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Your Text: Insert Slimies » Insert UBB Code » Close Last Tag \| All Tags UBB Help	On a 32-bit (Windows) OS, due to memory addressing limitations, any single process can only be allocated a maximum of 3.25GB, though various tricks are used to address up to 4GB with the right environment. 4GB on a 32bit Windows system is only really of use with integrated graphics solutions that may take advantage of the unused excess... which isn't saying a lot, as integrated solutions suck... This limit still exists in the 32bit flavour of Vista. To all intents and purposes, there is no memory address limitation in 64bit Vista (aside from the artificial limits imposed in the cheaper versions). The actual limit of allocatable memory is around 16 exabytes (according to Wikipedia), which could only be considered a limit if you're busy processing (literally) astronomical data... and even then, you've a lot of spare memory to play with. Now, while I agree that the minimum required specifications published for the various flavours of XP/Vista are somewhat conservative, [b]I cannot agree that it is pointless to have less than 8GB of RAM[/b]! My rig is built for gaming, runs 64bit Vista, and performs perfectly (I mean, [i]perfectly[/i]) on 4GB of 800MHz RAM, even with the latest games. In fact, because I went with 64bit, I get a lot more eye-candy with no compromise on performance - and gaming is not the only area in which 64bit computing is increasingly offering more oomph with no added overheads. I'm not suggesting that gaming is the only intensive application for your technology, but it is arguably one of the most demanding; from the viewpoint of a serious gamer with a stonking addiction to eye-candy and ridonkulous overclocks, I can assure you that 4GB of RAM is adequate for the foreseeable future. Personally, I will be purchasing 8GB of RAM (or more) when I can step up to DDR3 and the next generation of CPUs. It's a matter of when the technology falls within range of my gaming budget, and the next generation of games demands it. Until such a time, I'm happy to report that 8GB is a luxury I can live without. _____ While we're on the subject, as an IT professional, I have had far fewer problems with Vista than I had with XP when it first came out (I loved my Win2K, and it took ages for me to move on). From what I can tell, Windows 7 is more of the same (or less - a stripped-down OS with paid bolt-ons). Unless you have a reason to dislike Windows (full-stop), you generally shouldn't have a problem with Vista or 7. It's a matter of personal taste. [small](Edited by [url=http://www.ozoneasylum.com/user/4663]White Hawk[/url] on 05-12-2009 21:25)[/small] Loading...
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