Windows 7: Only 2.87 GB of Ram Usable Out of 3GB?

jleafe · 23 Dec 2011

Hello everyone and a Happy Christmas,

I can only use 2.87 GB of ram out of 3 GB, I recently had x86 Windows 7 Ultimate and I had the same problem so I upgraded to x64 (I know my laptop is x64 compatible) Windows 7 Ultimate and I still have this problem,

Please help, Thank you

indianacarnie · 23 Dec 2011

Usable memory is a calculated amount of the total physical memory minus "hardware reserved" memory.

This is straight from Microsoft btw. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978610

MilesAhead · 23 Dec 2011

Yup. I would guess your system reserves 128 MB for video.

edit: with a 64 bit OS and dedicated video ram on the GPU card the memory could likely be remapped. But I'm guessing the video chips on your system are using system memory for video. A PC I used to have with video chips actually only had 8 MB of video memory on the chip. For the rest it just used my system memory.

jleafe · 24 Dec 2011

So I guess there is nothing I can do about it?

marsmimar · 24 Dec 2011

According to one memory supplier, your computer should be able to handle a maximum of 8GB RAM.

Computer memory upgrades for Lenovo ThinkPad G560 Laptop/Notebook from Crucial.com

Since your specs indicate you're using Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, if you max out your RAM, turn off hibernate, etc. you should be able to use about 7GB out of the 8GB. RAM prices are fairly cheap these days and you might find a better bargain. You might also find this Technet article helpful.

Pushing the Limits of Windows: Physical Memory - Mark's Blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

Britton30 · 24 Dec 2011

No, the system will always have some hardware or video reserved memory. Of course you can add RAM too but the system will still use some.
From your laptop spec sheet:

Only 2.87 GB of Ram Usable Out of 3GB?-capture.png

stormy13 · 24 Dec 2011

Quote: Originally Posted by jleafe

So I guess there is nothing I can do about it?

As long as the onboard/integrated video needs memory (which it does), no there isn't. Most (if not all) Intel graphics doesn't have any dedicated memory of its own, so it always has to use a portion of system ram to function.

jleafe · 24 Dec 2011

Alright, thanks to everyone who replied

I'm thinking of upgrading to 8 GB of ram in the new year.

Thanks again, and a Merry Christmas to everyone

Britton30 · 24 Dec 2011

You're quite welcome and Merry Christmas to you!

Windows 7: Only 2.87 GB of Ram Usable Out of 3GB?

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