Windows uses 4 GB? Really?

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I’ve done a lot of research regarding this issue and frankly I’m getting a
migraine in the heat of the Southern Oregon 110 degree days! So I quit!!! I
bought 4 GB of RAM because I thought it would speed up my system a bit. My
motherboard happily stated in its manual that it supports 4 GB of RAM. This
crazy issue regarding more than 2 GB of RAM wasn’t readily available I had no
idea about it. So… I happily bought 4 GB of RAM and was proud of it! My
system seemed to boot a bit faster. Microsoft Office seemed to load a bit
faster. Games seemed to run even just a tad faster. I was happy though not
ecstatic. But I was shocked when I noticed that My Computer/Properties showed
only 3.00 GB! Where did my extra 1 GB of RAM go? I added 2 SLI eVGA 8600 GTS
512 DDR3 MB cards and the My Computer/Properties showed only 2.75 GB. Now I
was concerned. My system still seems to run faster than it did with 1 GB. But
I still wanted to know where my extra 1.25 GB of RAM went.

My system:
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe with nForce 4 SLI chipset.
AMD Athlon 64-FX 60
750 watt Silverstone power.
4 GB RAM DDR Corsair XMS
WD 200GB 7200 RPM HD
Sound Blaster Audigy 2ZS Platinum

Is my chipset a 64 bit chipset? Or 32 bit?

What I found was that I am now more confused than before. Some info that is
posted here as reference seems to suggest that it is a Windows issue, but
others seem to suggest that it is also a hardware issue. Some seem to suggest
that in order to fully recognize 4 GB of RAM or more you need not only a 64
bit operating system but also a 64 bit computer hardware system. Not just a
64 bit CPU! I am confused!

I would like to know why when I added SLI video cards my usable RAM dropped
by 250 MB! It seems that the information appears to state that the more ram a
video card has the more “addressing” space it needs. Why! And why then does
this whole “addressing” issue with the upper 4th GB of RAM not become an
issue with 2 GB of RAM? This just doesn’t seem logical! Why would you
actually end up losing usable RAM with more than 2 GB of RAM? I’m confused!
So what if I did have 2 GB of RAM? Would my system slow down slightly? What
is this “addressing” issue and why doesn’t it occur at below 2 GB RAM?

Some people seem to think that it is rare for anyone to need more than 512
MB or 1 GB of RAM! WHAT? Who could anyone think this at this time in the
evolution of computers? Anyone who thinks the average computer user doesn’t
need more than 1 GB RAM ought to have their head examined. Most average home
computer users who have a 64 bit CPU are probably using a few if not many
games that require at least 1 GB of RAM! Hell! I don’t even think most people
could tolerate running Windows XP on 512 MB of RAM even though it will run!
Already some games are requiring 2 GB of RAM to run minimum!

The most significant piece of information I have found that was posted in
the 4 Gigs RAM thread by Tim Slattery:
http://h20331.www2.hp.com/Hpsub/downloads/RAM_Allocation_w-WinXP_HP_MWP_x64.pdf Thanks!

Regardless… I have a migraine, It’s too hot, and I still have not got the
answer that is really important to me:

Is my 1.25 GB of RAM that Windows does not report being used at all in any
amount? Am I benefiting at all in any way from my extra 1.25 GB of RAM? Would
my system be any less effective with only 3 GB as everyone seems to convey
that 3 GB is all that is necessary?

That’s all I really want to know? Did I waste my money?

Thanks, stay cool! Buy from www.falcon-nw.com
.

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