4GB of RAM is awesome....

Silound · 02-15-2009, 11:59 PM

Not to knock anyone, but why put more than 4 Gb in a PC running Windows XP or Vista 32-bit as the primary OS?

32-bit versions of Windows can only effectively use up to 3120Mb (roughly 3 gigs) due to software limitations (claimed to allow compatibility on older machines), and can be forced into using a full 4Gb via registry changes. Otherwise, the 4th gig is essentially only used by hardware such as shared video memory tasks.

Much love to 64-bit OS's for opening that up, but even then Vista was proven to actually SLOW DOWN with more than 16 GB of RAM (inefficient memory use) until Service Pack 1 came out and ended that problem.

02-15-2009, 11:59 PM	#11
Silound ex-CS Swamp Gorilla Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Somewhere in a swamp, south of sanity Posts: 802 Trading: (15)	Re: 4GB of RAM is awesome.... Not to knock anyone, but why put more than 4 Gb in a PC running Windows XP or Vista 32-bit as the primary OS? 32-bit versions of Windows can only effectively use up to 3120Mb (roughly 3 gigs) due to software limitations (claimed to allow compatibility on older machines), and can be forced into using a full 4Gb via registry changes. Otherwise, the 4th gig is essentially only used by hardware such as shared video memory tasks. Much love to 64-bit OS's for opening that up, but even then Vista was proven to actually SLOW DOWN with more than 16 GB of RAM (inefficient memory use) until Service Pack 1 came out and ended that problem. __________________ Back in black, and better than ever! You can't keep a good gorilla down! LSU Geaux Tigers!