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  • Showing Usable RAM 2.75GB while installed is 4GB

    Hello.
    I have installed 2 modules of Gskill 2GB DDR31600MHz hence total memory is 4GB. But in the Properties of computer it is showing usable memory as 2.75GB. 512MB is assigned to on board ATI Graphics. So it should show 3.5GB usable memory.

    Motherboard is Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-UD2H & Processor is AMD Phenom II X4 955.

    Why this is happening ? Please help me out.
    Attached Files

  • #2
    Re: Showing Usable RAM 2.75GB while installed is 4GB

    32-bit OS (Windows) can address only 4 GB of RAM, but some of those addresses have to be reserved for communication with devices. This is a well known problem and it does depend on the installed devices, BIOS, and Windows, how much address space is reserved.

    A 32-bit OS with PAE (Physical Address Extension) could do extra magic to be able to address more and thus have all of the 4 GB available. But 32-bit desktop Windows is no such OS.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Showing Usable RAM 2.75GB while installed is 4GB

      All 32bit Windows versions use PAE, at least according to the properties page on every single XP install I've ever done. The reason it is still restricted to 4Gb or less is to maintain driver compatibility (many software programs and drivers specifically designed for 32bit Windows would fall over in normal use if asked to go to/address anything outside 4GB). A full list of OS's using PAE is here: Physical Address Extension - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

      Any way, the fact that only 2.75GB is usable does seem on the small side. The least amount of RAM I would have expected to see on a 32bit install like that is 3.25GB. Where an additional 500MB has gone to is a mystery.

      Is there any reason why you haven't installed the 64bit version of Windows 7? You get both versions included. There's no disadvantage to using 64bit Windows, it is backward compatible with 99.9% of 32bit apps and has excellent driver support. With such a modern system and 4GB of RAM, installing a 32bit OS is a waste.
      Coolermaster CM 690 II advance Case
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      TRUE Black with a single Noctua NF-P12 pumping out 55 CFM @ 19db .
      2 x 2GB Mushkin Ridgeback (996902), @ 7-10-8-27, 2010-DDR, 1.66v
      2 x Gigabyte GTX 460 1024MB in SLI (Pre OC'd to 715MHz core and 1800MHz VRAM) @ 850 Core / 4100 Mem.
      Intel X25-M Boot Drive (OS and Programs) 200MB/s Read & 90MB/s Write
      Corsair X32 200MB/s Read & 100MB/s Write
      WD Caviar Blue 640GB C (Steam, Games, Storage, Temp Files & Folders, etc)
      Samsung F3 500GB Backup/Images
      Noctua 1300RPM 19dB case fan (rear extraction)
      3 x 140 MM Coolermaster LED fans (one front intake, one top extraction, one side intake)
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      • #4
        Re: Showing Usable RAM 2.75GB while installed is 4GB

        While all Windows now might have "PAE", they don't in practice use it for what one expects for PAE. Effectively same as not having it. If I load 32-bit PAE Linux kernel on machine with 8 GB, I have 8 GB to use. That is how I understand PAE.

        OEM copies of Windows are sold as either 32-bit or 64-bit, while the Full package includes "choose 32 or 64" license, AFAIK. And yes, I too would choose a 64-bit these days.

        Could the integrated graphics eat that 0.5 GB of addresses?

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Showing Usable RAM 2.75GB while installed is 4GB

          I would have (from the system specs etc) thought that including the integrated GPU's share of RAM there should still be over 3GB left.

          Going over all possible components that have onboard RAM and which have it addressed by the system (HDD cache isn't included for example as only the HDD uses it internally, CPU cache is included) I can't myself figure out why there would be so little remaining. There would be L1, l2 CPU cache, any reserved space used for system comms and maybe BIOS shadowing etc, any cache on the network cards and sound. Also anyother add in cards may or may not have RAM that will be prioritised an address space.

          I have an image of XP that I use occasionally. With this RIG, even though I have 1GB of graphics RAM to address I still have 3GB to play with. I'm going to image to XP in a minute, so I'll have a look exactly how much RAM I have available for use.

          I forgot about the OEM/For System Builders version being just a single DVD of either 32bit or 64bit. Fortunately the OEM product keys will all register either version. If the OP can get hold of the 64bit instalation files then he could use the 64bit version. This is of course a morally grey area , but IMO if you've bought the copy and have a legal key, swapping it for the 64bit version isn't a crime.
          Coolermaster CM 690 II advance Case
          Corsair HX750 (CWT, 91%(80+ Gold rated @230V) single 62A 12V rail
          P55A-UD4 v2.0 @ F14
          Core i5 760 @ 20 x 201, 4.02GHz
          TRUE Black with a single Noctua NF-P12 pumping out 55 CFM @ 19db .
          2 x 2GB Mushkin Ridgeback (996902), @ 7-10-8-27, 2010-DDR, 1.66v
          2 x Gigabyte GTX 460 1024MB in SLI (Pre OC'd to 715MHz core and 1800MHz VRAM) @ 850 Core / 4100 Mem.
          Intel X25-M Boot Drive (OS and Programs) 200MB/s Read & 90MB/s Write
          Corsair X32 200MB/s Read & 100MB/s Write
          WD Caviar Blue 640GB C (Steam, Games, Storage, Temp Files & Folders, etc)
          Samsung F3 500GB Backup/Images
          Noctua 1300RPM 19dB case fan (rear extraction)
          3 x 140 MM Coolermaster LED fans (one front intake, one top extraction, one side intake)
          Dell Ultra Sharp 2209WAf E-IPS @ 1680x1050

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Showing Usable RAM 2.75GB while installed is 4GB

            In Device Manager there is "View Resources by Type" option (at least in Vista). The addresses are in hex, but in principle that list should show the culprit. (example of odd bits that one can stumble on with Google)

            electrosam?

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Showing Usable RAM 2.75GB while installed is 4GB

              sounds okay to me

              ~3.2GB of 4GB are available for x86 (32bit) minus 512MB for onboard sums up to ~2.7Gb something available.

              looks plausible to me
              X470 Aorus Ultra Gaming
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              • #8
                Re: Showing Usable RAM 2.75GB while installed is 4GB

                In a 32bit environment, initially 4GB or there abouts should be available. I'm not sure where you got 3.2GB from. 3.2Gbwould be the amount approx that would be available on a system with 4GB AFTER 512MB had been deducted for the GPU, not before.
                Coolermaster CM 690 II advance Case
                Corsair HX750 (CWT, 91%(80+ Gold rated @230V) single 62A 12V rail
                P55A-UD4 v2.0 @ F14
                Core i5 760 @ 20 x 201, 4.02GHz
                TRUE Black with a single Noctua NF-P12 pumping out 55 CFM @ 19db .
                2 x 2GB Mushkin Ridgeback (996902), @ 7-10-8-27, 2010-DDR, 1.66v
                2 x Gigabyte GTX 460 1024MB in SLI (Pre OC'd to 715MHz core and 1800MHz VRAM) @ 850 Core / 4100 Mem.
                Intel X25-M Boot Drive (OS and Programs) 200MB/s Read & 90MB/s Write
                Corsair X32 200MB/s Read & 100MB/s Write
                WD Caviar Blue 640GB C (Steam, Games, Storage, Temp Files & Folders, etc)
                Samsung F3 500GB Backup/Images
                Noctua 1300RPM 19dB case fan (rear extraction)
                3 x 140 MM Coolermaster LED fans (one front intake, one top extraction, one side intake)
                Dell Ultra Sharp 2209WAf E-IPS @ 1680x1050

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                • #9
                  Re: Showing Usable RAM 2.75GB while installed is 4GB

                  her we go - screenshot task manager when 4GB installed:



                  available are 3.3GB system ram

                  If the motherboard does not have physically (additional) "vram" onboard then that ram is taken away from those 3.3GB.

                  So the OP got left what it shows..
                  X470 Aorus Ultra Gaming
                  AMD Ryzen 7 2700x
                  Kingston HyperX Predator 3200 - 16GB Kit
                  GV-RX570AORUS-4GD
                  1x 970 SSD / 2x SSHD 1TB Seagate
                  Win10x64

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                  • #10
                    Re: Showing Usable RAM 2.75GB while installed is 4GB

                    You don't seem to understand.... What ever free RAM is shown in Task Manager on your system will be AFTER your VRAM Has been addressed. The same should be true of the OP, however much more RAM is missing than the mere 512MB used from system RAM. That taken RAM is not going to be addressed twice, just once.

                    4GB minus the OP's 512MB from the common pool for the VRAM = 3.5GB, minus a couple of hundred for caches etc etc (the available RAM is never simply just Installed RAM minus GPU RAM) should leave around 3-3.25Gb for Windows.

                    If 2.75GB is the correct amount he should be seeing then please explain why I have ~3Gb available on this system when it runs XP? I have 1GB of Video RAM to be addressed, the OP has only 512MB.
                    Coolermaster CM 690 II advance Case
                    Corsair HX750 (CWT, 91%(80+ Gold rated @230V) single 62A 12V rail
                    P55A-UD4 v2.0 @ F14
                    Core i5 760 @ 20 x 201, 4.02GHz
                    TRUE Black with a single Noctua NF-P12 pumping out 55 CFM @ 19db .
                    2 x 2GB Mushkin Ridgeback (996902), @ 7-10-8-27, 2010-DDR, 1.66v
                    2 x Gigabyte GTX 460 1024MB in SLI (Pre OC'd to 715MHz core and 1800MHz VRAM) @ 850 Core / 4100 Mem.
                    Intel X25-M Boot Drive (OS and Programs) 200MB/s Read & 90MB/s Write
                    Corsair X32 200MB/s Read & 100MB/s Write
                    WD Caviar Blue 640GB C (Steam, Games, Storage, Temp Files & Folders, etc)
                    Samsung F3 500GB Backup/Images
                    Noctua 1300RPM 19dB case fan (rear extraction)
                    3 x 140 MM Coolermaster LED fans (one front intake, one top extraction, one side intake)
                    Dell Ultra Sharp 2209WAf E-IPS @ 1680x1050

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Showing Usable RAM 2.75GB while installed is 4GB

                      Maybe Win7 memory management is different to XP?

                      Maybe that is the reason why newest motherboards with onboard graphics do have dedicated ram onboard (not pooled)?

                      I am no expert thou...
                      X470 Aorus Ultra Gaming
                      AMD Ryzen 7 2700x
                      Kingston HyperX Predator 3200 - 16GB Kit
                      GV-RX570AORUS-4GD
                      1x 970 SSD / 2x SSHD 1TB Seagate
                      Win10x64

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Showing Usable RAM 2.75GB while installed is 4GB

                        I'll try a 32bit Win 7 install later on to see. For now, I've imaged to Windows XP. With 1GB of video RAM I am seeing exactly 3GB of usable system RAM.
                        Attached Files
                        Coolermaster CM 690 II advance Case
                        Corsair HX750 (CWT, 91%(80+ Gold rated @230V) single 62A 12V rail
                        P55A-UD4 v2.0 @ F14
                        Core i5 760 @ 20 x 201, 4.02GHz
                        TRUE Black with a single Noctua NF-P12 pumping out 55 CFM @ 19db .
                        2 x 2GB Mushkin Ridgeback (996902), @ 7-10-8-27, 2010-DDR, 1.66v
                        2 x Gigabyte GTX 460 1024MB in SLI (Pre OC'd to 715MHz core and 1800MHz VRAM) @ 850 Core / 4100 Mem.
                        Intel X25-M Boot Drive (OS and Programs) 200MB/s Read & 90MB/s Write
                        Corsair X32 200MB/s Read & 100MB/s Write
                        WD Caviar Blue 640GB C (Steam, Games, Storage, Temp Files & Folders, etc)
                        Samsung F3 500GB Backup/Images
                        Noctua 1300RPM 19dB case fan (rear extraction)
                        3 x 140 MM Coolermaster LED fans (one front intake, one top extraction, one side intake)
                        Dell Ultra Sharp 2209WAf E-IPS @ 1680x1050

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Showing Usable RAM 2.75GB while installed is 4GB

                          Yes I have 4GB and a 512MB graphics card. So I really have 4.5GB's of memory if you want to look at it that way. Your onboard graphics removes the memory after Windows sets the available physical memory to 3.25GB's So it's 3.25GB's-512MB for GPU = 2.75 available physical memory. I booted to my 32bit Windows 7 to verify this. Below is a photo. If you want to see avilable Installed physical memory, Total physical memory, available Physical memory, and total virtual memory. Look in Start/all programs/accessories/System tools/ system information

                          By artdrivers at 2009-12-17
                          UPDATE
                          I added the memory compaired from 64bit and 32bit in Windows 7 in system information. This is for anyone interested in the difference.
                          32bit:

                          By artdrivers at 2009-12-17
                          64bit:

                          By artdrivers at 2009-12-17
                          Last edited by artdrivers; 12-17-2009, 06:04 PM.
                          http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte...ench-test.html
                          http://www.gigabyte-usa.com/FileList...ios_qflash.pdf
                          Phenom II 945 @ 3.2Ghz w/Thermaltake Big Typhoon Pro 14 CPU Cooler
                          Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H rev.1.1 F11
                          Sapphire 3870HD / 100225L / 512MB / ddr4
                          4GB / Kingston / KHX8500D2K2/2GN / 5-5-5-18 / 1066Mhz
                          (2) WD Caviar / WD2500AAKS/ 250GB in SATA RAID-0
                          (1) WD Caviar / WD2500AAKS/ 250GB in SATA AHCI
                          (2) IDE's 1 8XdualDVDRW 1 52x32x52x CDRW
                          Antec /Neo HE550 / 550W
                          Mid size ATX case with show through panel
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                          • #14
                            Re: Showing Usable RAM 2.75GB while installed is 4GB

                            If that were true then Windows is actually penalizing someone for having an integrated GPU using system RAM. In that scenario, the RAM is being addressed twice, once as system RAM, which the BIOS then removes to allocate to the GPU and it's addressed again when the RAM is given back in the form of VRAM.

                            What I'm saying is, the RAM allocated should never be assigned an address space as Physical RAM and should be removed before addressing takes place, seamlessly by the BIOS. In this case it should behave exactly like having a 512MB card.

                            If this is indeed how the 4Gb address limit is working, it seems to me to be a pretty crappy system, treating 512MB of shared RAM as if it were 1024MB of descreet VRAM by actually removing 1GB of usable RAM.

                            If this is indeed the case then I'd recommend the OP buy a stand alone graphics card, at which point he should see an extra 256-512MB usable system RAM.
                            Coolermaster CM 690 II advance Case
                            Corsair HX750 (CWT, 91%(80+ Gold rated @230V) single 62A 12V rail
                            P55A-UD4 v2.0 @ F14
                            Core i5 760 @ 20 x 201, 4.02GHz
                            TRUE Black with a single Noctua NF-P12 pumping out 55 CFM @ 19db .
                            2 x 2GB Mushkin Ridgeback (996902), @ 7-10-8-27, 2010-DDR, 1.66v
                            2 x Gigabyte GTX 460 1024MB in SLI (Pre OC'd to 715MHz core and 1800MHz VRAM) @ 850 Core / 4100 Mem.
                            Intel X25-M Boot Drive (OS and Programs) 200MB/s Read & 90MB/s Write
                            Corsair X32 200MB/s Read & 100MB/s Write
                            WD Caviar Blue 640GB C (Steam, Games, Storage, Temp Files & Folders, etc)
                            Samsung F3 500GB Backup/Images
                            Noctua 1300RPM 19dB case fan (rear extraction)
                            3 x 140 MM Coolermaster LED fans (one front intake, one top extraction, one side intake)
                            Dell Ultra Sharp 2209WAf E-IPS @ 1680x1050

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Showing Usable RAM 2.75GB while installed is 4GB

                              I agree Psycho101 "Dido" He would be much better off with nearly any pcie graphics solution. His onboard memory and GPU memory speed are the same; 64bit. Most Graphics cards are 128bit or 256bit memory speed. His Windows Experience Index would go from 4.2 to 5.9 also. The larger GPU bandwidth and larger and faster GPU memory speed would be a large improvement as well.
                              Last edited by artdrivers; 12-17-2009, 07:07 PM.
                              http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte...ench-test.html
                              http://www.gigabyte-usa.com/FileList...ios_qflash.pdf
                              Phenom II 945 @ 3.2Ghz w/Thermaltake Big Typhoon Pro 14 CPU Cooler
                              Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H rev.1.1 F11
                              Sapphire 3870HD / 100225L / 512MB / ddr4
                              4GB / Kingston / KHX8500D2K2/2GN / 5-5-5-18 / 1066Mhz
                              (2) WD Caviar / WD2500AAKS/ 250GB in SATA RAID-0
                              (1) WD Caviar / WD2500AAKS/ 250GB in SATA AHCI
                              (2) IDE's 1 8XdualDVDRW 1 52x32x52x CDRW
                              Antec /Neo HE550 / 550W
                              Mid size ATX case with show through panel
                              2) 80x80 front fans (1) 120x120 rear fan and small nb fan
                              Microsoft comfort curve USB keyboard 2000 ver.1.0
                              Logitech G500 USB mouse
                              Monitor: CMV937A
                              7.1+2 Channel High Definition ALC889A
                              Dual boot Windows 7 32bit home & Windows 7 64bit home

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