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    Upgrade from 3 to 4gb with M1330 & Win7?

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by photognj, May 3, 2009.

  1. photognj

    photognj Notebook Geek

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    I currently have 3gb of Corsair Ram(2gb+1gb) on a M1330, 2.2ghz, 120gb hdd, with Win 7.

    I know Vista only recognized 3.2gb RAM with video ram/system resources eating some ram. Does Win 7 recognize the full 4gb?

    I am trying to maximize performance for photo editing and would like to know if I should bother upping the memory to 4gb. I heard putting in same RAM chips(2gbx2gb) will allow dual-channel performance. Is the speed difference using dual-channel noticeable?

    Thanks.
     
    photognj, May 3, 2009
    #1
  2. Lithus

    Lithus NBR Janitor

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    Only a 64-bit operating system will recognize 4+ GB of RAM. So if you want all your RAM to be recognized, install a 64-bit operating system, be it XP, Vista, or 7.
     
    Lithus, May 3, 2009
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  3. tmaxxtim

    tmaxxtim Notebook Evangelist

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    If there's one good reason to upgrade to 4GB its because a stick of DDR2 2GB ram is DIRT CHEAP!!!
     
    tmaxxtim, May 3, 2009
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  4. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    Lithus hit it on the head. The 3.2GB RAM limitation has nothing to do with Vista vs 7 or anything else, it's a universal limitation of 32-bit operating systems. No 32-bit operating system, whether it's XP, Vista, 7, OS X, or Linux, will ever be able to see more than 4GB of RAM. The "video ram/system resources" has nothing to do with it.

    Any 64-bit system will be able to read far beyond 4GB. That goes for XP, Vista, 7, and all the rest. I'm using 64-bit Vista with 4GB of RAM right now, and I'm using them all.
     
    Mastershroom, May 3, 2009
    #4
  5. paper_wastage

    paper_wastage Beat this 7x7x7 Cube

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    theres the less well known PAE which enables 4GB in a 32bit environment, but that's more hassle than reinstalling...
     
    paper_wastage, May 3, 2009
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  6. photognj

    photognj Notebook Geek

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    Thanks for all the replies. Just want to clear up a few things.

    Is Win 7 beta 64-bit?

    Is 3.25GB the maximum RAM Windows vista 32-bit/win 7 recognizes and can utilize? Or is it 4gb minus whatever Video RAM takes up?

    The M1330 maxes out at 4gb ram. I just want to maximize performance because I am processing RAW camera files in Adobe Lightroom.
     
    photognj, May 4, 2009
    #6
  7. hotrent1

    hotrent1 Notebook Consultant

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    win 7 beta came in both flavors x86 and x64
     
    hotrent1, May 4, 2009
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  8. sesshomaru

    sesshomaru Suspended Disbelief!

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    Just to clear up.. The 1330 recognizes and uses 8GB of RAM with BIOS A13 and above.., and a 64 bit OS.
     
    sesshomaru, May 4, 2009
    #8