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    3gig ram windows XP or 4gig ram Vista

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by kummy123, Jul 30, 2007.

  1. kummy123

    kummy123 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Im upgrading my laptop soon, so i was thinking whether i should get 3gig ram with my current windows XP or upgrade to vista(64 bit) as 64bit is needed for 4gig ram. but i heard from my friends that vista will lag your com more than XP and i play games alot. Which is better for gaming? thx for your replies
     
    kummy123, Jul 30, 2007
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  2. Zcott

    Zcott Notebook Consultant

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    How about Vista 32bit with 3gb? It's pretty awesome on 2gb.
     
    Zcott, Jul 30, 2007
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  3. kummy123

    kummy123 Notebook Enthusiast

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    but if i want 3gb, isnt it better for me to go windows XP?
     
    kummy123, Jul 30, 2007
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  4. tsunamifury

    tsunamifury Notebook Consultant

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    The reports of VISTA being a ram hog are GREATLY exaggerated. It can use more ram although XP did use a bit too.. Most things can all be turned off... so the people that complain and moan so much don't know much about computers.
     
    tsunamifury, Jul 30, 2007
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  5. masterchef341

    masterchef341 The guy from The Notebook

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    i disagree. vista is going to take more ram than xp does. its usually not that big a deal, if you have plenty of ram...

    but then a bad port of a good game comes along... like GRAW 2 or Rainbow Six Vegas...

    its certainly possible that vista and either of those games will max out two gigs of ram.

    and if you max out your ram, your game will hitch, while it accesses the hard drive page file as virtual ram.

    if you are gaming in xp, 2 gigs is enough. rainbow six vegas and graw 2 won't be bothering your page file assuming you have a generally clean installation, just the game running, etc.

    in vista, you need a little bit more of a buffer for those games. just vista and the game can end up using the full 2 gigs of ram. 3 gigs should give you plenty of space. its not like you need the whole 3 gigs to run a game, but its possible you will need more than 2.
     
    masterchef341, Jul 30, 2007
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  6. kummy123

    kummy123 Notebook Enthusiast

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    lol now im confused :p
     
    kummy123, Jul 30, 2007
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  7. moon angel

    moon angel Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

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    What are the specs of the machine you are currently on?

    For games I would certainly say stay with XP for the moment.
     
    moon angel, Jul 30, 2007
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  8. R4000

    R4000 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Unless I'm mistaken, only 2GB of ram is useable by other programs in 32bit XP. The remaining 1GB is reserved entirely for Windows, which means it can't allocate 3GB of ram properly......................?
     
    R4000, Jul 31, 2007
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  9. Seraphim

    Seraphim Notebook Enthusiast

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    Not entirely.

    Before going any further, if he's gaming, for now he should stay with XP. Microsoft is well aware that their Vista gaming performance is still behind XP, especially for higher end rigs.

    Now, XP 32 bit can use up to 4 gb minus video ram minus system usage space. Most people with 4GB installed will see just over 2.
     
    Seraphim, Jul 31, 2007
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  10. kummy123

    kummy123 Notebook Enthusiast

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    what do you mean "Now, XP 32 bit can use up to 4 gb minus video ram minus system usage space. Most people with 4GB installed will see just over 2"? do you mean that if i install 4GB the notebook will be able to use 4GB or only 2GB?
     
    kummy123, Jul 31, 2007
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  11. allan_huang

    allan_huang Notebook Deity

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    I have 2GB on XP and I have never gone lower than 800MB left.
     
    allan_huang, Jul 31, 2007
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  12. Seraphim

    Seraphim Notebook Enthusiast

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    Seraphim, Aug 1, 2007
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  13. ldiamond

    ldiamond Notebook Evangelist

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    Stick with XP, and stick with 32bit OS for now.

    Vista isnt mature enough yet, XP 64bit is totally unstable.
     
    ldiamond, Aug 1, 2007
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