Hi all.
I recently put together a system on a Gigabyte motherboard, model # EP35C-DS3R. I wrote to their tech department with what I'm about to ask here, but their answer wasn't really satisfying to me, and didn't make much sense to my understanding of things. But who knows, it could just be me!!
I put in 4GB of Memory. It's Corsair Memory:
2 X 2GB Modules
Twin 2 x 4096 - 6400C5DHX
800 MHz
5-5-5-18
I'm operating on Win XP Pro. When I go to My Computer and right-click and choose Properties and bring up System Properties, it states that my Memory is 2.75 GB of RAM.
Strangely enough, when I very first put the system together about a week ago, I remember it had read 3 GB of RAM; currently, it is reading 2.75. I don't know what has changed since a week ago. So remember: There's 4GB of RAM (two sticks of 2GB's).
I've been putting systems together since the mid/ late 90's, and I was aware at one time that if you have either a "cheap" motherboard and/ or memory sticks, that they may not always read correctly. Well, this is a pretty decent motherboard and a good brand name of memory.
The instructions in the motherboard's manual for memory installation was a little chart, and it was slightly confusing. This board actually has 6 slots for memory, but two of them are for DDR3 memory, which I don't have; I have DDR2. And, like many motherboards, the slots are color-coded. Usually, when installing dual channel memory, you put it in matching color slots; but not always...I've seen motherboards that don't do this.
But like I said, the instructions in the manual with the little chart were slightly confusing, but I guess I did it correctly because here's how I described it to the tech people at Gigabyte:
"I have the two chips in the DDRII 1 and DDRII 3 slots; they are colored Yellow. Is this correct? Is there something I need to check/ change in the BIOS? Should I try putting the chips in different slots? I know to stay away from the DDRIII slots of 1 and 2; I don't even have that type of memory."
When they wrote back, they didn't say that I had physically installed it wrong. In my message to them I also mentioned that I have a BFG GeForce 9800 GX2 Nvidia graphics card, so, they included something about that in their reply. Anyway, here's their reply:
"The GX2 card will reserve mroe memory, if using an single gpu card it should be able to detect at 3.xxx
Due to standard PC architecture, a certain amount of memory is reserved for system usage and therefore the actual memory size is less than the stated amount."
I think there's a type-o in their response where it says "mroe"; I think they meant "more".
So what does their response mean? Are they saying that my graphics card is "physically" demanding so it's affecting my system RAM reading (4GB reading as 2.75). And I know that some memory is used for system usage, but is that going to affect the actual memory size amount as reported in System Properties? Any other system I've put together through the years....when I right-click on My Computer/ Properties, and then there's System Properties.......it's always read the proper/ actual amount of Memory that I had installed physically in my system. It didn't report back to me the amount available at the moment minus the amount being used by "system usage".
They didn't comment on my suggestion of trying my two sticks of RAM in different slots (the other two DDR2 slots; not the DDR3).
What do you think, everyone? Shouldn't System Properties report back the actual amount of RAM physically installed in the system?
Any help, hints, tips, or suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Pez
I recently put together a system on a Gigabyte motherboard, model # EP35C-DS3R. I wrote to their tech department with what I'm about to ask here, but their answer wasn't really satisfying to me, and didn't make much sense to my understanding of things. But who knows, it could just be me!!
I put in 4GB of Memory. It's Corsair Memory:
2 X 2GB Modules
Twin 2 x 4096 - 6400C5DHX
800 MHz
5-5-5-18
I'm operating on Win XP Pro. When I go to My Computer and right-click and choose Properties and bring up System Properties, it states that my Memory is 2.75 GB of RAM.
Strangely enough, when I very first put the system together about a week ago, I remember it had read 3 GB of RAM; currently, it is reading 2.75. I don't know what has changed since a week ago. So remember: There's 4GB of RAM (two sticks of 2GB's).
I've been putting systems together since the mid/ late 90's, and I was aware at one time that if you have either a "cheap" motherboard and/ or memory sticks, that they may not always read correctly. Well, this is a pretty decent motherboard and a good brand name of memory.
The instructions in the motherboard's manual for memory installation was a little chart, and it was slightly confusing. This board actually has 6 slots for memory, but two of them are for DDR3 memory, which I don't have; I have DDR2. And, like many motherboards, the slots are color-coded. Usually, when installing dual channel memory, you put it in matching color slots; but not always...I've seen motherboards that don't do this.
But like I said, the instructions in the manual with the little chart were slightly confusing, but I guess I did it correctly because here's how I described it to the tech people at Gigabyte:
"I have the two chips in the DDRII 1 and DDRII 3 slots; they are colored Yellow. Is this correct? Is there something I need to check/ change in the BIOS? Should I try putting the chips in different slots? I know to stay away from the DDRIII slots of 1 and 2; I don't even have that type of memory."
When they wrote back, they didn't say that I had physically installed it wrong. In my message to them I also mentioned that I have a BFG GeForce 9800 GX2 Nvidia graphics card, so, they included something about that in their reply. Anyway, here's their reply:
"The GX2 card will reserve mroe memory, if using an single gpu card it should be able to detect at 3.xxx
Due to standard PC architecture, a certain amount of memory is reserved for system usage and therefore the actual memory size is less than the stated amount."
I think there's a type-o in their response where it says "mroe"; I think they meant "more".
So what does their response mean? Are they saying that my graphics card is "physically" demanding so it's affecting my system RAM reading (4GB reading as 2.75). And I know that some memory is used for system usage, but is that going to affect the actual memory size amount as reported in System Properties? Any other system I've put together through the years....when I right-click on My Computer/ Properties, and then there's System Properties.......it's always read the proper/ actual amount of Memory that I had installed physically in my system. It didn't report back to me the amount available at the moment minus the amount being used by "system usage".
They didn't comment on my suggestion of trying my two sticks of RAM in different slots (the other two DDR2 slots; not the DDR3).
What do you think, everyone? Shouldn't System Properties report back the actual amount of RAM physically installed in the system?
Any help, hints, tips, or suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Pez
