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    I hate to bring up old issues but...

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by Snesley Wipes, Jan 22, 2008.

  1. Snesley Wipes

    Snesley Wipes Notebook Consultant

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    this really hasn't been verified or addressed yet.

    I understand that 4GB ram will only be recognized with Vista 64, and I know the max ram Vista 32 will recognize is 3GB. However, does that mean that 4GB ram will not benefit a Vista 32 system or speed it up? Are there any benchies or Windows experience scores comparing 3GB vs. 4GB in a Vista 32 system?

    The only reason I ask is I have the opportunity to upgrade for almost nothing to 4GB if I want.

    Sorry if this is a dumb question.
    Thx
     
    Snesley Wipes, Jan 22, 2008
    #1
  2. nizzy1115

    nizzy1115 Notebook Prophet

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    You can use about 3.3-3.5gb ram in 32bit operating systems. and it will run dual channel so yes it will benifit
     
    nizzy1115, Jan 22, 2008
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  3. Snesley Wipes

    Snesley Wipes Notebook Consultant

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    Thx Nizzy. You wouldn't happen to have any links or benchmarks to this would you?
     
    Snesley Wipes, Jan 22, 2008
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  4. Samuel613

    Samuel613 Notebook Evangelist

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    It's not a dumb question, but your "knowledge", that Vista x86 (32-bit) will only see 3 GB, is incorrect.

    Your question is, then, different than the one you asked. 4 GB will benefit Vista because you'll have at least .25, if not .5 GB more to use, even under a 32-bit system. Remember that Vista is a hog.

    And since, AFAIK, MS allows you to install the same Vista x64 edition as your current x86 edition, I would certainly buy the upgrade to 4 GB for close to nothing for that possibility alone.
     
    Samuel613, Jan 22, 2008
    #4
  5. droni

    droni Notebook Enthusiast

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    not 100% sure on this but apparently vista sp1 allows u to use the full 4gb even on the 32bit system, Source: wikipedia
     
    droni, Jan 23, 2008
    #5
  6. Kdawgca

    Kdawgca rotaredoM repudrepuS RBN

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    Vista SP1 will show the total amount of memory installed instead of total amount available.

    http://news.softpedia.com/news/Vista-SP1-Won-039-t-Resolve-the-4-GB-RAM-Limitation-of-32-bit-Windows-Vista-75309.shtml

    If its a 32bit version of any OS, then you will not see the full 4GB becuase other hardware componets like the GPU need to use part of the 4GB address space.
     
    Kdawgca, Jan 23, 2008
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  7. crash

    crash NBR Assassin

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    It's not necessarily a hog in a bad way, it uses the available RAM to speed up your computer with the assumption that unused RAM is wasted RAM.
     
    crash, Jan 23, 2008
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  8. Snesley Wipes

    Snesley Wipes Notebook Consultant

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    Snesley Wipes, Jan 23, 2008
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  9. swarmer

    swarmer beep beep

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    swarmer, Jan 24, 2008
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  10. capntang

    capntang Notebook Guru

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    No. It can't. It will recognize that there is 4GB installed, but the same 32-bit address limitations still apply.
     
    capntang, Jan 24, 2008
    #10