The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Sony VPCEB33FM/BJ

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by TechJunky9998, Nov 23, 2010.

  1. TechJunky9998

    TechJunky9998 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    20
    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Just got this laptop from Best Buy and I really like it! It has 4gb of ram and the i3-379M processor! I paid about $700 for it with tax.
    Do you guys think it was a good value? I like it a lot, but I have a little weird problem. It shows I have 3.67gb of RAM 'usable'. What does this mean and where did the .33 gbs of ram go? Oh and yes, I have 64-bit Windows 7
     
    TechJunky9998, Nov 23, 2010
    #1
  2. othersteve

    othersteve Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    57
    Messages:
    361
    Likes Received:
    16
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Can't comment on the price as I am not familiar with that particular model (I typically buy Dell Studios for my customers and pay somewhere around $500 for similar specs to yours), but as for the RAM thing...

    Check out this link.

    Assuming you are using a 32-bit operating system, you will never be able to leverage all 4 GB of your installed memory. Is that what's up?
     
    othersteve, Nov 23, 2010
    #2
  3. TechJunky9998

    TechJunky9998 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    20
    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I'm using 64-bit OS.. (i mentioned it in my first post :p)
     
    TechJunky9998, Nov 23, 2010
    #3
  4. TechJunky9998

    TechJunky9998 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    20
    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I read some of the info on MS's site and it seems that I'm 'missing' that ram due to my video card using it? Am i correct?
     
    TechJunky9998, Nov 23, 2010
    #4
  5. othersteve

    othersteve Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    57
    Messages:
    361
    Likes Received:
    16
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Sorry, was out to eat. Posted my original reply from my phone, so apologies also for missing your mention of 64-bit. ;-)

    Yes, it's possible that it's due to that, though since it's most likely Intel HD Graphics with that chipset (I'm assuming, again), I was under the impression that it generally shared the memory dynamically. You might check the graphics properties and see if there is a driver footprint option (I'm not sure if there is in the newer versions of the software), or you could just not worry about it as it's usually normal behavior. :D

    It could be that your chipset does not support remapping; in other words, that it cannot remap reserved memory for the PCI architecture to address space above that of your physical 4 GB of RAM. Essentially this means that that memory space is lost for general use, and it is a limitation of the hardware.

    Either way, it is unlikely to significantly affect your productivity or speed. I would not worry about it.
     
    othersteve, Nov 23, 2010
    #5
  6. J&SinKTO

    J&SinKTO Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    107
    Messages:
    767
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    From the spec sheet on the Sony page it is a Intel graphics card and yes it will use some of your system RAM.
     
    J&SinKTO, Nov 24, 2010
    #6
  7. TechJunky9998

    TechJunky9998 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    20
    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Alright, that makes sense, but why does in DXDIAG tool it says that Intel HD Graphics has approximately 1751mb of RAM. Does that mean it has its own dedicated memory as well?
     
    TechJunky9998, Nov 24, 2010
    #7
  8. J&SinKTO

    J&SinKTO Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    107
    Messages:
    767
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Intel Technology HD Graphics
    At the bottom of the link is a fact sheet that explains the Intel HD Graphics card. Says it uses up to 1.7 GB of Ram.
    But since it is not a discrete GPU, from a quick glance thru the website, still think it borrows from your system RAM (up to that max amount depending on what you're doing)
     
    J&SinKTO, Nov 24, 2010
    #8
  9. TechJunky9998

    TechJunky9998 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    20
    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Alright, thanks for helping me guys...I'll be back if I need more help :p
     
    TechJunky9998, Nov 25, 2010
    #9