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    Dell Studio 15 and 17 RAM size?

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by NoteBooks4Ever, Sep 10, 2008.

  1. NoteBooks4Ever

    NoteBooks4Ever Notebook Consultant

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    This pertains to the Dell Studio 15 and 17. If you have Vista Home Premium or Ultimate 32-bit Operating System, would you go for 3 or 4 GB RAM? Explain...
     
    NoteBooks4Ever, Sep 10, 2008
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  2. tianxia

    tianxia kitty!!!

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    4, more is better!
    plus you can run them in dual channel.
    ram is so cheap now I don't really care about the unusable 0.5gb.
     
    tianxia, Sep 10, 2008
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  3. allfiredup

    allfiredup Notebook Virtuoso

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    A 32-bit O/S is unable to recognize much over 3GB. It varies from one system to another, but even with 4GB installed, the most it will "see" is 3.25 to 3.5GB. The technical reasons for this limitation are complex. It has to do with how the system addresses and communicates with various components (graphics cards, etc.) and each of those items chips away from the 4GB total.

    It appears that Dell now offers 64-bit Vista on the Studio models, have you considered going that route?
     
    allfiredup, Sep 10, 2008
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  4. NoteBooks4Ever

    NoteBooks4Ever Notebook Consultant

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    I see it ONLY for the Studio 15, not 17. Bummer Dell. BOOOOOOO!!!!
     
    NoteBooks4Ever, Sep 10, 2008
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  5. Kensik

    Kensik Notebook Enthusiast

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    its cheep lol just get it.
     
    Kensik, Sep 10, 2008
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  6. bhavinshah88

    bhavinshah88 Notebook Enthusiast

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    It's not necessarily better...as explained above, 32-bit Windows can't use much over 3GB, so really there's no point going for 4GB unless you intend on upgrading to a 64-bit OS.
     
    bhavinshah88, Sep 10, 2008
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  7. allfiredup

    allfiredup Notebook Virtuoso

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    You're right, it's only an option on the Studio 15 at the moment. I clicked on to Chat with a Dell Sales Associate from the main Dell website to ask when/if the Studio 17 would be available with 64-bit Vista Home Premium.

    I spent the first 10 minutes arguing with him that the Studio 15 is, in fact, available with Vista 64-bit. Then I had to walk him thru each click to see the option (a button labeled "Optimized for 4GB"). Then I was put on hold for another 10+ minutes while he checked to see if the Studio 17 can be ordered with Vista 64-bit! Instead of returning with an answer, he wanted to know why I needed 64-bit anyway??? I told him that my specific reasons were irrelevant! HP offers is on every Pavilion model, Toshiba offers is on numerous models as do Lenovo and ASUS.

    Then dead silence....finally, I ended it with "Thank you so much, you've been ABSOLUTELY NO HELP AT ALL!":mad:

    The key to having a good experience buying from Dell is to know exactly what you want and avoid speaking to any of their employees if at all possible!
     
    allfiredup, Sep 10, 2008
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  8. purplegreendave

    purplegreendave Has a notebook.

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    I got 3, and I've never gone above 60% usage from what I've seen, and that was with Firefox (>5 tabs), MediaMonkey (playing mp3s and ripping a new cd at the same time), WLM and Gimp all running.
     
    purplegreendave, Sep 11, 2008
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