Windows 8 on x64 requirements

trumpet-205

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32-bit supports up to 4GB of RAM. That 0.8GB RAM that's inaccessible in your example has to do with video memory, etc. 32-bit still supports up to 4GB of RAM natively.
No, Windows x86-32 will only use up to 3.25 GB of RAM. Up to 4 GB is just a generalization.

To be accurate, 32-bit can use more RAM (up to 64 GB in some OSes), but Microsoft intentionally limited it to 3.25 GB.
 

hisagishi

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No, Windows x86-32 will only detect up to 3.25 GB of RAM. Up to 4 GB is just a generalization.

To be accurate, 32-bit can use more RAM (up to 64 GB in some OSes), but Microsoft intentionally limited it to 3.25 GB.

This is actually dependent on the amount of ram that is reserved for system uses. I/O, Onboard GPU, etc. Some people might see 3.25, some might see 3.75, etc. Just dependent on there config.
 

trumpet-205

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This is actually dependent on the amount of ram that is reserved for system uses. I/O, Onboard GPU, etc. Some people might see 3.25, some might see 3.75, etc. Just dependent on there config.
No, it is dependent on the BIOS.

BIOS can show however many RAM is there, but Windows x86-32 will still only use up to 3.25 GB.
 

hisagishi

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No, it is dependent on the BIOS.

BIOS can show however many RAM is there, but Windows x86-32 will still only use up to 3.25 GB.

Perhaps I didn't explain well. You have 4gb, windows can use and see up to 3.75. You might have less because of various things on your motherboard reserving ram for various uses, such as onboard video. Technically you can use more on a windows 32bit system but thats a whole 'nother can of worms and has to deal with page flipping which isn't something I want to get into.

-The more you know
 

trumpet-205

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Perhaps I didn't explain well. You have 4gb, windows can use and see up to 3.75. You might have less because of various things on your motherboard reserving ram for various uses, such as onboard video. Technically you can use more on a windows 32bit system but thats a whole 'nother can of worms and has to deal with page flipping which isn't something I want to get into.

-The more you know
Nope. 3.25 is the maxed RAM usable in 32-bit Windows, and this is with or without shared RAM by iGPU.

Even if you see 3.75 GB of RAM available, the barrier is 3.25 GB.
 

hisagishi

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Nope. 3.25 is the maxed RAM usable in 32-bit Windows, and this is with or without shared RAM by iGPU.

Even if you see 3.75 GB of RAM available, the barrier is 3.25 GB.

Can you give some more concrete info or a more reliable source? This hasn't been my experience with it at all. Running a prime95 custom test I could get it to stress out my ram completely.
 

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Can you give some more concrete info or a more reliable source? This hasn't been my experience with it at all. Running a prime95 custom test I could get it to stress out my ram completely.
Mate, on my old C2D desktop rocking Win 8 with 4 gigs of RAM, only 3.25 is shown under my computer. Do I have to plug the old behemoth in and take pics for you to believe me?
 

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Nope. 3.25 is the maxed RAM usable in 32-bit Windows, and this is with or without shared RAM by iGPU.

Even if you see 3.75 GB of RAM available, the barrier is 3.25 GB.
3.25GB is the generally assumed limit since most computers will contain hardware that would limit it to such values, however depending on your hardware configuration you can still end up with more usable RAM than that in a 32bit copy of Windows.
 

hisagishi

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Mate, on my old C2D desktop rocking Win 8 with 4 gigs of RAM, only 3.25 is shown under my computer. Do I have to plug the old behemoth in and take pics for you to believe me?

That wasn't the point at all. Yes I believe your system can only use 3.25gb, I also BELIEVE that it is using the extra 512mb for onboard video, I however could be incorrect. The fact of the matter is, some people get 3.25 to 3.75.

The point being its dependent upon system configuration.
 

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That wasn't the point at all. Yes I believe your system can only use 3.25gb, I also BELIEVE that it is using the extra 512mb for onboard video, I however could be incorrect. The fact of the matter is, some people get 3.25 to 3.75.

The point being its dependent upon system configuration.
Fun fact: My mom's old Vista laptop and my dad's current 7 desktop, each running 32-bit with 4 gigs of RAM, shows the same. They are all vastly different systems, but all of them have 3.25 GB.(Even though 4GB is installed.)
 

hisagishi

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Fun fact: My mom's old Vista laptop and my dad's current 7 desktop, each running 32-bit with 4 gigs of RAM, shows the same. They are all vastly different systems, but all of them have 3.25 GB.(Even though 4GB is installed.)

Check how much ram they have dedicated to the onboard GPU. I can guarantee you its 512mb. Now if you reduce this to 256 they would likely have 3.5gb of ram. I am not trying to BS you guys.
 

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Check how much ram they have dedicated to the onboard GPU. I can guarantee you its 512mb. Now if you reduce this to 256 they would likely have 3.5gb of ram. I am not trying to BS you guys.
Another fun fact: My dad's mobo has no onboard GPU.(Really, he had a Radeon X1500, and now an HD 6450 loaded in there.)
 

hisagishi

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Another fun fact: My dad's mobo has no onboard GPU.(Really, he had a Radeon X1500, and now an HD 6450 loaded in there.)

Is it the 512 version or the 1gb? Its more or less the same thing as using onboard video. Though theres a difference between just simply dedicating the ram you have and using up address spaces via other means. But I don't know everything there is to know about this topic. Though if you are interested here is a good topic to read on it: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1035670
 

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Is it the 512 version or the 1gb? Its more or less the same thing as using onboard video. Though theres a difference between just simply dedicating the ram you have and using up address spaces via other means. But I don't know everything there is to know about this topic. Though if you are interested here is a good topic to read on it: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1035670

It's a 1GB version and it has it's own dedicated RAM. It just proves my point that the max addressable amount in Windows 32-bit is 3.25 GB, regardless of configuration.
 

hisagishi

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It's a 1GB version and it has it's own dedicated RAM. It just proves my point that the max addressable amount in Windows 32-bit is 3.25 GB, regardless of configuration.

Interesting. Not sure whats going on there. Though it does depend on the configuration. I can guarantee you that. I'm tempted to install 32bit just to prove my point -.-. I mean, hell you can even google this. there are loads of reports of windows 32bit using 3.75/3.5. Saying its a hard limit of 3.25 is just completely wrong.
 

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maxram.gif


perprogram.gif


EDIT: Top image, which is the important one, seems broken... but it's the max RAM available for all the various versions of Windows, including artificial limits like the Starter versions, so 4GB is the hard limit for memory in total. "RA"-M is not the only type of M.
 

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