Hi,
I have a question regarding RAM. I just purchased a new HP Pavilion dv6 Series Laptop which came with 4 gig of RAM. I am using Windows 7 Home. What is the most I can increase the RAM to ? I have been told I can go to 8 gig. And is there any benefit in doing that ?
My friend has an Asus laptop which came with 3 gig, and he increased it to 4, but when he looked in specs it says the computer recognizes the 4 gigs but is only using 3. Any idea what is happening there ?
Thanks, Mickmac
Hello,
If you are looking at upgrading RAM, the maximum can depend on what bit OS you are running (32bit or 64bit). To check what you are running goto Start >> in search type without quotes "System" >> in the search results find "System" which should be under the control panel catagory (the icon for it is a blue computer monitor with a tick inside it), it will tell you the bit in there.
As for your friend, he is most likley running a 32bit system which can take a maximum of 4GB RAM, but like mine, will only display as 3.25GB in some places. 32bit systems can only physically USE only 3.25GB even if you install 4GB. 64 bit systems on the other hand can have TB's of RAM, and will display and physically use all of it. Wierd I know, but that is the way t'was all made to work.
Hope that helped
Regards.
Jordan
The amount of RAM you can have depends on the OS itself, 32 or 64 bit, and that is the amount that can be used by the OS. Your h/w presents other limits. RAM slots are limiting some systems as well. For laptops, I think you'd have a hard time finding memory sticks over 2GB's in size.
Irv S.
1. If you want to understand why a 32bit system cannot take advantage of the full 4GBs, read this article. It is a combination matter of address space and real memory used by on-board graphics.
2. For normal applications, 4GB of RAM should suffice (for both 32bit or 64bit) - unless you do CAD or video editing all day long. But for more than 4GBs, you MUST have a 64bit OS, else the RAM above 4GBs (actually more like above 3.25GBs) will sit there unused.
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