Windows Vista: 3 GB or 4GB RAM
RAM limitations...
by John.Wilkinson
- 4/21/08 3:46 PM
In reply to: Service Pack???? by George Weisdack
-> There is a 4GB limitation present when living in the 32-bit world, though depending on your hardware configuration you may only have between 3GB and 3.5GB reported/usable.
-> Service Pack 1 is currently available for download and will cause Windows to report the full 4GB, but it will not be able to use the full 4GB.
-> The 8GB limitation is imposed by the motherboard. In order to use that much memory, however, you would have to install a 64-bit operating system.
-> Given the OEM licensing agreement with Dell you would have to contact Dell regarding a switch from Vista x86 (32-bit) to Vista x64 (64-bit).
-> Note that when switching from 32-bit to 64-bit you would have to start fresh, wiping your hard drive of the OS, all programs, etc, reinstall Windows, and then restore your files from backup.
Thus, it may or may not be worth the trouble.
Hope this helps,
John
is 64 bit worthwhile?
by roettcher - 4/21/08 7:12 PM In reply to: RAM limitations... by John.Wilkinson
I am about to purchase a laptop for my daughter going to college in the fall. Is it worthwhile to get Vista x64 over a Vista x86? I don't see much new software advertising their capabiities with a 64bit machine over a 32 bit machine?
Thank you,
Today it's troublesome.
by R. Proffitt - 4/21/08 7:15 PM
In reply to: is 64 bit worthwhile? by roettcher
Vista 64 limits your options for firewalls, antivirus and the occasional software issues.
For now it's for those that don't mind a few arrows in their back (from being in the front of the charge.)
more memory
by roettcher - 4/22/08 5:09 AM In reply to: Today it's troublesome. by R. Proffitt
I understand that the max memory for a 32bit Vista is software limited to 3GB. Does anyone know if Vsita will/can be fixed to see greater than this limit? Of course 3GB will probably still serve our needs but my experience is that memory needs to be added in pairs requiring removal and dollar loss of existing memory then add in the new memory. Software seems to trend to using greater amounts of memory over time so I wanted to add as much as possible up front.
Sorry.
by R. Proffitt - 4/22/08 5:33 AM
In reply to: more memory by roettcher
This is widely discussed and here's the short version. 32bits of address is 4GB of space. Some space is used for video and other things so 3GB is left.
To add insult to injury Windows limits apps to 2.0GB (see above) and even with the /3GB noted above most apps are not compiled to use more than 2GB.
There is also the issue that there is little payoff past 2GB today. I wasn't going to continue in this post but the reason I see 3 to 4GB speed ups is on machines that had 3 sticks of ram and when they add the 4th the machine goes back to dual channel mode and you get your memory speed back.
This area is full of pitfalls so don't get too excited about going past 2GB.
Bob
for college use, 32bit is fine
by ramarc - 4/21/08 7:17 PM In reply to: is 64 bit worthwhile? by roettcherlike you said, not many apps can take advantage of 64bit and you'll still run into some incompatibilities. so unless your daughter is a geek who likes to push the envelope, stick with 32bit.
32 bit into the future
by roettcher - 4/21/08 7:39 PM In reply to: for college use, 32bit is fine by ramarcI was hopeing the laptop would be good for her 4 years in college. Though she'll be a science major and won't push the tech envelope I wasn't sure where the direction of computing may go over the next couple years. I guess I'm trying to future proof the laptop as much as possible.
Thx again,
trust me, she'll want/need another laptop in 2-3 years
by ramarc - 4/22/08 6:14 AM In reply to: 32 bit into the future by roettcheri suggest you get a midrange ($800-$1000) laptop now, and budget for another midrange unit in a couple of years. also, check the college/university website and see what models/configurations they recommend.
good thought, but???
by roettcher - 4/23/08 5:46 AM In reply to: trust me, she'll want/need another laptop in 2-3 years by ramarcActually the university, Purdue, has a custom configured HP for $1650 (1G memory -32bit) including both common software (MS) and Purdue specific sw + a 4 yr warranty. I think HP sells the same model direct for $1200. I want to beef up the memory but don't know if I should add 1, 2, or 3gb - hence my questions here. Extra's, like a bigger battery will take this to $2000 or two midrange laptops over time. At some point the 64bit machines will be fine tuned and become the standard, I'm just not sure when.
From conversations here I will avoid the 64bit machines, which answered one of my basic questions. But your thought is correct - are two cheaper mass market models better than one full blown model over 4 years.
Thx,
im going to purdue
by mooseman923 - 4/23/08 8:23 AM In reply to: good thought, but??? by roettcherso i think im going to go with the dell xps 1530
get four gig it will run faster
by Basket628 - 4/17/08 1:50 AM In reply to: 3 GB or 4GB RAM by mooseman923get four gig it will run faster
thanks
by mooseman923 - 4/17/08 5:30 AM In reply to: get four gig it will run faster by Basket628thanks to everyone who replied. i have no experence with vista so i need a little advice!
Thanks!
Ahhh... you will learn fast
by glenn30 - 4/17/08 6:26 AM In reply to: thanks by mooseman923Vista will break you in right... even in the middle of that cornfield!
Hang in and be patient.
Glenn
Depends on your processor
by SamdarshXpress - 4/19/08 2:37 AM In reply to: 3 GB or 4GB RAM by mooseman923If you have a 32 bit processor in your laptop, then don't ever go for 4 GB as only 3GB RAM is supported at maximum in 32 bit processors. So if you install 4GB the that will even work as 3GB in your laptop.
But if you have a 64 bit processor then you can use 4GB RAM.
Actually, you can get variable speeds with ram of same capacity. I mean a DDR2 RAM at 800MHz would work much better as compared to a DDR2 RAM at 533 or 400MHz. So use higher frequency RAM for better Performance.
And Vista can work fine with 1GB also, but for gaming you can use more.
Not exactly
by DeepPurple23 - 4/21/08 6:32 AM In reply to: Depends on your processor by SamdarshXpressI'm not picking on anyone in particular here, but I do see a common thread (mistake) amoung all of the 2GB vs 4GB debates and that error is that everyone says if you have 32-bit Vista you will only see or use 3GB. That is incorrect. I have 32-bit Vista with 4GB and I use 3.5+GB. Here's the anwser if you're confused. A 32-bit system is only capable of "addressing" 4GB of memory, just a limit in number combos, that being said, your video memory and other items require memory addresses prior to RAM usage, so the amount of RAM that can be used by your computer is based on what you have in the system. For instance I have a wireless card and a video card with 320MB of memory and that's it in my computer. Therefore when I boot the computer shows my 4GB as 3.53GB, if you have larger memory in your video card you will see less.
All that being said, personally on a laptop, I would probably stick with 3GB, unless the video card is shared memory, then I might bump it up if the cost difference made sense, and I agree with Samdarsh try to get the fastest DDR2 clock speed that you can. 800 is probably the best you'll see in a laptop, but 667 would be okay as well.
Good Luck.
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