Make sure your system meets all requirements to get all the 4GB, under Windows 2000, XP, 2003 or Vista.
This is a quick guide and won’t involve much tech. detail. I’ll try to make it straightforward and foolproof, digging links in the article for technicality. (more after the jump)
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Next-gen memory spec. for extreme overclockers
This week, memory module manufacturer Corsair announced a new set of high-performance DDR3 modules that fit Intel’s Extreme Memory specification. These modules have additional overclocking profiles built into the SPD (serial presence detect) ROM on the memory module, which allows simple and reliable overclocking of memory. Intel Extreme Memory is intended for the upcoming release of high-end desktop motherboards using Intel’s X38 chipset.
The next generation of EPP, dubbed EPP 2.0, is in the works, but will also differ from Intel Extreme Memory. EPP 2.0 will add DDR3 support for unannounced Nvidia chipsets.
When asked if this might increase buyer confusion, Corsair Vice President of Marketing Jack Peterson noted that the company planned an educational campaign, using price breaks and bundling to steer users to the right memory and motherboard combination. Peterson also suggested that the company was investigating a utility that would allow users to re-burn EPP profiles into Intel Extreme Memory and vice versa, but no final decision has been made.
Source: ExtremeTech
DDR3 prices are expect to go down next year, as Intel plans to use DDR3 for its mobile parts. Once the memory hits mainstream the prices are rapidly going down.
So if you are shocked with the current prices of DDR3 just give it some time and X38 chipset will finally prove the real power of this new low voltage memory and a next generation mobile platform will certanly help the prices to go down.
Notebooks are really getting popular and so will DDR3 notebooks.
Source: fudzilla
The 4GB limit is cause by IA32 microstructure, which debuted in 1986’s INTEL i386 processor(and it servers us a good 20 years!). For modem x86 processors with 64bit capacity, while they support more than 4GB memory, are still limited to the 4GB virtual address barrier when running a 32bit OS.
These articles are mostly focus on how to get Windows “see” 4GB, but this doesn’t imply that a specified application can use all the 4GB memory. In 32bit Windows, by default, the lower 2 GB are reserved for user-mode programs and the upper 2 GB are reserved for kernel-mode programs. We can use the /3GB switch under Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT. or IncreaseUserVA element in BCDEdit in Windows Vista to increase user-mode space, which is called 4 GT RAM Tuning. Anandtech features a nice article about this issue, the benefit is obvious but there are also some potential problems when enabling this tweak. The best choice is go for 64bit Windows.
To get full 4GB support(and make full use of them), a prerequisite is to get around the MMIO issue, so:
Before using Memory Remapping to sort out the MMIO issue, make sure your MB/OS supports it properly, so don’t turn it on when using 32bit Windows XP or Vista.
Since MMIO takes such a huge space(over 1GB if you’re running SLI), the lost is unacceptable. Luckily enough, chipset manufacturers have takes some efforts to solve it, and the technology is called Memory Remapping.
Click for more on Windows and 4GB RAM — The Frustration, Confusion and Solution(Part 3) »
In Windows, PAE or X64 is required to get all 4GB RAM, but that’s not enough.
Before writing this part, I made a quick Google search. Seems that 5 out of 10 would suggest enabling PAE, and the rest go for 64bit system to get around the 4GB barrier. So is PAE or x64 the key for Windows user to get full 4GB support?
Click for more on Windows and 4GB RAM — The Frustration, Confusion and Solution(Part 2) »
The missing RAM is eaten by MMIO, a limitation imposed twenty-years ago.
While the memory price drops dramatically(thanks to Windows Vista!), 2GB RAM is now a standard configuration and 4GB is become more and more common in high-end system. And, if you are lucky enough to get a system with 4GB RAM, you might notice that in Windows, some RAM is missing and the system shows 3GB~3.75GB only. So now the frustration, Where is my RAM? Why cant I get all my RAM shown?
Click for more on Windows and 4GB RAM — The Frustration, Confusion and Solution(Part 1) »
