8gb ram installed only 7.8gb usable??

Hi.
First time Alienware owner
I just got my Alienware M11 R2 i7 with 8 g ram about 2 weeks. and try to re-install win 7 with the system CD. however, after I reinstall and download all driver from dell for some reason it only 8gb of ram was shown on widow, but it said only 7.8 GB usable? I tried to updated the Bios with old or new version. Tried different Ram from my other laptop same thing, showing only 7.8 usable ram. Please help

 

The 200mb that you are missing is reserved for the Intel graphics.

 

Where are you checking this? I've got 4 GB, and when I check System Properties, it says 4.0 GB. When I check the Task Manager, it says 3996 MB.

I'm wondering if some of this is a GB/GiB error (but I understand that this is only for storage media, not RAMs).

Also wondering if it has to do with integrated graphics taking up some of the RAMs, or maybe Optimus (which might explain why I don't see it; I have an R1).

 

It's for the Intel integrated graphics on an R2.

 

This is shown in my computer--- system properties.. where I can rate my computer. It shown under the
" Installed Memory (RAM): 8.00GB (7.80 GB usable) "
No idea what is going on.. I put a different Ram into this computer. It showed the same thing. I did use a Different Bios won't work.

Well... But before I reinstalled the Win.. It show 8GB.. I am new to Alienware.. Please help

 

Oh... I see... One more thing... how can you rate 3.5 on the Windows Aero graphic I only got 3.0 on mine.. YOU OC the HELL out of your system or what?? I would be mad if my i7 score lower than you.

 

I updated to the new Intel graphics driver and my score went up. I wouldn't worry about the aero score, mine was 2 something before the new driver.

 

If I do manual accessment it get's 2.7, it I update Nvidia driver (so it'll recommend me to do new accessment) and let it do automatically I get 3.5.... strange!

 

Windows Experience Index is comprised of several different sub-scores.

Processor Score
Memory (RAM) Score
Graphics (2D) Score
Gaming Graphics (3D) Score
Storage Drive Score

The Windows Experience Index takes the lowest of those 5 sub-scores. The 3.0 you got is because 3.0 is the lowest you scored in one of those 5 categories... most likely in Graphics (2D).

Your Processor sub-Score (based on a Core i7) is most likely higher than i_has_m11x's Processor sub-Score (based on a Core i5). But that sub-score doesn't show, because your lowest score is a 3.0 from your Graphics (2D) sub-score.

If it makes you feel any better, Windows Experience Index is absolutely useless as a performance indicator. That is why you will not find a single hardware review site on the internet that uses that score. If you REALLY want to know how your computer performs, use a true benchmarking suite like 3DMark or PCMark.

 

This is correct. My R1 is getting 4.6, so supposedly it's better than yours. That should tell you what you need to know about the accuracy of Windows Experience Index.

 

The WEI is actually not completely worthless however. It is a good gauge for the speed of various components, such as the difference in a 7200 and 5400 (or 10k) RPM drive, or how Windows sees a given processor/RAM. I am not saying it should be used for any type of real benchmarking. I am simply saying that if you are not a min/max type of person and want to know a little bit on how your system performs based on a general set of criteria, the WEI will help you determine that.

The non-geeks of us (however few there are) don't care that an I7 can give a 15% speed increase vs. an AMD Phenom II, or that the increase in a single step in clockspeed will translate in an x% speed increase on the CPU but overclocking the memory will give a different result. They want to know 'about' how their system performs. They see all these 3DMark scores and the numbers are completely foreign to them. The WEI gives them that familiarity.

Never use the WEI as a hard and fast rule, to determine which component to buy, or for bragging rights. It is there to give a point of reference for non-technical users. It is probably one of the better ideas Microsoft had to help give the average joe a point of reference.

 

I vote for completely worthless. My 5400 and 7200 drives both had the same 5.9 score in WEI. My processor at stock speeds had a 5.5 score on one of my other Windows installations, now it's 5.4.

 

I'm pretty sure Win7 caps any mechanical drive at 5.9. I've seen 10KRPM drives in RAID get 5.9, for instance. My old Raptor did too. Upgraded to a value SSD, and my score's now 6.8.

 

I know about the 5.9 cap, but a 5400 drive shouldn't score the same as a 7200 drive. The 5400 rpm drive was just the basic Samsung hd that came with my M11x. My 7200 rpm drive is a Hitachi 7k500, one of the fastest 7200 rpm notebook drives. I say that WEI is worthless because according to that, both drives offer the same performance when in reality the Hitachi blows away the slower Samsung drive.