4GB Installed (2.99GB Usuable)

Says the above on my computer properties. Am running 64-bit Windows 7, the maxmem box in msconfig is unticked. Just upgraded from 3GB to 4GB. No noticeable system performance which I'm quite disappointed about. My graphics card can use 'up to 1791mb turbo cache'. Could this be problem? It is using 1GB for graphics? And any reason for my pc running the same?

Edit: Laptop = Acer 5930g, P7350 , Intel PM45.

 

The Intel PM45 supports more than 4gb ram, so looks like your Nvidia card is leeching memory.

 

Good? Bad? Means my games will run better? Or can I get some of the RAM back?

 

What GPU do you have? And whats the setting?

 

I had the same problem. It's the fault of the BIOS, but I don't remember exactly what the issue is.

One of the performance monitors in Windows 7 will show you that 1gb is "reserved". If only I could remember which one. Does it annoy anyone else that Win 7 has about 10 different places to change settings, 4 different performance monitor programs, etc?

Edit: Ah, I found it.. Search for "resource monitor" on your start menu. It should show about 1gb as "hardware reserved" which means the BIOS is locking out 1gb RAM. For me, a BIOS update fixed it.

 

ah, another user obsessed about getting his 'max free ram'.

Unused ram is useless ram.

Don't worry that your OS/machine appears to be using all of the system ram. It's supposed to.

Let the OS use as much ram as it needs, it will give it up when necessary to support programs.

And stop using things like 'resource monitor' and task manager to 'study' your system. Learn how to use the better utilities from the sysinternals site at msft. Also learn how to interpret the results.

 

Go advance display properties and do some simple addition maths.
Post again when it doesn't add up...

 

I'm sure one day we'll all get to your level of knowledge. Can't wait. All I wanted to know was if there was anything I was missing, like enabling windows to use the extra ram I installed or anything, as I was pretty sure you just put it in and that's it. Didn't want £40 going down the drain.

 

Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT, havn't tweaked it or anything.

Yup it does show 1GB as reserved, so you think a BIOS update will fix it?

 

Even if your GPU reserver 1gb ram you would not see a very high performance increase.
And i think you would need a bios upgrade to fix "the missing 1gb" issue.

 

I want to say the PM45 does not have the memory address space to use all 4gb of ram. You need to have more than 4gb of memory address space to use all 4gb not exactly 4gb like the PM45 has.

This is a rehash of a prior topic from a year ago so going off memory, look up the white papers for yourself to verify, I am out the door with the kids right now so dont have the time to do it.

 

See if your BIOS has a setting for the address space. On some, like mine with the old flash, it only works if RAM settings are at "auto"

 

maybe u got 32bit Windows? It would only allow 3GB to be used.... 4GB+++ can only be shown if u got 64 bit windows...

 

Are you mistaking the Montevina platform PM45 for the Napa platform 945? I'm pretty sure the PM45 supports 4 GB of RAM or a lot of people here would be complaining.

And he said he has a P7350, so there's no mistake on his end.

 

thats just it i do not remember the one in my mind just know one sinilar had 4gb of address space and so people thought that meant it supports 4gb ram but that is not true you need more than 4gb to map system memory

 

this is off the subject, but its something that needs to be said for the betterment of this community...
the senior members here, and professionals who work on computers do not "know" more. they do, but its not about the knowledge. they are just people who do not find figuring things out to be quite as extremely irritating as the rest of them. thats all.
so nothing personal to anyone, but we dont have a bunch of secrets we are keeping from everyone else just for the hell of it. its just kind of a willingness and open mindedness and some research, not all knowingness. you can do it too

 

In any case, let's just stay on-topic and continue with the conversation.

 

Most variants of the 5930G seem to be vista32 to begin with. If this was a factory upgrade disk then you may have the 32 bit version rather than the 64bit version.........

 

if its 32 bit , problem solved... if its 64 bit.. we got a biggg problem...

 

We already figured out what the issue is. The BIOS is locking out 1gb. We just don't know what the solution is.

 

I dug up the thread that helped me. The BIOS needs to have "memory remapping" enabled.
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=326801&highlight=

Here is what I had: