Memory usage delta in Win XP after system upgrade

[Paul343]

I have noticed a significant change in the system memory usage reported by the task manager in Win XP Home SP2 after a system upgrade.

I am wondering if this is due to a different chipset or different type of CPU??

The difference is about 100 MB. Software setup is the same.


Old System

Gigabye GA 7VAXP Mobo
Athlon 3000+ XP
Radeon X700
1 GB DDR Ram
- Used ~ 320 MB


New

ASUS Maximus Formula
E 6750
Sapphire HD 3870
4 GB DDR2 800 Ram
- Uses ~ 420 MB


Is the difference perhaps due to the dual core chip or perhaps the X38? Or is there just some other problem? Does Windows use more RAM if there is more available?

Any ideas or leads would be appreciated,

Thanks,

Paul

 

[Nothinman]

Doubtful, if anything I'd guess that it's just caching more on startup because of the memory size difference.

 

[Mondoman]

Since unused RAM is useless, yes, Windows does use more RAM if more is available.

 

[Paul343]

Thanks, that makes sense...

Paul

 

[Paul343]

I believe I found the difference.

After installing over a fresh image w/o any drivers, and a bit of trial and error, it seems that the difference is the ATI Catalyst Control Center. My previous system used Omega drivers, and I installed the regular ATI ones this time....

Long story short, the difference between Omega drivers the full install of CCC (w/o steam) is almost exactly 100 MB.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, yet I am.

Paul