Newbie question: RAM and 64 bit OS

Is it true that any RAM over 2 GB needs the 64 bit Vista Ultimate? Looking into a new laptop and considering 4 GB of RAM. The cost differential for the memory is about $500 and if I need the 64 bit OS, that's another $100. The laptop will be for general home use with some occasional gaming and I'm undecided about this hardware. Any comments for a Noob? Thanks.

 

nope, 32 bit can hanndle more than 2 GB, up to about 3
for 4 GB you'll need 64 bit

for your usage, you don't need 4 GB, hence no 64bit Vista

 

hi

this question has been answered in loads of threads before this but ill answer if i can

vista home/premium/ultimate 32bit - Note only supports upto 3Gb

min 1Gb (2x512Mb sticks) dual channel
(lots of disk usage for page file)

rec 2Gb (2x2Gb sticks) dual channel
(nearly all smooth running)

max 3Gb (2Gb+1Gb) async channel (i think its called)
- ideal for gaming -

---------------------------------------

vista premium/ultimate 64bit - supports 4Gb and upwards

min 2Gb (2x2Gb sticks) Dual channel
(nearly all smooth running may have a little page file swapping)

rec 4Gb (2x2Gb) Dual channel
- ideal for gaming and everyday heavy multitasking -

there is a quicker feeling response on vista64 compared to vista32.
i went from vista32 to 64 and had no problems with drivers for vista64,
but some users do as they are trying to use older hardware which may not be supported or the manufacturer hasnt made any drivers for it.

- but do note that you check the maker of your notebooks support page for vista64 drivers just in case -

hope tht helps

 

if you're giving a detailed analysis, don't forget to mention that one has to check if the programs they intend to use are 64 bit, or have at least a 32bit installer
a 16bit installer won't install onn 64 bit vista

 

General home use and some occasional gaming and you're considering 4gbs?

Jeez, just 2gbs for you will be overkill.

Stick with 2gbs and a 32bit OS and you will be more than fine for basic computing.

 

And Getting the RAM yourself from a third party supplier (like Newegg) is MUCH cheaper. 4GB is about $240 there. And you might be able to get a update cheap from microsoft.

 

oh i do agree with you on that but then vista64 runs nearly all x86 (some may need updates) and anyway if your planning on running 16bit software why are you buying a brand new new laptop?? might as well buy a cheap second hand one or refurbished.

 

A 32-bit computer can only address up to 4GB of RAM. That's a hardware limitation, and there's (almost) no way around it.

A 32-bit application can also only address up to 4GB of RAM, no matter what. There's absolutely no way around this.

a 32-bit OS can handle up to 4GB of RAM.

When running under a 32-bit OS, the application will "see" a 4GB big memory space, regardless of how much memory is in use, or how much memory is physically present
But it will never be able to use these 4 GB of memory, because a chunk of it is set aside for the OS to use. (Under Linux this is typically 1GB, under Windows, it's 2, leaving 3 and 2 GB respectively, for the application itself)

So while individual applications (on 32-bit Windows) can only use up to 2GB by themselves, more memory is used by the OS itself, and by all the other processes running. So overall, you can certainly benefit from 3 or 4GB of RAM on a 32-bit OS.

 

Thanks everybody, I appreciate your thoughts. Sounds like 2 GB is plenty for me. I was wondering about the added RAM since there seems to be a common belief that it's best to have the most RAM the MB will support. That may true for desktop machines, where RAM is fairly cheap.

"oh i do agree with you on that but then vista64 runs nearly all x86 (some may need updates) and anyway if your planning on running 16bit software why are you buying a brand new new laptop?? might as well buy a cheap second hand one or refurbished."

I want a new machine because my current laptop is about 4 1/2 years old and starting to act it's age. It's very slow to boot up, has only a 60 GB HD and most annoyingly the USB is V1.0

 

Jalf: since you need to substract memory from add-on cards, a 4 GB RAM 32bit system will not use 4 GB RAM (you need to at least subtract the amout of RAM from the GFX)

dersteinmeister: except for the USB, a format "might" do some good
that, and cleaning the fans (they might be a bit dusty

 

Is anyone using the 64-bit version of Vista with new laptops, or is there a problem getting existing software to run? How do you convert from the 32 to the 64 bit version of Vista? I have a new laptop and I believe all the hardware is capable of running 64 bit Vista...

In regards to 4GB with 32 bit Vista: Doesn't the GPU use some RAM as shared system memory? I thought 2 GB was reccommended for Vista, and that 3 GB+ was ideal for gaming. I have 4 GB w/ 32 bit Vista Home Premium and the system recognizes 3582 MB RAM (I thought the remaining RAM is being utilized by the system and does not show up).

 

it's not beig used by the system
the OS has pointers to the memory
however, pointers above a certainn amount, are used for GFX memory and the like
hence, they can't be used for the RAM
that's why it is 'lost'

(that's VERY VERY VERY basically how it works )

 

Well yes, a bit of the memory space is reserved so it can be memory-mapped to stuff like that. But depending on the OS and hardware setup, that doesn't have to be a lot.
That comes under the heading "used by the OS" though, since it's controlled by the OS.

Still, you're right, if you have, say, 4GB RAM on a 32-bit system, not all of it will be recognized/used, to make room for memory-mapping and such.
Good point.
But typically, you'll still see more than 3GB, so it's not completely wasted.

 

true that
you'll see anywhere from 2,8 to 3,2 (with lucky bastards even going all the way to 3,5)
if I remember, I'll post what I get once my baby is delivered