Decisions decisions...

Sasso · 1 Feb 2008 at 12:24

right i have to RMA my ram cos one of the sticks is faulty but i have to send back both sticks.... which will leave me without my new pc till mid nextweek sometime...... so my options are...
1) just send it off and go back to my laptop and just patiently await its return...
or...
2)i could buy another 1Gb stick of the same ram to keep me going till i get the sticks back (running on the one good stick now but vista eats it up

) and then have 3Gb of ram in my pc

or...
3)same as option (2) but then put the new ram in and either try and take the other ram back or sell it on....

what ya reckon, i got crucial ballistix 8500 2x1Gb sticks is what i bought, can u buy just 1Gb sticks on the highstreet? also im running vista ultimate 32bit and that can only support up to 3Gb can't it? but also within the 3Gb i heard someone say somewhere that 3Gb is the total memory it would allow including graphics memory (8800gts 512mb).. so would that mean i would be going over the 3Gb limit and i would either lose 512mb of ram from the 3 or would i lose all the graphics ram :confused:

help meee i need info

melbourne720 · 1 Feb 2008 at 13:06

Buy another 2 x 1GB crucial ballistix 8500 pack. You can then have 4GB when your RMA gets back, or sell the RMA (or return the new ones).

Sasso · 1 Feb 2008 at 15:18

melbourne720 said:
Buy another 2 x 1GB crucial ballistix 8500 pack. You can then have 4GB when your RMA gets back, or sell the RMA (or return the new ones).

lol provided that the new one isnt duff too

hehe but what about vista? ive got ultimate 32bit so wouldnt i need 64bit to be able to use 4Gb ??? :confused:

melbourne720 · 1 Feb 2008 at 15:24

You'd need 64bit to see all of it, but you'd probably see between 2.75 and 3.5GB of RAM in Vista 32bit.

Sasso · 1 Feb 2008 at 15:31

melbourne720 said:
You'd need 64bit to see all of it, but you'd probably see between 2.75 and 3.5GB of RAM in Vista 32bit.

does that include the video ram aswell? cos i wouldnt want to do it and then my computer say i have no VRam

or is there a cheap way to upgrade from 32bit to 64

melbourne720 · 1 Feb 2008 at 15:54

The total is 4GB, but that includes the VRAM, and other stuff. So with your 512MB card, plus some for the over components, maybe 64MB for the audigy, the leftovers is what can be addressed as RAM e.g.

addressable RAM + GFX RAM + overhead for system + soundcard memory <= 4GB

where <= means 'is less than or equal to'.

I have a similar system to you, and I see 2.75GB in windows XP 32bit if it helps.

Sasso · 1 Feb 2008 at 18:36

what happens to the other ram then? is it just dorment and unused or is it still used but just isnt displayed in windows???