Dell XPS L501x Nvidia Driver Help and RAM Issue

Hey Guys,


I recently bought a Dell XPS L501x used. It had windows 8 installed although previously had Windows 7 64 bit on. I wasnt a big fan of windows 8 so clean installed windows 7 32 bit.

This is when my problems started. I am aware that Windows 64 bit can recognise higher amounts of RAM but my laptop only recognises 2.36Gb out of the 4.00Gb installed. I thought this may be due to the GPU as it has 1Gb dedicated. Before I go any further my specs are:

Intel i5 m460 running at 2.53 Ghz

4.00 GB RAM

500 GB HDD

Intel HD Graphics (integrated)

NVIDIA Geforce 420m

I went onto CANIRUNIT if you have heard of this before you basically enter a game you would like to run and it will tell you if you meet the minimum requrements or not. This recognised my Nvidia GPU as having 1.9Gb dedicated memory, how could this be?

my second problem is when gaming, I know laptops arent made for gaming but this laptop handles them VERY well. When Idle the NVIDIA GPU runs at 45-50 degrees. However when under load playing a game like Guild Wars it runs at 65-70 degrees but when running a game like minecraft it runs at a high 70-75 degrees, are these normal temperatures for the GPU to be at when gaming?

Also When I run the NVIDIA auto driver update it says that I dont currently have a driver installed, this cannot be since I recently just updated it and it works fine.


Any Help/ Suggestions are much appreciated and if you would like any more information on my laptop specs etc please just ask :)

Type Resource monitor in Start Search box, click on Memory tab to see how RAM is apportioned.

Keep running Windows Updates until all Important and Optiona Windows Updates are installed, after enabling Automatically get recommended drivers and updates for your hardware (Step 3) .

Other steps here to get a perfect Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7