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    Should I get 3 or 4 gigs of RAM

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by farfromit11, Mar 19, 2008.

  1. farfromit11

    farfromit11 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I'm thinking of buying a Lenovo T61p, and I was wondering how much RAM to get.

    I know that only 64 bit Vista supports 4 gig's of RAM. But I've heard going with Vista 64 bit is problamatic because of lack of support from many programs (iTunes, Adobe, Anti-Virus).

    So if I go with the 32 bit Vista Home Premium, should I still get 4 gig's of RAM or should I only get 3 gigs?

    Thanks!
     
    farfromit11, Mar 19, 2008
    #1
  2. kind3r

    kind3r Notebook Consultant

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    You can get 4GB for the future .... maybe in 6-7 months you'll want to switch to x64. And the price difference between 3gb and 4 gb is quite small..
     
    kind3r, Mar 19, 2008
    #2
  3. PopLap

    PopLap Notebook Evangelist

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    Vistax64 has WOW64 which allows 32-bit programs to run so go with Vista 64 and 4GB + you get Duel Channel :D
     
    PopLap, Mar 19, 2008
    #3
  4. farfromit11

    farfromit11 Notebook Enthusiast

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    So iTunes will work with Vista 64?

    And doesn't Vista 32 bit and 64 bit come with Home Premium/Ultimate edition? So I could switch back to 32 bit if my programs aren't working?
     
    farfromit11, Mar 19, 2008
    #4
  5. Jstn7477

    Jstn7477 Sam I Am

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    Just get 4GB so you have 2 matched sticks and Dual Channel. If you own a 32 bit CD of Vista, of course you can reformat and be 32 bit if you feel that 64 bit is incompatible. BTW you can see 3.5GB of the 4GB so it will still be better than 3GB anyway, so why go x64?

    -J.B.
     
    Jstn7477, Mar 19, 2008
    #5
  6. dondadah88

    dondadah88 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    get 4gb of ram and vista x64. nice performance differecne in x64 programs. if you find all the right drivers i believe it's more stable then the x86
     
    dondadah88, Mar 19, 2008
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  7. Lazy

    Lazy Notebook Consultant

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    unless you already know what programs your going to use and confirmed that there are proper drivers supporting those, ill stick with a 32bit OS
     
    Lazy, Mar 20, 2008
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  8. powerpack

    powerpack Notebook Prophet

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    Alright all, you will get Dual Channel with 3GB so let us get that out of the way up front. The benchmark performance bandwidth hit is 3% between 3GB and matching sticks. And remember this is a benchmark most of you are unlikely to be doing much that stresses bandwidth to the point a 3% would even matter. I have no problem someone buying 4GB but saying it will give you Dual Channel? Shows some confusion, how about reading the sticky's one of them addresses.
     
    powerpack, Mar 20, 2008
    #8
  9. jooooeee

    jooooeee Stealth in disguise

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    I went with 4GB just for future upgrade to Vista 64. If you are going with 32 bit now and forever no real reason to get 4GB. BTW I can only see 3.07GB of my 4 not 3.5
     
    jooooeee, Mar 20, 2008
    #9