About 4GB Memory

[mn072065]

Just wanted to understand something. I have Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit with 4GB memory. I cannot change to the 32 bit version because I would lose 2GB memory correct? I was in a store and there was an argument about this and I always thought if you want more than 2GB memory on a computer you must chose 64bit OS system. I hope I'm correct. Just wanted to make sure. Thanks

[rallynavvie]

Doesn't sound correct, I think it has more to do with your MCH chipset. Servers have been using more than 4GB even on 32-bit Windows OS for years and years.

You should be able to switch to Vista 32 and retain all that memory.

[mn072065]

Wow, so how can I check if I can switch to 32 bit, also is 64bit better? I always thought 64 bit was better.Thanks again.

[JohnnyMalaria]

4GB is the total amount of memory that can be addressed by 32-bit versions (4GB = 2^32).

BUT - it is split into "user" and "kernel" memory, each a maximum of 2GB. The kernel memory is used by the operating system for things like device drivers etc. The user memory is for conventional programs etc.

So, if you have some fancy software that can allocate a large buffer (e.g., for audio editing), the largest that buffer can be is 2GB. With a 64-bit OS, the amount of user memory available is much, much larger. Preloading audio, graphics, videos etc can be very beneficial and it is one area where a 64-bit application (if written correctly) will out perform the 32-bit equivalent (even if running on a 64-bit platform).

32-bit Windows does support a 3GB user memory but software has to be written to be aware of it and behave properly. You have to set a boot option to enable it.

[Vid-Kid]

32-bit Windows does support a 3GB user memory but software has to be written to be aware of it and behave properly. You have to set a boot option to enable it.

You also have to be careful using the /3GB switch if you are performing graphics intensive stuff. It can cause weird GDI errors.

[buttzilla]

Just wanted to understand something. I have Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit with 4GB memory. I cannot change to the 32 bit version because I would lose 2GB memory correct? I was in a store and there was an argument about this and I always thought if you want more than 2GB memory on a computer you must chose 64bit OS system. I hope I'm correct. Just wanted to make sure. Thanks

You would lose 1 gig. Windows xp and vista 32 bit os support 3 gigs max.

[ofbarea]

I think this is a limit per process. So if you have a couple of processes using a large quantity of memory, you will end using 4GB of RAM.

[RichardZwicky]

I'm using winXP 32bit. OS can find 3.5GB. By default, only 2G can be used by application.

You can refer article at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/291988

[mn072065]

So I better stay with 64 bit. I don't want to lose any GB of memory. Thanks all for the help.