Re: Virtual Memory

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

Today, Tim Slattery made these interesting comments ...

John John <audetweld@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


I agree that Microsoft should spell this out more clearly and
inform users of the shortfall of their operating systems with
regards to the 4GB RAM issue.

To be fair, my impression is that the problem is primarily
with the hardware architecture, not the operating system. You
have to address the BIOS, Video RAM and whatever else somehow,
and this seems to be the way that Intel hardware does it.

I know. At the time all this happened, XP-64 was in beta, and my
view of the world when it launched was that it was problematical.
My complaint, such that it is, is that I allowed myself to be
duped, that won't happen again.

But even more at fault are hardware vendors who
conveniently omit to tell their customers of the shortfall or
who deliberately chose to hide the dirty little 4GB RAM
secret.

True. They don't seem to care.

Call any
major computer supplier and tell them that you want a box
fully loaded with 4GB RAM and Windows 32-bit pre-loaded and
not one will inform you of the shortfall or suggest that you
buy 3GB of RAM instead of 4, not one will tell you to save
your money and not buy the nearly useless last stick of RAM.

Just to be a PITA: most computers arrange RAM in two banks.
Each bank has two slots, and the slots in a bank must be
balanced. So to load 3GB, you'd have to 1GB sticks in one
bank, and 2 512MB sticks in the other bank. There may not be a
huge price difference there.

These discussions quickly get from the practical into the
theoretical. I hardly dispute you or the others who were
"helping" me see the light, but as I said, reality trumps all the
other cards in the game of life, and hindsight is always 20/20
but the crystal ball is always cloudy - meaning, forewarned is
forearmed (I just love trite saying!)

Thanks for the clarification.

--
HP, aka Jerry
.

Relevant Pages

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