ram help

tetankemin · 12 Feb 2010

how come when i look at computer properties, it says out of the 4 gigs of ram installed, only 3.25 of it is usable? where'd the rest go?

i am using a dell m90. 32 bit

brady · 12 Feb 2010

to the 32bit overlords

Kari · 12 Feb 2010

That's the maximum amount of RAM that a 32-bit Windows can use.

Kari

pparks1 · 12 Feb 2010

Yep, you cannot actually access all of it. 32-bit can address a total of 4GB..and that takes into account video memory, etc.

3.1 to 3.5GB is the most that you will see under 32-bit.

tetankemin · 12 Feb 2010

Kari said:

That's the maximum amount of RAM that a 32-bit Windows can use.

Kari

i thought it was 4? im no computer geek so im not sure

tetankemin · 12 Feb 2010

pparks1 said:

Yep, you cannot actually access all of it. 32-bit can address a total of 4GB..and that takes into account video memory, etc.

3.1 to 3.5GB is the most that you will see under 32-bit.

ah well. that clears it up. thanks.

Kari · 12 Feb 2010

No. Pparks here above explained it better. Even your computer can see all of your 4 gigs, it can not access it all. To access all your RAM, you need a 64-bit Windows.

Kari

whs · 12 Feb 2010

Read this and you will understand: Maximum Memory in 32-bit Windows Vista : Windows Vista and Windows 7 Help