Vista 32bit 4gb ram

[lxskllr]

Ok, I'm sure you all are tired of this, but here's my question. I just got another 2gb of ram for a total of 4gb in 32bit Vista. Windows is seeing 3070mb of that. From what I've read(but don't understand well) is that hardware uses up some of the memory which drops the total amount of ram that's usable.

Alright, now here's the question...Would disabling unused hardware free up some of the memory?

I already have the floppy disabled because I don't use it, but how about some other things. I have an additional lan port I don't use, and I may be able to disable an ide channel, and some other things, I need to take a look. I can just try it I guess, but if one of you has a definitive answer it'll save me the trouble, and it might help other people that have the same question. So what do you all think?

 

[Pabster]

You can turn off and disable everything under the sun and you'll still be limited :laugh:

The only solution is Vista x64 to see and make full use of your 4GB of RAM. Period.

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: Pabster
You can turn off and disable everything under the sun and you'll still be limited :laugh:

The only solution is Vista x64 to see and make full use of your 4GB of RAM. Period.

Plus the longer life span and better security Vista x64 has too 🙂.

 

[lxskllr]

I don't expect to get the full 4gb, I just wanted as much available as possible. I have the 64bit media, but I wanted to hold off installing it until my next O/S reinstall, or major hardware upgrade. I'd like to have more 3rd party support before I make the switch.

I'll definitely be switching in the not so distant future though. That's why I got the extra 2gb now. I'll be ready when the time comes, Superfetch can fill it up for me, and ram's currently priced very nicely 🙂

 

[Mem]

I'd like to have more 3rd party support before I make the switch.

Anything in particular?..Personally the main thing is drivers and that seems pretty good(I have all my 64 bit drivers) as to third party software I don't worry too much about that since Vista x64 can handle 32 bit software too,I have some third party 64 bit programs with 32 bit programs ,sort of covers all bases while we wait for the rest of the world to catch up.

🙂

 

[bsobel]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
I don't expect to get the full 4gb, I just wanted as much available as possible. I have the 64bit media, but I wanted to hold off installing it until my next O/S reinstall, or major hardware upgrade. I'd like to have more 3rd party support before I make the switch.

I'll definitely be switching in the not so distant future though. That's why I got the extra 2gb now. I'll be ready when the time comes, Superfetch can fill it up for me, and ram's currently priced very nicely 🙂

Your video card is most likely the biggest culprit so your not likely to get 'much' back. The issue is if the device supports DMA or not, so the IDE drives may help (unless the bios reserves the space regardless).

 

[lxskllr]

Thanks guys, I guess I'll try disabling hardware the next time I restart my computer. I'll report back and tell you if it made any difference.

My concern with 3rd party support is mainly due to general fear :laugh:. Vista is new enough as is, and then to add 64bit on top of it...Well... I've had a very good time running Vista, and I don't want to throw a wrench into the works. I'm guessing that in a years time 64bit O/Ss and Vista will be much more common, and I'll have less likelihood of running into problems.

Who knows, I may get the bug to try something new and throw it on my box, but right now I'm digging the status quo, and enjoying a smoothly running computer 🙂


Edit: I didn't find much I could disable. I tried disabling one of my lan ports, and the 1394 controller, but that didn't free up any memory. I didn't have any ide channels free to turn off. Oh well, not a big deal. 3gb isn't too shabby. And n7... I'll probably end up trying 64bit sooner than I planned to. I have a hard time leaving unbroken things unbroken 😛

 

[n7]

I'm quite happily running Vista Ultimate 64 here, as are many other people here.

Join us 😉

 

[ginfest]

Originally posted by: n7
I'm quite happily running Vista Ultimate 64 here, as are many other people here.

Join us 😉

QFT 🙂
Running Vista 64 has been a great experience so far, albeit with 4 GB of ram but with DDR2 so cheap, why not😉

 

[Tegeril]

Aside from my motherboard woes...I love Vista 64bit 😉

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: ginfest

Originally posted by: n7
I'm quite happily running Vista Ultimate 64 here, as are many other people here.

Join us 😉

QFT 🙂
Running Vista 64 has been a great experience so far, albeit with 4 GB of ram but with DDR2 so cheap, why not😉

If one wants to go from 2 gig to 4 gigs and has 4 ddr memory slots on their Gigabyte P965-S3 motherboard with two 1 gig ram sticks in two slots already, should one buy two more one gig ram sticks or one 2 gig ram stick so there is still one extra slot for upgrade room to at least 5 or 6 gigs? Does the ram have to be the same brand as my current two 1 gig ram sticks ?

 

[Canterwood]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
I don't expect to get the full 4gb, I just wanted as much available as possible. I have the 64bit media, but I wanted to hold off installing it until my next O/S reinstall, or major hardware upgrade. I'd like to have more 3rd party support before I make the switch.

I'll definitely be switching in the not so distant future though. That's why I got the extra 2gb now. I'll be ready when the time comes, Superfetch can fill it up for me, and ram's currently priced very nicely 🙂

So just live with using 3GB for now, and when you upgrade to 64bit Vista it'll be like getting a free GB of ram with it. 😉

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: pcslookout


If one wants to go from 2 gig to 4 gigs and has 4 ddr memory slots on their Gigabyte P965-S3 motherboard with two 1 gig ram sticks in two slots already, should one buy two more one gig ram sticks or one 2 gig ram stick so there is still one extra slot for upgrade room to at least 5 or 6 gigs? Does the ram have to be the same brand as my current two 1 gig ram sticks ?

I'd get another 2gb kit. Unless you're running huge memory intensive programs, there'll probably be another DDR standard, and you'll be do for a completely new system before you'll need more than 4gb.

The ram doesn't have to be the same brand. As long as it's compatible with your mb, you'll be fine.