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lrsweet

3 Posts

8846

April 12th, 2007 21:00

Vista Ultimate 64 bit VS Vista Ultimate 32 bit on D820 Core 2 Duo with 4 Gig RAM

Ok I have read what seems like hundreds of threads about accessing all of the 4 Gig of RAM installed in these machines.
 
This is my understanding:  regardless of which version of OS I run I will always see less than 4 Gig available to the OS as some of the 4 Gig address space is used for I/O space, PCI bus memory, video memory etc. ( I have a NVS 120 that has 256 RAM and can use another 256 of system RAM if required).  Is this correct?  So no matter how much RAM I have installed (assuming I could install more than 4 Gig) the OS, 64 bit or 32 bit will only see MAX installed RAM minus memory used for I/O space PCI memory etc.
 
Is my understanding correct.  Would there be any performance benefits to running Vista Ultimate x64?  My machine is used for software development and I run a number of virtual machines using VMware.  Have most of the 64 bit driver problems now been addressed and are there all of the required 64 bit drivers available?
 
I make my living with my machine so I can't afford to be without it for long.  Would doing an OS upgrade be a mistake or should I pay the price up front and do a fresh install?  I'm sure many people have asked themselves the same questions.  Just looking to see what the consensus seems to be.
 
Thanks

TroyComstock

13 Posts

April 14th, 2007 11:00

It is my understanding that the memory is controlled through the OS and the motherboard design. I think many people get confused when running 64 bit OS that if they put in 8 gigabytes of ram, they expect to see it, but its not the OS that is holding them back but the motherboard design.
 
Assuming you have a motherboard that can use more than 4 gigabytes of ram, and you are using the 64 bit OS, it is my understanding that you will see it (minus the overhead of the system).  That being said, I have heard from numerous sites that there is no reason to go to 64 bit OS because even if you could access more than 4 gigs of ram, most hardware and most software cannot use it.
 
I am told that programs such as Photoshop can use the memory, but games and productivity software can't.
 
I have the same problem as you, I have 4 gigs of ram but my Vista 32 bit and motherboard only supports 4, and with the overhead I am seeing allot less.
 
I am also under the assumption that there is no reason to run 64 bit OS because device drivers are almost non-existant and the 32 bit software that would run on top of it actually runs slower.

Monguse

87 Posts

April 14th, 2007 14:00

Memory Support in Vista 64bit version only.

Home Basic: 8gigs

Home Premium: 16gigs

Ultimate: 128+ gigs

Business: 128+ gigs

Enterprise: 128+ gigs

Memory Support in Vista 32bit All versions is 4gig.

This information is from the M/S Vista site.

nrhudson

1 Message

December 13th, 2007 19:00

The issue is not what the OS can handle, but what the specific hardware is capable of passing to the OS. The D820's have an issue with the BIOS only passing max RAM to the OS at 3.25 gig even though Dell advertises that the D820's can handle up to 4 gig of RAM. Until Dell resolves the issue with the BIOS only allocating 3.25 gig to the OS, whatever OS is installed, will only see 3.25 gig available. Our company has an incident logged with Dell on this matter and I will post what response I get from their engineering team on this issue. It is costing us money as we are ordering these laptops with 4 gig of RAM installed for our developers/engineers, but are not getting the full RAM potential that we purchased so we will either be getting a credit or returning the whole laptops until Dell resolves this issue.

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