Vista 32-bit & 4GBs of RAM

Shred

Morning All,

I ordered an XPS420 from Dell last week and they were doing a free memory upgrade from 2GB-3GBs. They were providing 2x1024MB DIMMs & 2x512MB DIMMs so I decided (instead of asking them to change it to 3x1024 to allow me to upgrade at a later date) to go for 4x1024. The problem was I didn't realise there was an issue with 32-bit versions of Vista being unable to recognise anything above 3-3.5GBs until I setup the machine last night:(

So before I ring Dell and arrange to send the extra DIMM back (seeing as they should have informed me of this limitation when I asked about the additional RAM the day I rang the order in:rolleyes:), is there anything that can be done to allow Vista to see all 4GBs without upgrading to 64-bit?

This is the machine btw:

sandleman1979

Unfortauntely as you state the only way the really see the full 4GB is too use the 64 bit edition of Windows Vista.
There was a switch you could use in Windows XP to see 4GB but due to the limitation of 32 bit systems, you cannot access all of it.

However, apparently Vista Service pack 1 allows the machine to see the full 4GB but not use it..

Currently Vista service pack 1 is in release candidate format, which would have to be removed and then re-installed with the official version once released later this year. This might change but this is the only word i have hear so far...

Ginger

Vista just incorrectly reports it. If you look at the System Config applet it will show 4GB in the DIMMs..

astrofool

Well it won't hurt the machine have the extra memory in there without being used. RAM is so cheap now, it doesn't make sense to send it back over that (4GB is €102 on komplett.ie).

Any reason why you're not going with vista 64bit?

layke

astrofool wrote: »

Any reason why you're not going with vista 64bit?

Dell Webby wrote:

Processor Intel® Core™2 Q6600 Quad-Core (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB)

Seems like 64bit would be better suited to this type of processor then the 32bit you are using now.

Shred

Well I bought the machine primarily for gaming and I assumed there would be incompatibilities with certain games and a 64-bit OS no? Secondly, I was going to send the RAM back (even though they did a 'deal' on the extra GB of €55 instead of €80) as I would be able to purchase it far cheaper elsewhere. You see I foolishly thought as I was buying a machine from Dell that the extra RAM would have been cheaper than going elsewhere, I should have checked first I s'pose. TBH I was quite happy having 3GB of RAM for now but I wasn't happy that they'd split the 3rd gig into 2 DIMMs. So it was either get 3 DIMMs to leave room for expansion or just buy the extra RAM now. On top of this, how much would 64-bit Vista actually cost?

\edit: I just saw Home Premium is €110 on Komplett.

Stephen

Dunno about OEM versions but if you have a retail copy of Home Premium 32 bit MS will send you the 64 bit media for a tenner.

Shred

A tenner? Cool! What about enabling PAE mode, has anyone tried this before? Might give it a shot when I get home this evening.

astrofool

Enabling PAE mode = bad for home users, it drastically slows down access to RAM on the system, as it basically ends up having to virtualise the extra RAM and constantly page the date in/out. It was meant for servers which had programs that required lots and lots of RAM (8GB+ RAM and running SQL usually). You'd actually lose performance enabling it, and I don't think it can be enabled in vanilla Vista (though might be a hack to do it).

I'd sooner stick with what you have or try and get Dell or MS to send a 64bit DVD, license key remains the same.

If you use 3 x 1GB sticks, you will also lose performance as the chipset will default back to single channel mode for RAM access, rather than dual when then 2 or 4 RAM slots are utilised.

Shred

Some good info there Astro, thanks for that. That would also explain why Dell split the 3rd gig into 2x512MB (to enable dual channel).

Just been playing Episode 2 there and it looks great and it also runs very smoothly, so I think I will just stick with what I have. Although I suppose I could always send back the gig, get my money back and buy a 512MB DIMM from Komplett instead.

Thanks to everyone else who chipped in also.