dxdiag reporting 3G RAM instead of 4G

bought a new laptop and it came along with 1X2G of ram from the
manufacturer-upgraded it to 2X2G at the store.my system report and bios
shows me the correct number,though dxdiag only 3G.the question is-which
report should i trust??:sarc:


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Filename: dxdiag.jpg |
|Download: http://www.vistax64.com/attachment.p...achmentid=8029 |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

--
us3r

Hi Us3r, and welcome to the Vista forums :party:

Looks like you are subject to the Vista's confusion over memory as
related here ...

'Windows Vista SP1 includes reporting of Installed System Memory
(RAM)' (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/946003)

So basically all your RAM is there :D

Hope this helps


--
barman58

Hi,

Dxdiag is showing the usable memory addresses. If you're running a 32-bit
installation of Vista, it can only address up to roughly ~3.2GB of memory.
The exact amount depends on the number of addresses reserved for addressing
the hardware, it can be as small as 2.7GB on some installations.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

"us3r" <guest@unknown-email.com> wrote in message
news:0d0777e18caa7ea7bf790f14a3acd9bd@nntp-gateway.com...
>
> bought a new laptop and it came along with 1X2G of ram from the
> manufacturer-upgraded it to 2X2G at the store.my system report and bios
> shows me the correct number,though dxdiag only 3G.the question is-which
> report should i trust??:sarc:
>
>
> +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
> |Filename: dxdiag.jpg |
> |Download: http://www.vistax64.com/attachment.p...achmentid=8029 |
> +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
>
> --
> us3r

barman58;892515 Wrote:
>
> So basically all your RAM is there :D
>
>

im sure it is..:) but,will it really be using ALL of my RAM for games
or progz like photoshop illustrator or 3dmax?
i noticed this at the link u provided




" 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.
"


- my chipset is based on *Mobile Intel PM45 Express* but it claims to
be compatible "up to 4G of RAM"
im confused :confused:


--
us3r

Is the onboard video using shared ram?
If it is, this will also decrease the amount of ram shown in botht the
system properties and dxdiag.
--
David Vair
CNE, CNA, MCP, A+, N+


"us3r" <guest@unknown-email.com> wrote in message
news:0d0777e18caa7ea7bf790f14a3acd9bd@nntp-gateway.com...
>
> bought a new laptop and it came along with 1X2G of ram from the
> manufacturer-upgraded it to 2X2G at the store.my system report and bios
> shows me the correct number,though dxdiag only 3G.the question is-which
> report should i trust??:sarc:
>
>
> +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
> |Filename: dxdiag.jpg |
> |Download: http://www.vistax64.com/attachment.p...achmentid=8029 |
> +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
>
> --
> us3r

Hi Us3r,

Don't worry about being confused - you are not alone when it comes to
memory management :D.

Will try to explain the best I can -

It all relates to something called Address Space this is an area where
the system keeps track of what each part of the actual memory you have
is used for so that the processor can find the correct data when needed.


This is known as mapping

A 32 bit system has by design a maximum of 4 Gigabyte of -address
space- where the actual RAM is -mapped -to so that the Maximum that a 32
bit system can use is 4 Gigabyte

This Address space is however not used to map only RAM but also things
such as hardware locations and graphics memory.

Because of this the most RAM that may be mapped and thus used will be
the 4 Gigabyte minus the amount used for things other than RAM.

This amount varies depending on what hardware devices you have and so
the actual amount of RAM available will vary between 2.9 Gigabyte and
3.5 gigabyte (approx)

Although your motherboard may be capable of addressing more than 4
gigabyte the operating system cannot.

If you want to access more than this amount of RAM you will have to run
a 64 bit OS

The confusion is caused by manufacturers quoting that their boards can
use 8 gigabyte but not mentioning that to do this you need 64 bit
:sarc::sa:

If you want further info check out these...

'64-bit: More than just the RAM - Vista Forums'
(http://www.vistax64.com/vista-news/9...-just-ram.html)


'Practical PC Online - Beginner's Guides: Vista - How Much Memory Can I
Have With Windows Vista?'
(http://www.practicalpc.co.uk/computi...bit-memory.htm)

'64-bit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia'
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit)

Sorry if this is a little technical - hope it helps


--
barman58

no,it`s powered by nvidia graphics card 9600m gt 512M


--
us3r

barman58;892572 Wrote:
>
>
> 'Practical PC Online - Beginner's Guides: Vista - How Much Memory Can I
> Have With Windows Vista?'
> (http://www.practicalpc.co.uk/computi...bit-memory.htm)
>
>

thanks,the conclusion of this article explained where i might loose
some of my memory,i will sleep better now,as long as vista system
reports me 4G of RAM:D


--
us3r

Hi Us3r

Glad we've help put your mind at rest

always helps to know what's going on - even when you can't change it
:D:D


--
barman58

"us3r" <guest@unknown-email.com> wrote in message
news:55006744ae26738ceeb572f316aa6ed6@nntp-gateway.com...
>
> barman58;892515 Wrote:
>>
>> So basically all your RAM is there :D
>>
>>
>
> im sure it is..:) but,will it really be using ALL of my RAM for games
> or progz like photoshop illustrator or 3dmax?
> i noticed this at the link u provided

No. The memory space used by the hardware is unusable as RAM.
in a 32-bit system. The RAM that would normally be at those
addresses is unused.

Tom Lake