whats the difference between........

whats the difference between........ Windows Vista Problem

#1 manicd

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Posted 10 March 2009 - 12:46 PM

.....installed physical memory and total physical memory, as shown here;

System_Information.jpg (170.29K)
Number of downloads: 26

This post has been edited by manicd: 10 March 2009 - 12:54 PM

#2 usasma

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Posted 10 March 2009 - 01:33 PM

I'm not quite sure, but am willing to hazard a guess.

You have 4 gB of memory sticks in the system.
2.93 gB is what's available for you to use (the other 1.07 being taken up by hardware resources that you can't utilize).
1.74 is what's left for you to use (so, 1.19 gB is being used by Vista)

The 2.93 gB is in the range (2.6 to 3.6) of what can be used on a 32 bit (x86) system.

This post has been edited by usasma: 10 March 2009 - 01:34 PM

- John
**If you need a more detailed explanation, please ask for it. I have the Knack. **

#3 Swordie

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Posted 10 March 2009 - 06:38 PM

To use that extra "1.07GB" 1 of RAM, you need 64 bit Vista.

Who said I couldn't have everything?

#4 manicd

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Posted 12 March 2009 - 02:02 PM

Swordie, on Mar 10 2009, 11:38 PM, said:

To use that extra "1.07GB" 1 of RAM, you need 64 bit Vista.

Really???!!!

#5 usasma

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Posted 12 March 2009 - 03:33 PM

Here's the official explanation:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929605/en-us
http://blogs.msdn.com/dcook/archive/2007/0...-my-memory.aspx

Depending on the system, Windows will see between (approximately) 2.6 to 3.6 gB of RAM on a 4 gB system. With Vista SP1 the number in the System dialog has been updated to reflect installed RAM (rather than accessible RAM) - so, if you've got 4 gB, you'll see 4 gB.

But as the explanations above state, there is some overhead that takes up this RAM. The switch to 64 bit will enable you to use all of it, but writeups that I've seen say that there's no practical advantage to having either 32 or 64 bit with 4 gB of RAM. You will notice a difference with 8 gB of RAM tho'

FWIW - I've had 4, 8, and 12 gB of RAM with Vista and find that there's no appreciable difference in performance over 4 gB (for the uses that I put it to). You may notice a benefit if you constantly run apps that normally consume boatloads of memory. What benefit I get from it is the ability to leave lot's and lot's of stuff open, and still be able to function quickly (I can play video games without closing any of the multitude of applications that are open on my Desktop.

- John
**If you need a more detailed explanation, please ask for it. I have the Knack. **