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    Only Two Gigs Of Ram On Windows XPpro?

    Discussion in 'Sager and Clevo' started by dennis1985, Jan 23, 2008.

  1. dennis1985

    dennis1985 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Why is it when I try and config my sager 9262 on xotic pc's website it tells me that 4 gigs of ram is only availible on windows vista 64bit??
     
    dennis1985, Jan 23, 2008
    #1
  2. danny2001

    danny2001 Notebook Consultant

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    Mabye Justin will chime in with a better explanation, but I believe it just serves as a warning that Windows XP 32bit (Or any 32bit operating system) is not able to address 4GB of ram. Only around 3 (give or take) at the most.
     
    danny2001, Jan 23, 2008
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  3. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Danny is right. A 32bit platform has 32bits (4GB) worth of address space, for everything. RAM, HDDs, CPUs, WiFi cards, ethernet, etc, etc. If it is in the computer, it needs an address.

    Since functional hardware is more important (obviously), the computer assigns addresses to hardware first. Whatever is left is then assigned to RAM, and by then there is around 3GB left of addresses. Thus the 32bit limit regarding 4GB.
     
    Greg, Jan 23, 2008
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  4. Eleison

    Eleison Thanatos Eleison

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    Yes. Sager WILL actually allow you to order a system with Windows XP and 4 GB of RAM, but they want you to be completely aware that you will only have ~3 GB of usable memory. The "64 Bit Vista Required" statement is just one more step to ensure that you know what you're doing when you order 4 GB and a 32 bit OS, since they don't want anyone calling and complaining that they only have 2.8 GB of RAM when they ordered 4 GB :D
     
    Eleison, Jan 23, 2008
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  5. Justin@XoticPC

    Justin@XoticPC Company Representative

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    As other have stated you can do the 4GB with XP but it will not recognize the full 4GB (will recognize approximately 2.8GB). :( Vista 64-Bit is the only supported OS that allows for the full use of 4GB. Feel free to PM me with any questions. :D
     
    Justin@XoticPC, Jan 23, 2008
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  6. dennis1985

    dennis1985 Notebook Enthusiast

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    So then would it be worth switching to Vista64 for the extra gig of ram? Because from all of the testing that I have read on this laptop the vista 64 slows down gaming fps.
     
    dennis1985, Jan 23, 2008
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  7. Justin@XoticPC

    Justin@XoticPC Company Representative

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    My personal opinion would be to go with Vista 64 and 4GB of Ram. XP does game faster then Vista, but then you are capped at 2.8GB. You can never have too much Ram. :)
     
    Justin@XoticPC, Jan 23, 2008
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  8. Eleison

    Eleison Thanatos Eleison

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    @dennis1982:

    It really depends on your own gaming needs. You need Vista for DirectX 10 gaming, anyway, and the extra RAM is always sweet, but if DirectX 10 doesn't really matter to you, Windows XP is certainly more efficient with the RAM it's given. Microsoft is trying hard to push the whole "Games For Windows" as a reason to upgrade to Vista (and it's not much of a reason yet), so there's always a chance you'll NEED Vista for a future game (or if you really want to play Halo 2 on the PC).

    Smart money says grab Vista just in case Microsoft convinces more publishers to make Vista-exclusives, but if you feel like there's nothing a Vista exclusive game could have that you might want, it's safe to stay with XP, too.

    Is that vague enough for you? :)
     
    Eleison, Jan 23, 2008
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  9. badboidave

    badboidave Notebook Enthusiast

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    Why not configure with XP 64 bit?
     
    badboidave, Jan 23, 2008
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  10. Eleison

    Eleison Thanatos Eleison

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    @badboidave:

    Because nobody supports XP 64 bit, so getting fully compatible drivers is an exercise in futility. Vista 64 has MUCH more support than XP 64.
     
    Eleison, Jan 23, 2008
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  11. klipsch

    klipsch Notebook Enthusiast

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    Has anybody read about Microsoft's new Windows 7 OS slated for late 2009 release? So basically, Vista will be going the way of Windows ME???
     
    klipsch, Jan 24, 2008
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  12. rennyn

    rennyn Notebook Guru

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    Slated late 2009 means probably some time at the end of 2010 or 2011.
     
    rennyn, Jan 24, 2008
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  13. Charles P. Jefferies

    Charles P. Jefferies Lead Moderator Super Moderator

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    XP x64 has the worst driver support of any modern consumer Windows OS, I do not recommend using it either. Go with one of the OS supported by the manufacturer.
    I agree - I am not a big fan of Vista but if you want 4GB of RAM, go with Vista x64 so you can take advantage of all 4GB AND have full driver support.
     
    Charles P. Jefferies, Jan 24, 2008
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  14. DivineRiku

    DivineRiku Notebook Evangelist

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    So does x64 Vista support pretty much every thing x86 Vista does.
     
    DivineRiku, Jan 24, 2008
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  15. Shyster1

    Shyster1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    I thought vista was Windows ME, just someone monkeyed with the graphics. :elvis:
     
    Shyster1, Jan 24, 2008
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  16. DivineRiku

    DivineRiku Notebook Evangelist

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    Vista is Windows ME Microsoft just bought a copy of stardock. XD
     
    DivineRiku, Jan 24, 2008
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  17. MegaBUD

    MegaBUD Notebook Evangelist

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    Vista was dead before even existing... longhorn was so bad... just stay with XP or 2000
     
    MegaBUD, Jan 24, 2008
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  18. NavyDad6

    NavyDad6 Notebook Geek

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    Unfortunately I want to access all 4GB of my ram and want the DX10 goodies, so I am stuck with Vista. XP was bad to begin with, especially with BSOD's. It took til SP2 to really smooth things out.
     
    NavyDad6, Jan 25, 2008
    #18