Vista RAM Recognition.

Ok, so I've heard mixed thoughts not sure which one is right or worng but I just want a 100% possitive answer on how much RAM 32-bit Vista OS can recognize...(perhaps with a link to a reliable source?)

 

Crucial have a memory FAQ page dedicated to such question and you can find it here. You can rely on those numbers.

Hope this helps you...

 

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929605

cheers ...

 

sometimes a while back during vista testing - an answer (part of the whole) from m$

"32bit Vista does by design not use the full 4GB of physically installed
RAM. Technically it could use 4GB (by using PAE - Physical Address Extension - to access the memory remapped by the mainboard above the 4GB address boundary). By a marketing design/decision all Windows Vista 32bit editions are limited to 4GB address space. Vista Starter ist limited to 1GB."

they are many articles floating out there regarding this so.called marketing deision of m$ with Vista - sounded more to me a flaw (laziness) in os design than anything else

cheers ...

 

qhn: I think it has a lot of the business strategy in marketing, through differentiating their products by limiting their capability.

Take instance the number of CPUs supported on MS Server O/Ses vs MS Workstation O/Ses. This is quite the same approach with the maximum memory support.

I think that Microsoft has taken this approach as to maximise the MS Server O/Ses sales, since they generate higher profit margin. Most business organisations run large databases. And to run these databases, the hardware platform should consist of multi-processors and heaps of ram. Otherwise, businesses could save a lot by installing these heavy-load demanding applications on home-consumer oriented MS O/Ses.

Unfortunately, the computer enthusiasts are made to suffer if they cannot afford MS Server based 0/Ses, but wanting a lot of ram.

 

my take is that they r just trying to push vista x64, since that is ONE - if not the MUST - of many requirements that would allow users to access all 4gb installed

taken from m$ support (of the above link):
...
WORKAROUND (i like their terminology):
For Windows Vista to use all 4 GB of memory on a computer that has 4 GB of memory installed, the computer must meet the following requirements:

• The chipset must support at least 8 GB of address space. Chipsets that have this capability include the following:
• Intel 975X
• Intel P965
• Intel 955X on Socket 775
• Chipsets that support AMD processors that use socket F, socket 940, socket 939, or socket AM2. These chipsets include any AMD socket and CPU combination in which the memory controller resides in the CPU.

• The CPU must support the x64 instruction set. The AMD64 CPU and the Intel EM64T CPU support this instruction set.

• The BIOS must support the memory remapping feature. The memory remapping feature allows for the segment of system memory that was previously overwritten by the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) configuration space to be remapped above the 4 GB address line. This feature must be enabled in the BIOS configuration utility on the computer. View your computer product documentation for instructions that explain how to enable this feature. Many consumer-oriented computers may not support the memory remapping feature. No standard terminology is used in documentation or in BIOS configuration utilities for this feature. Therefore, you may have to read the descriptions of the various BIOS configuration settings that are available to determine whether any of the settings enable the memory remapping feature.

• An x64 (64-bit) version of Windows Vista must be used.

Contact the computer vendor to determine whether your computer meets these requirements.
...

cheers ...

 

I think some of you are saying 32-bit can recognize 4GB and some are saying only 64-bit can...???

 

they r saying theres 4GB of address space in vista 32 bit. its different to how much ram it will be able to use.

 

not i

m$ says so

cheers ...

 

32bits can only be used to have up to about 4 billion separate addresses. Hence, the 4GB limit of 32bit addressing. You lose some due to other system overhead and legacy design issues (video memory needs to be part of those 4 billion addresses, as well as DMA accesses, etc.), so you'll NEVER get 4GB of RAM really working on a 32bit system, except with PAE, which requires applications that can deal with it. Very few outside of high-end business and scientific applications do so.

64bit on the other hand, you can access something like 16EB (exabytes, 1EB = 1000TB, and 1TB=1000GB) of memory addresses. You ain't gonna run out soon. That's a lot of the reason behind the move to 64bits... we're running into the wall of how much memory an application can address without a lot of specific programming hacks. I call them hacks because while they work, they're not elegant, and they aren't really extensible.