4gb memory on xp

[Monkey]

I am thinking about upgrading to 4gb of memory on my computer and I was wondering if I will be able to take advantage of it with windows XP pro or would I need to do vista?

second...
Will 4gb give me more performance in the gaming arena?

 

[objecterror]

More memory is always a benefit in performance. It increases availablity in some programs to store information, the larger amount the program has at it's disposal increases the amount it's capable of outputting.

Ram in terms of gaming will help you in speed and some other benefits, but calculating all the information that a game has falls on your graphics card and processor.

How much ram do you have now?

 

[Lexluethar]

Vista will use your ram more efficiently, but it cann't hold more ram. The amount of ram a system can recognize is dependant upon the system, 32 bit or 64 bit. 32 bit will only recognize 3.5 gig work of ram, xp or vista it doesn't matter. 64 bit can hold a lot more, like 100+ gig, xp or vista.

 

[Nick]

32bit vista SP1 recognises upto 4Gbs, my sister's laptop has 4.

 

[objecterror]

32bit vista SP1 recognises upto 4Gbs, my sister's laptop has 4.

Vista can, but, there's no program that will use it all, manufacturers probably cut corners by installing two 2GB sticks, and a 512 or 1GB to make up for the .50 that vista will cut out. It's all in the numbers man, Windows reads 1000kbs differently then we do.

 

[Lexluethar]

It may see it but i guarantee it cant use it.

 

[objecterror]

Thus the benefits of a 64bit OS

 

[meat_helmet]

32bit vista SP1 recognises upto 4Gbs, my sister's laptop has 4.

No it doesnt. All SP1 does is 'show' that it has 4GBs, but it still cant use more that around 3.2-3.5GBs (depending on the rest of the system).

It is a limitation of 32bit and there is NO way around it. So get a 64bit if you plan to use more that 3GBs. Oh and your cpu has to be 64bit (eg. no pentium 4s)

 

[Nick]

Never said it uses just recognizes

 

[Apokalipse]

Vista will use your ram more efficiently

That's debatable. XP uses less of it.

I use XP x64, which has an upper limit of 128GB RAM.