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Is there a way to get around the limit for ram with win xp 32 bit?


2Tall4U

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You use all 3.3~GB of RAM? What are you doing?

I am going to get a new 64 bit computer and I was thinking about using xp pro for software compatibility ect

But since there is not a way around the limit I might get a 64 bit os

Do you have any suggestions about a os?

Thank you

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XP 64bit has worse compatibility than Vista. On top of that, few applications are actually 64bit, so they won't be able to use more then 3.3~GB by them selves.

What are you actually doing to need more then 3.3~GB of RAM?

Very True, ram is so cheap now days, but I can get 3 gb of 800 ddr2, I'll stick with the xp pro then

Thank You very much for the info

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We still are curious about apps/tasks you are doing that requires all 3.3GB of your RAM.

I think you should move to 64-Bit Vista if you are planing a new machine. Vista is great and your really limiting yourself if you're sticking with XP.

If you are building a new machine, and are considering the Intel Core 7i process, then you are going to have to use DDR3 ram because it doesn't support DDR2 (as far as I know).

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Couldn't one run a 32-bit VM inside of 64-bit OS for compatiability for 32-bit apps?

That is a disgusting way of getting around it.

Even with 32-bit operating systems, placing 4GB of memory on the motherboard will give you the best performance, especially with dual channel kits. Memory will be mapped evenly across the DIMMs giving the best performance.

I still think if you using more than 4GB of memory in a desktop computer then your doing it wrong.

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Don't you mean "640K ought to be enough for anybody"? :)

Nope, given that the average memory foot print used by a system as barely increased in the last 8 years, but memory has become significantly cheaper its tailing off. For the majority of home computers, the most intensive application they will run is a game. Which have never been very dependent on memory for a long time (since dedicated graphics chips have been around) and see far more benefit from a decent amount of graphics memory, especially when working with large resolutions, 1440x900+ for example.

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I have 4 gig of ram, and do a lot of home video stuff, and it really makes a difference if you can use all of that memory. I have both XP Pro 32 bit and XP64. The 32 bit chokes on some things just for the size of the files. Converting thing son the 64 bit side hardly slows the machine down, and I can work with 30gig video files without crashing during my editing. I eventually compress them down to normal size, but when working with HD video, the more memory, the better. Photoshop is also another program I use a lot, an dit limits you to only using a certain percentage of your memory. With 4 gig of ram on 32 bit windows, it wont let me use more than 1761 megabytes of ram. Now, if I had say, 8gig of ram under a 64 bit OS, then I could use probably several times that amount.(CS2 is weird, because Photoshop 7 let me use more ram than CS2 does :( )

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For the majority of home computers, the most intensive application they will run is a game.

I disagree - for the majority of home computers, everybody uses them differently.

I work with images hundreds of megapixels in size (even gigapixels) - to be able to keep multiple images open in RAM simultaneously would be a dream. (I'm not suggesting that I'm an average computer user, but my point is that everybody is different - in fact, I don't play any games at all on my PCs and I think for the majority of computer users I know the most hardware-intensive game they play is solitaire.)

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If you want to use more than 3.5GB or so of RAM on a 32bit OS, your OS and hardware will have to support Physical Address Extension (PAE). Its supposed to work on XP, but I've only ever seen it work on Server 2003. With this you can have up to 64GB of RAM on a 32bit system.

As for how much ram does a desktop machine need, I have 6GB in my machine and I intend to take that up to 8GB. Do I use it? Yes, VMware loves memory, and Vista x64 seems to use the memory well. Memory is cheap these days, and there is no point point artifical limits on what you have in a desktop. If your running a modern x64 OS like Vista or OSX, and can afford it, max out your memory. The gains are quite nice and will keep your computer viable for longer.

Plus, Windows 7 uses less memory than Vista and is faster, yet has all the nice bits of Vista. When that comes out its going to fly with lots of memory at its disposal.

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99% of home computers don't run virtualized computers on them, nor have £2,000+ Adobe creative suits install on them. Once your doing those things your looking for more of a workstation that home computer.

Also consider that more people buy laptops now than laptops, for their daily usage and the majority of laptops only support up to 4GB of memory.

For video, you'll want a fast processor and lots of hard drive space.

For gaming, you'll want a decent graphics card.

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Loving Vista Ultimate x64. Throw memory at it and it justs gets better. I tried the 32 bit flavour of Vista with 2GB and it doesn't even compare. I think VaKo said something in another thread "If only they'd released Vista as a x64 OS only" it simply would have half the bad press it gets.

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99% of home computers don't run virtualized computers on them, nor have £2,000+ Adobe creative suits install on them. Once your doing those things your looking for more of a workstation that home computer.

Also consider that more people buy laptops now than laptops, for their daily usage and the majority of laptops only support up to 4GB of memory.

For video, you'll want a fast processor and lots of hard drive space.

For gaming, you'll want a decent graphics card.

That is true, the prices for ram and hard drives are much less now days as well

Thank you Stingwray

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