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Latest post 08-07-2008 11:44 PM by nECrO1967. 5 replies.
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  • 08-01-2008 7:00 PM

    • urielsd
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    Windows 32-bit accepts more than 4GB RAM?

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    I know that all 32-bit OS supposedly cant support more than 4GB, but according to this msdn article, at least some versions of windows can!

     

    MSDN article

     

    I dont know anything about this, so may anyone explain this to me?

    AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 4 GB RAM(2x2, Kingston, PC2-6400), XFX GeForce 8800GT XXX 670M (512MB GDDR3), ASUS M2N-MX Mobo, Sound Blaster Audigy SE SB0570(7.1, HD EAX), 2 SATAII HDDs: WD 250GB and other Samsung 160GB OS: Windows XP SP3(Pro).
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  • 08-02-2008 3:08 PM In reply to

    • RyuGTX
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    Re: Windows 32-bit accepts more than 4GB RAM?

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    I don't really understand myself. I've read articles over the years that sound related.

    http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3034&p=3

     

    I think it isn't just supporting more than 4GB on a 32-bit OS. Isn't there more to it than that like address space and how it is mapped/used (which the article above talks about)?

     

    If you think you can’t do something, you’ll never be able to do it. No matter how easy it is.
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  • 08-02-2008 5:47 PM In reply to

    • warlord
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    Re: Windows 32-bit accepts more than 4GB RAM?

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    When talking memory on a 32 bit os you also must consider video memory into the mix as it is addressed fromm the same pool and allocated as physical memory. So if you had say 4gig of ram and a gtx 280 with a gig of ram. After allocatting the 1gig of video memory to the register as useable you could only use 2.5gig of the 4 you had physical.  also you have to figure in cpu cache as well.
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  • 08-03-2008 10:34 AM In reply to

    • urielsd
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    Re: Windows 32-bit accepts more than 4GB RAM?

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    I have Windows XP 32-bit , 4GB and a 8800GT 512MB. The usable memory is 3GB, even with PAE enabled. Now i figured out that in XP PAEs only advantage is to address more than 2GB for one process (which process may consume more than 2GB?!). Well, anyway: im now wondering if it wouldnt be good to switch to Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition 32-bit, they are extremely cheap now, and with PAE they can handle up to 32 GB, or Windows 2000 Advanced Server 32-bit  as it can handle up to 8 GB. The only prob is im not sure about game compatibility. So, for gaming, would you recommend me to switch to one of these OSes? (and may be buy another 4GB)

    AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 4 GB RAM(2x2, Kingston, PC2-6400), XFX GeForce 8800GT XXX 670M (512MB GDDR3), ASUS M2N-MX Mobo, Sound Blaster Audigy SE SB0570(7.1, HD EAX), 2 SATAII HDDs: WD 250GB and other Samsung 160GB OS: Windows XP SP3(Pro).
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  • 08-07-2008 1:31 PM In reply to

    • RyuGTX
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    Re: Windows 32-bit accepts more than 4GB RAM?

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    I think you should just stick to XP 32-bit if you are a gamer. Besides, the extra RAM recognized will make very little difference in the performance of games. If you really want to use 8GB of RAM, I think you should switch to 64-bit or dual boot.

     

    If you think you can’t do something, you’ll never be able to do it. No matter how easy it is.
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  • 08-07-2008 11:44 PM In reply to

    Re: Windows 32-bit accepts more than 4GB RAM?

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    RyuGTX:

    I think you should just stick to XP 32-bit if you are a gamer. Besides, the extra RAM recognized will make very little difference in the performance of games. If you really want to use 8GB of RAM, I think you should switch to 64-bit or dual boot.

     

    I couldn't agree more. I didn't read too much into this but you can't get around math. 232 = 4,294,967,296 bytes or 4Gb. I am guessing PAE stands for physical address extention? All that being said this has to be a software workaround. Just buy the right hardware or dual boot. Just my opinion.

     

    I used to carry a hammer in my computer tool kit. Just for fixing the packard Bells though.......
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