Question re XP and maximum RAM

*PeterAM* · 10-29-2009, 03:40 PM

I want to increase the RAM (from 1GB) on a PC that has four slots (max 4GB) and is running XP. My understanding is that with XP being a 32bit program, it uses something like 3GB of RAM. Question is: do you put 4GB in or 3GB, or what?

Gooshin · 10-29-2009, 03:45 PM

it can recognize up to 3.25ish.. (its a weird allocation number)

ram is sold in pairs of sticks, so you're better off buying 2 packs of 2 for a total of 4

RAM is cheap, older ram especially (make sure to find out what KIND of ram your mother board supports), so go nuts.

*PeterAM* · 10-29-2009, 03:52 PM

Thanks. That's what I thought, but the jargon gets confusing. Not a cost issue; I'll put 4 in.

*WMBP* · 10-29-2009, 04:17 PM

Yes, Gooshin's right. I use XP myself. I have 2 2GB ram modules installed. My System Properties control panel (General tab) acknowledges only 3.25GB of RAM. I don't bash Windows any more than necessary but this isn't one of its stronger features. Actually it's downright dumb. But there's nothing you can do about it. You can't install, say, a 2GB card + a 1.25GB card! Thank goodness, as Gooshin says, RAM is cheap.

One thing I've been wondering about is, if I upgrade to Vista or Windows 7, would I actually be able to take advantage of all 4 GB of RAM?

Will

legacyb4 · 10-29-2009, 04:18 PM

Correct; unlike the "other" operating system which was a 32-bit system with 64-bit underpinnings which allowed memory access above 4GB, Windows XP 32-bit is only seeing about 3.25 or so of the installed 4GB you put in.

mtags24 · 10-29-2009, 04:21 PM

Yes it definitely will be able to. You need to make sure you are installing a 64 bit version of the operating system. With 64 bit systems you can run literally more ram than you will ever need. My computer supports 16 gigs of ram (But I doubt I will ever see any improvement after 4 unless doing some hardcore editing which I never do)

Your maximum amount of ram is limited by your operating system and motherboard. See what kind of motherboard you have, how many ram slots it has, and what the maximum amount of ram it supports are. Pm me if you want some help!

Originally Posted by WMBP

Yes, Gooshin's right. I use XP myself. I have 2 2GB ram modules installed. My System Properties control panel (General tab) acknowledges only 3.25GB of RAM. I don't bash Windows any more than necessary but this isn't one of its stronger features. Actually it's downright dumb. But there's nothing you can do about it. You can't install, say, a 2GB card + a 1.25GB card! Thank goodness, as Gooshin says, RAM is cheap.

One thing I've been wondering about is, if I upgrade to Vista or Windows 7, would I actually be able to take advantage of all 4 GB of RAM?

Will

*patriotap* · 10-29-2009, 04:33 PM

just a fyi, once your at 64bit, all 32bit apps will take up 1.5x's more memory on the 64bit system than on a 32bit, so if your PC is borderline memory, the 64bit OS is going to take more and then the apps will also, so 4gb may not be enough, depending on what you do.

*WMBP* · 10-29-2009, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by mtags24

Yes it definitely will be able to. You need to make sure you are installing a 64 bit version of the operating system. With 64 bit systems you can run literally more ram than you will ever need. My computer supports 16 gigs of ram (But I doubt I will ever see any improvement after 4 unless doing some hardcore editing which I never do)

Thanks, mtags. I keep fantasizing about upgrading from XP SP3 in the hope of speeding things up, partly by taking advantage of all the RAM I have installed. What causes me to hesitate is I'm afraid everything on the computer will break if I upgrade. Guess I'll stick with XP a little while longer.

Will

*isteve · 10-29-2009, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by WMBP

Thanks, mtags. I keep fantasizing about upgrading from XP SP3 in the hope of speeding things up, partly by taking advantage of all the RAM I have installed. What causes me to hesitate is I'm afraid everything on the computer will break if I upgrade. Guess I'll stick with XP a little while longer.

Will

Just buy Windows 7 Pro or Premium 64 bit. This will give you access to XP emulation mode which will allow you to run any of your old software in XP mode if it wont run on W7.

*WMBP* · 10-29-2009, 04:56 PM

Originally Posted by patriotap

just a fyi, once your at 64bit, all 32bit apps will take up 1.5x's more memory on the 64bit system than on a 32bit, so if your PC is borderline memory, the 64bit OS is going to take more and then the apps will also, so 4gb may not be enough, depending on what you do.

Interesting. Here are the main programs I run daily:

- Web browser all day long (Google Chrome)

- FileMaker Pro 10 Advanced (compatible with XP, Vista and Win7)

- Lightroom 2.5 (and the 3 beta)

- Run Dreamweaver 8

and that's about it. I crank up Photoshop Elements 8 every couple of weeks. I don't have to run many programs at once. If I'm editing photos, I can usually quit everything else, if it would help.

I just ran the Vista upgrade advisor and it reports that I can upgrade to Vista pretty easily, without major issues. The Win7 upgrade advisor, on the other hand, is more skeptical. Looks like I'd have to get new drivers for various important things like my laser printer and perhaps a new graphics driver or even a new graphics card. "Your current graphics adapter won't support the Windows 7 Aero user interface." Come again? Perhaps I should call Dell and see if they can help me.

I honestly don't know WHY I would bother to upgrade to anything. It's not like XP SP3 isn't working for me. I guess I have the feeling that a newer operating system would work better, be faster or something. You know, fill the emptiness of my pathetic existence.

I hate computers. My goal is to become so successful as a photographer that I can stop working on the computer almost completely. I'd hire some clever young person to process my photos - with me looking over the shoulder now and then. And I'd spend the rest of my time behind the camera or schmoozing with my rich clients.

Sigh. Sorry. Evening's coming on, I'm hungry, and I've had a really busy day. Perhaps I should go lie down.

Will

*WMBP* · 10-29-2009, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by *isteve

Just buy Windows 7 Pro or Premium 64 bit. This will give you access to XP emulation mode which will allow you to run any of your old software in XP mode if it wont run on W7.

Steve,

Will it really? The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor says "Your PC supports hardware assisted virtualization technology but it must be enabled in the system BIOS before running Windows XP Mode."

Which causes me to want to bust out the vodka.

Do I enable "hardware assisted virtualization technology in the system BIOS of my CURRENT system (XP SP3) before installing Windows 7? Or after?

And as between 7 Pro and 7 Premium, which would you recommend?

Will

*patriotap* · 10-29-2009, 05:04 PM

XP is great, definately np in staying where your at, but instead of upgrading, depending on how old your PC is now, may be worth it to get a new one and save the hassle you may have with issues later. You can get a new PC, quad core processor with 8gb ram with windows 7 already on it for $650 and maybe cheaper, thats a great deal imo.

Gooshin · 10-29-2009, 05:06 PM

windows vista 64 "ultimate" and windows 7 "ultimate" give support for up to 128 gigabytes of ram..

good luck finding a mother board to support that

at the moment you could put together a computer with a moderatly priced motherboard that will support 6 DDR3 chipsets, then if you bust down for 4gig cards you could get away with 24 gigabytes of ram in a Home PC

currently 8 gigabytes is accesable by most, i have 8 gigs of ram and trust me Vista has no impact on it, as it only uses 1.3 gigabytes of it.

i also have a pretty good GPU...

but anyway

also calling XP's 32 bit base "bad" is like saying that the *IstD is a bad camera compared to a K7... no shit! its ancient. XP came out in 01 and based primarily off the NT structure, something thats been around since 96

Developers at the time had no idea what sort of computers we would be having. (atleast at the home/business level)

i remember "upgrading" my computer after saving my allowances and begging my add to give me some extra cash so i could go from 8 megabytes to 16 megabytes of RAM...

ha

*WMBP* · 10-29-2009, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by patriotap

XP is great, definately np in staying where your at, but instead of upgrading, depending on how old your PC is now, may be worth it to get a new one and save the hassle you may have with issues later. You can get a new PC, quad core processor with 8gb ram with windows 7 already on it for $650 and maybe cheaper, thats a great deal imo.

Well, I'm fairly happy with my Dell Latitude D820 laptop. It's a couple of years old but running fine. I have a service agreement with Dell and they're great about fixing stuff when problems arise. I've thought about buying a new computer, but I reckon it will cost more than $500. I'd need an external monitor too - the ones I have are kind of old. So we're talking $700+ at least. And that's about the price of a nice new lens. :-)

Will

*Wheatfield* · 10-29-2009, 05:30 PM

If you are running XP 32 bit and have 4gb of ram installed, research the /3gb switch. This allows XP to give 3gb of ram over to programs. Stock XP allocates 2gb of ram for programs, so adding an extra gig of ram to something like Photoshop can have a tremendous impact on performance.