XP Ram Limit..

  • Thread starter Thread starter JD
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J

JD

I'm using XP home edition SP3 and I'm about to build a new computer.

I plan to install 4 GB of Ram but the shop that sells me the parts says
Windows XP won't use all 4 GB. Is that true?

I also plan to install a video card with 1 GB of ram. Back with Windows
98SE I was told the OS counted both the motherboard ram and the video
card ram and that there could be problems if that total amount was over
2 GB, or something like that. Does a similar problem exist with XP?
 
In round numbers XP can only address 4GB. Your new video card has 1GB on ram
on the card so that limits XP to 3GB for other hardware that usually only
takes away an additional small amount of memory (when compared to the video
card) and the remaining memory is available for the Windows and
applications.

So that 4th GB of ram you installed or will install goes unused.
In short: 1GB video card + 3GB ram memory = 4GB Windows XP total address
limit.

JS
 
JD said:
I'm using XP home edition SP3 and I'm about to build a new computer.

I plan to install 4 GB of Ram but the shop that sells me the parts says
Windows XP won't use all 4 GB. Is that true?
Click to expand...

It's true of all 32-bit operating systems, yes. Because of addressing
issues, the OS will only see @ 3.2Gb of physical RAM.

RAM, Virtual Memory, Pagefile and all that stuff
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555223

I also plan to install a video card with 1 GB of ram.
OK.

Back with Windows
98SE I was told the OS counted both the motherboard ram and the video
card ram and that there could be problems if that total amount was over
2 GB, or something like that.
Click to expand...


There was no such "addition" of RAM. However, Win9x did have problems
with more than 512 MB of system RAM. Not that that is at all relevant
to a discussion of WinXP.

Does a similar problem exist with XP?
Click to expand...


No. FYI, for future reference, comparing WinXP to Win98 is a lot like
comparing a Lexus to a Yugo -- the only similarities are entirely
superficial.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
 
Bruce said:
It's true of all 32-bit operating systems, yes. Because of
addressing issues, the OS will only see @ 3.2Gb of physical RAM.

RAM, Virtual Memory, Pagefile and all that stuff
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555223
Click to expand...

I'm a little confused by the two replies I received. JS says the OS will
only address 4GB. He says the 1 GB on the video card will limit XP to
3GB. That seems to be different that what you're saying?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not questioning what either one of you are
saying. Just looking for some clarification.

The motherboard I'm installing the ram on uses dual layer ram but it
only works as dual layer ram when two or four sticks of ram are
installed and I haven't found any 1.5GB sticks of ram.
 
I'm a little confused by the two replies I received. Bruce didn't seem
to think the additional 1GB on the video card would reduce the physical
ram the OS would see although he did state the OS would only see 3.2GB
of the 4GB. That seems to be different that what you're saying?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not questioning what either of one of you are
saying. Just looking for some clarification.

The motherboard I'm installing the ram on uses dual layer ram but it
only works as dual layer ram when two or four sticks of ram are
installed and I haven't found any 1.5GB sticks of ram.
 
I'm using XP home edition SP3 and I'm about to build a new computer.

I plan to install 4 GB of Ram but the shop that sells me the parts says
Windows XP won't use all 4 GB. Is that true?
Click to expand...


If it's 32-bit Windows, yes.

All 32-bit client versions of Windows (not just 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 too.


I also plan to install a video card with 1 GB of ram. Back with Windows
98SE I was told the OS counted both the motherboard ram and the video
card ram and that there could be problems if that total amount was over
2 GB, or something like that. Does a similar problem exist with XP?
Click to expand...


No, there's no such problem.

 
If it's 32-bit Windows, yes.
Click to expand...

It's 32 bit Windows XP.
All 32-bit client versions of Windows (not just 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 too.
Click to expand...

I think I see what you're saying now. It's the address space, not the
amount of physical ram.

So if I have 4GB of ram and the 1GB video card then I'm not going to be
able to use much more than 3GB of ram, if that much? It could be as
little as 2.1 to 2.5 GB? Or do I still have it screwed up?

I could go with 512 KB on the video card I guess but the 1GB card is
actually cheaper right now, it's on sale.

I'm an amateur photographer but I use Photoshop Complete Suite 3 and
it's a real memory hog. That's why I'm trying to install the most ram I
can use but I don't need to install ram that I'll never be able to use.
 
JD

Just to confuse you even more the problem does not arise with 64 bit
hardware / software. The problem then becomes can you find 64 bit
suitable software to use.

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If it's 32-bit Windows, yes.
Click to expand...

It's 32 bit Windows XP.
All 32-bit client versions of Windows (not just 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 too.
Click to expand...

I think I see what you're saying now. It's the address space, not the
amount of physical ram.

So if I have 4GB of ram and the 1GB video card then I'm not going to
be able to use much more than 3GB of ram, if that much? It could be as
little as 2.1 to 2.5 GB? Or do I still have it screwed up?

I could go with 512 KB on the video card I guess but the 1GB card is
actually cheaper right now, it's on sale.

I'm an amateur photographer but I use Photoshop Complete Suite 3 and
it's a real memory hog. That's why I'm trying to install the most ram
I can use but I don't need to install ram that I'll never be able to
use.
I also plan to install a video card with 1 GB of ram. Back with
Windows 98SE I was told the OS counted both the motherboard ram and
the video card ram and that there could be problems if that total
amount was over 2 GB, or something like that. Does a similar
problem exist with XP?
Click to expand...


No, there's no such problem.

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
JD said:
It's 32 bit Windows XP.


I think I see what you're saying now. It's the address space, not the
amount of physical ram.

So if I have 4GB of ram and the 1GB video card then I'm not going to be
able to use much more than 3GB of ram, if that much? It could be as
little as 2.1 to 2.5 GB? Or do I still have it screwed up?

I could go with 512 KB on the video card I guess but the 1GB card is
actually cheaper right now, it's on sale.

I'm an amateur photographer but I use Photoshop Complete Suite 3 and
it's a real memory hog. That's why I'm trying to install the most ram I
can use but I don't need to install ram that I'll never be able to use.
Click to expand...


<snip>

Though it won't hurt to put in 4 gigs of RAM, as mentioned your OS will not
be able to use all of
it.
BTW: Photoshop is pretty CPU intensive, so hopefully you will be using a
nice, fast dual core CPU.

If you really want to use the full 4 gigs of RAM or more,
you may want to consider the 64 bit version of XP.

I can confirm that it works very well with Photoshop.

(I am not recommending the 64 bit version of Vista, simply because I have
not evalutated it)
 
philo said:
<snip>

Though it won't hurt to put in 4 gigs of RAM, as mentioned your OS will not
be able to use all of
it.
BTW: Photoshop is pretty CPU intensive, so hopefully you will be using a
nice, fast dual core CPU.

If you really want to use the full 4 gigs of RAM or more,
you may want to consider the 64 bit version of XP.

I can confirm that it works very well with Photoshop.

(I am not recommending the 64 bit version of Vista, simply because I have
not evalutated it)
Click to expand...
I have a second XP install disk so I'll be staying with the 32 bit
version of XP.

I'm looking to install a AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 6000+ and
use two hard drives so I can put the photoshop scratch disk on the
second hard drive. I planned to use two Kingston 2048MB PC5400 DDR2
667MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB).

Two questions for you since you mentioned photoshop.

With the above processor, is PS CS3 going to work well with only 2 GB of
ram? The motherboard I'm looking at uses dual layer ram but it has to be
installed in pairs.

And do I really need a GB of ram on the video card? I'm not a gamer just
an PS amateur that doesn't like to wait for images to process as I
manipulate them .

I currently have 2GB of 400Mhz PC3200 DDR ram and a AMD Sempron 2600+
333 FSB processor. And a 128MB DDR memory AGP ATI video card.
 
Gerry said:
JD

Just to confuse you even more the problem does not arise with 64 bit
hardware / software. The problem then becomes can you find 64 bit
suitable software to use.
Click to expand...
Couldn't really be much more confused but I already have a second 32 bit
XP disk so I'll remain at 32 bits. :)
 
JD said:
It's 32 bit Windows XP.


I think I see what you're saying now. It's the address space, not the
amount of physical ram.

So if I have 4GB of ram and the 1GB video card then I'm not going to be
able to use much more than 3GB of ram, if that much? It could be as little
as 2.1 to 2.5 GB? Or do I still have it screwed up?

I could go with 512 KB on the video card I guess but the 1GB card is
actually cheaper right now, it's on sale.

I'm an amateur photographer but I use Photoshop Complete Suite 3 and it's
a real memory hog. That's why I'm trying to install the most ram I can use
but I don't need to install ram that I'll never be able to use.
Click to expand...

At the price of RAM, I'd just go with 2 sticks of 2 GB. I'll be less costly
than installing 2 x 1 GB and 2 X 512 MB to make 3 GB. Also, if you ever
opt for a 64 bit OS, you'll have 4 GB. Actually 64 bit Vista is a pretty
good
bet. It's a different animal from the 32 bit version. I have XP Pro and
Vista Ultimate 64 bit in a dual boot, and find that the Vista 64 is snappier
than XP. It's very quick in booting up, even with Norton Internet Security
installed, way quicker than XP Pro with NIS . If you check the newsgroups
you'll find good satisfaction with 64 bit Vista, vs somewhat the opposite
with the 32 bit versions.
 
If you install 4GB of memory the BIOS will report 4GB.
However 1 of 4GB will not be able to be seen by Windows
as a 32bit OS is limited to 4GB of address space and
your video card will use/need 1GB video of that.

JS
 
Ian said:
At the price of RAM, I'd just go with 2 sticks of 2 GB. I'll be less costly
than installing 2 x 1 GB and 2 X 512 MB to make 3 GB. Also, if you ever
opt for a 64 bit OS, you'll have 4 GB. Actually 64 bit Vista is a pretty
good
bet. It's a different animal from the 32 bit version. I have XP Pro and
Vista Ultimate 64 bit in a dual boot, and find that the Vista 64 is snappier
than XP. It's very quick in booting up, even with Norton Internet Security
installed, way quicker than XP Pro with NIS . If you check the newsgroups
you'll find good satisfaction with 64 bit Vista, vs somewhat the opposite
with the 32 bit versions.
Click to expand...
I guess somewhere down the road we're all going to be using a 64 bit OS.
 
JD said:
I have a second XP install disk so I'll be staying with the 32 bit
version of XP.

I'm looking to install a AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 6000+ and
use two hard drives so I can put the photoshop scratch disk on the
second hard drive. I planned to use two Kingston 2048MB PC5400 DDR2
667MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB).

Two questions for you since you mentioned photoshop.

With the above processor, is PS CS3 going to work well with only 2 GB of
ram? The motherboard I'm looking at uses dual layer ram but it has to be
installed in pairs.

And do I really need a GB of ram on the video card? I'm not a gamer just
an PS amateur that doesn't like to wait for images to process as I
manipulate them .

I currently have 2GB of 400Mhz PC3200 DDR ram and a AMD Sempron 2600+
333 FSB processor. And a 128MB DDR memory AGP ATI video card.
Click to expand...


Well I built a machine using an X2-3800 a while back
for my GF who now uses CS-2

the machine has 2 gigs of RAM and works great.

The machine is setup to dual boot XP 32 bit and XP 64 bit and since
Photoshop runs a little better
on the 64 bit side, she never bother with XP 32 bit any more.


Since the CPU you plan to get is so much faster than the 3800 here...
I think you will be pleased with the results.
I am sure 2 gigs of RAM will be fine and you may not notice that much differ
ence if you add more.

One the brief tests I ran, the fast , dual core CPU seemed to be more
important than the RAM.

When she was using a single core CPU some of the large images would take at
least a full minute to save.

When the dual core cpu was employed, the time was cut down to about 7
seconds.

Well worth it!
 
I'm using XP home edition SP3 and I'm about to build a new computer.
I plan to install 4 GB of Ram but the shop that sells me the parts
says Windows XP won't use all 4 GB. Is that true?

I also plan to install a video card with 1 GB of ram. Back with
Windows 98SE I was told the OS counted both the motherboard ram and
the video card ram and that there could be problems if that total
amount was over 2 GB, or something like that. Does a similar problem
exist with XP?
Click to expand...

Wow, I was going to respond with some finite information even given that
you did not supply enough information for a targetted, complete reply.
I see nothing in any of these responses that I read (I quit after seeing
so much crap spewed at you) that will help you.

1. Research your video card at the mfgr's site.

THAT will tell you how the card's RAM and System RAM affect each other,
if indeed they do. Video RAM can and often is, completely independent
of System RAM and there is no connection between the two; the video card
accesses it RAM, and the System accesses its RAM.
OTOH some video cards only carry a small amount of RAM and depend on
System RAM for RAM. In that case, you're giving over some System RAM to
the video card to use. How much of your System RAM the video system
wants/uses, is up to the video system, NOT XP and NOT System RAM
necessarily.

2. Then the best option for you becomes to do #1 above, and then
research/learn about System RAM WITH RESPECT TO your video system, so
that you can compare apples and apples.

3. Unless someone in the responses actually knew what they were talking
about, AND you can pick it out from all the crap and other
misinformation there, which is why I quit reading further responses, you
will only cause yourself confusion and probably a lot of troll-like
responses if/when you take advice from one of the idiots professing to
know what they are saying.

It is NOT a 1 size fits all situation, and given that you havn't given
anything that would allow assumption of a shoe size, and the amount of
misinformation already presented by a bunch of dummies, this thread is
going to be useless to you. Of the responses I read there was nothing
there but guesses and thoughtless misinformation along with a good mix
of ego and "looka me, mom!" crappers.

Best of luck with your research.

If you need some links to get started, post back and I'll find a few for
you to at least point a viable direction.

HTH

Twayne
 
It's 32 bit Windows XP.


I think I see what you're saying now. It's the address space, not the
amount of physical ram.

Right.


So if I have 4GB of ram and the 1GB video card then I'm not going to be
able to use much more than 3GB of ram, if that much? It could be as
little as 2.1 to 2.5 GB? Or do I still have it screwed up?
Click to expand...

No, you're right.
 
Two questions for you since you mentioned photoshop.

With the above processor, is PS CS3 going to work well with only 2 GB of
ram?
Click to expand...


I'm not a PhotoShop expert, but I would think it should be fine.

The motherboard I'm looking at uses dual layer ram but it has to be
installed in pairs.
Click to expand...
And do I really need a GB of ram on the video card? I'm not a gamer just
an PS amateur that doesn't like to wait for images to process as I
manipulate them .
Click to expand...


I doubt if you'd see any difference between 1GB and 512MB or even 256
MB.
 
JD said:
I'm using XP home edition SP3 and I'm about to build a new computer.

I plan to install 4 GB of Ram but the shop that sells me the parts says
Windows XP won't use all 4 GB. Is that true?

I also plan to install a video card with 1 GB of ram. Back with Windows
98SE I was told the OS counted both the motherboard ram and the video card
ram and that there could be problems if that total amount was over 2 GB,
or something like that. Does a similar problem exist with XP?
Click to expand...

Unless you get a 64-bit version it's true. 32-bit Windows can only address
4 GB of memory. Your hardware needs some memory so that will come out of
the 4 GB. You're usually left wit fomenting like 3.2 to 3.5 GB of usable
memory, depending on the hardware.
 
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