32 Bit Vista - 2 or 4 gb? (yes I know about the 3.3ish limitation)

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Jayce

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I understand that the 32 bit kernel is restricted by around 3.3 gig or something. I know that. But nonetheless, I have a new laptop that came with 1gb of RAM. I definitely want to upgrade to 2gb of RAM. However, I was thinking... I know Vista isn't capable of handling the full 4gb load, but nonetheless... 3gb is still more than 2.

What would you folks do? Price isn't a big concern, due to the fact that flash memory is cheaper than I expected. But I do want the best bang for the money. If I get two 1gb sticks that just blow the pants off of a single stick of 2gb, then I'd rather do that.

2x1gb
1x2gb
2x2gb

Also - Are ALL 32bit platforms restricted by the 3.3ish gb limitation? Or can a patch or service pack somehow update it to exceed farther?
 
Unless you run a 64 bit os your not going to get more than about three gigs you are right about that. I probably would go with 1x2 then you would get two gigs which should be more than enough for a laptop. and If you upgraded your os to a 64 bit you could get another two gig stick for future proofing.
 
What would you be using this much ram for?
By default XP only utilizes about 512, Vista I think is 768. Unless you're running Ram hungry apps (virtual pc/vmware/graphics) there's no way you'll utilize all 4GB.
 
What would you be using this much ram for?
By default XP only utilizes about 512, Vista I think is 768. Unless you're running Ram hungry apps (virtual pc/vmware/graphics) there's no way you'll utilize all 4GB.

It's not about fully utilizing it off the bat I'm concerned about. The ram is cheaper than I thought, therefore I'm more inclined to get 4gb to start than I would have if it was still as expensive as I thought it was.

How much is a 64bit version of Home Premium? Maybe I will get 2x1 and then leave the other bank open for future possibilities... even though I'm not quite sure if I'll bounce over to 64 bit for quite some time. (If I do at all)
 
I was ablt to get my four gis for under a hundred dollars. I use alot of ram multitasking not all four but a good chunk of and when I do need four gigs it will be there. Ram being so cheap it was a no brainer to get the four gigs. I don't know what a 64 bit dvd is going to cost. I don't think it would be that much though. You might just want to get home premium and call and get a 64 bit dvd you get cheaper that way and you have both to shoose from. I know Ultimate came with both copys so I got luck on that.
 
Due to my antsyness of wanting to upgrade the ram, I just got 1 stick of gskill 2gb. That way if I want to upgrade to 4, I at least have the other slot open. And by then, it may be even cheaper yet.

I'll keep in mind about getting 64 bit down the road. What's the things to look out for hardware wise when switching to 64 bit? Just the processor, right? If I wanted 64 bit to appear visually basic just as 32 bit does without the bells and whistles, would I have to worry about any video card issues? Or should 64 bit run on my brand new laptop that came preloaded with 32 bit regardless?
 
Yeah. My instructor, who somehow is the President of one company, a CEO of another, and teaches security part time at our technical institute, talked to me about this the other day. I asked him what he recommended for the RAM situation, and asked for more information about the limitation behind the 3.3ish gb RAM point for Vista 32 bit. He said he's not a calculus expert to describe exactly why, but he said 32 bit architecture in all central processing units are only able to hit 3.3ish gb of RAM, whereas 64 bit architecture allows for full use of 128gb (I believe).

I asked him this because I was curious as to whether or not a patch or an update would be able to exceed the 3.3gb limit, but he said no, it just doesn't work that way. He said Vista won't REJECT it, but it won't use it. Anything beyond the 3.3ish gb barrier will just kinda be....................... there.
 
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