limited to 1GB by design. Windows Starter is not available in developed
countries.

You never have said what motherboard you have in your computer, the make and
model of the memory cards, or your video card.
 
Aaponline said:
i checked, everything is indeed greyed out.
once again, i would like to know if windows doesn't limit itself to 1,5gb RAM.
if it still uses the whole 4gb, it's ok with me.
and thanks for all you help btw :)
Click to expand...

You can check with msinfo32 to see how the address space is populated.
 
Colin said:
Windows does not have a limit other than the mathematical one imposed by
32bits. A 32bit address space is 4GB (more bits are required for
additional addresses above this).
Click to expand...

The 2^32 formula is not always valid. It breaks when you enter pae mode,
which is normal, due to dep support.
 
Check Bios Make sure Video Memory is Set to 128MB's or less. Veify that Your
memory Modules are Correctly being Reconigzed Whose the manufacture of the
Memory Have you checked there website for any known Anomolies with this type
of ram. Do you have a 2nd computer you could test this ram on?
 
Colin said:
PAE is a different issue and does not address the OP's question.
Click to expand...

I know, in this case it doesn't, because Microsoft has made it so. It
was to your statement:

"Windows does not have a limit other than the mathematical one imposed
by 32bits"

So it does actually have "another limit".
 
32bits still cannot address more than 4GB. PAE can change the absolute
addressing.
 
Colin said:
32bits still cannot address more than 4GB. PAE can change the absolute
addressing.
Click to expand...

And the point is, 32 bits are no longer the maximum the CPU can address
when you enter pae mode. Then the maximum is defined by the programmers
at Microsoft.
 
Even if PAE provides for 36bit addressing, the max memory 32bit Windows can
access is 4GB. It may involve two address ranges but no more than 4GB is
addressible at one time.
 
Colin said:
Even if PAE provides for 36bit addressing, the max memory 32bit Windows
can access is 4GB. It may involve two address ranges but no more than
4GB is addressible at one time.
Click to expand...

That is not correct. It is one big address space whether or not it is
32, 36 or more bits.

The virtual address space doesn't grow bigger, but that is not the issue.
 
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