The Members Forum

NicKnayme · Manager

Question About Windows 7 Ram Management

Vindicated · Administrator / Manager

Windows 7 memory usage: What's the best way to measure?

NicKnayme · Manager

So, I gather from this that the OS does what it wants with memory allocation...and all you can do is watch!

Vindicated · Administrator / Manager

I'm on the XP SP3 computer right now so can't check that out -- will take a look later when I get on the Windows 7 SP1 computer.

barney · Administrator / Manager

Graphics card memory is independent of system memory. The "on-board" graphics card memory is used for higher level graphic processing and resolution rendering.

System memory is what your computer programs and processes are loaded on to. The hard drive transfers the functions to this RAM.

NicKnayme · Manager

"On board" graphics or "integrated" uses a percentage of ram. I want to see if I make that %age usable when I added a graphics card (512Mb).

My system before and after adding the card says it has 4Gb total and 3Gb used. Why is the 1Gb not used by Windows?

barney · Administrator / Manager

Checkout this article on the difference in RAM usage between 32-bit Windows and 64-bit Windows:

The most significant advantage of a 64-bit system is that it can use more than 4GB of RAM. One thing that has changed since I last concerned myself with this topic is that most new desktops and laptops now come with at least 4GB of RAM. The problem is that like Vista, Windows 7 x86 is capable of only using about 3 GB of RAM. By contrast, Windows 7 x64 cannot only make use of up to 16TB 192GB RAM, but is capable of using the memory remapping feature of modern BIOSes, which allows the operating system to really use the complete 4GB. Thus, if you install Windows 7 64-bit on a 4 GB machine you won’t waste 1 GB of RAM like you would with Windows 7 32-bit.

http://4sysops.com/archives/windows-7-64-bit-or-32-bit-memory-and-performance/

If you have a 32 bit system, it can really only use up to 3 GB of memory. 64 bit systems can use much more these day.....

NicKnayme · Manager

Thanks Barney, for the clarification. Windows must be a memory hog to use the same amount regardless of graphics memory being available.

Vindicated · Administrator / Manager

... but one BIG advantage of 32-bit Windows7 is that you won't have the problems with Adobe compatibility that I'm experiencing with 64-bit.

Wondering when Adobe is gonna support 64-bit???

-- Edited by Vindicated on Sunday 10th of April 2011 10:26:38 PM

barney · Administrator / Manager

^ Don't hold your breath Vin...... hmm

Vindicated · Administrator / Manager

I might be the only person in the world who can't get a Windows7 Laptop to work with Adobe!!