4GB of RAM WinXP x32

[K2NNJ]

Will having this much ram slow my system, than having it run faster?

I ask because I know I would have to have an x64 OS to recognize the full
4GB. I have a Dell XPS 400 running Windows XP MCE x32.

Thanks,

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Will having this much ram slow my system, than having it run faster?

I ask because I know I would have to have an x64 OS to recognize
the full 4GB. I have a Dell XPS 400 running Windows XP MCE x32.

It will not slow down your system...
If you weren't even close to using whatever amount of memory you had
originally, it's not going to speed it up either. ;-)

 

[K2NNJ]

I think it only came with 1GB.

It will not slow down your system...
If you weren't even close to using whatever amount of memory you had
originally, it's not going to speed it up either. ;-)

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Will having this much ram slow my system, than having it run faster?

I ask because I know I would have to have an x64 OS to recognize
the full 4GB. I have a Dell XPS 400 running Windows XP MCE x32.

It will not slow down your system...
If you weren't even close to using whatever amount of memory you had
originally, it's not going to speed it up either. ;-)

I think it only came with 1GB.

As I said - your system will not run any slower if you have 4GB of memory
and a 32bit Windows Consumer-based OS. It just won't *show* that you have
4GB nor will the OS use it all.

Do you do a lot of video editing? Heavy duty databases? Massive graphics
editing?

If no - then the 4GB is likely not going to help you anyway... as you likely
do not even fully use the 1GB it came with.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Will having this much ram slow my system, than having it run faster?

No. It certainly won't slow down anything. There's no such thing as
"too much RAM" and having more than you need won't hurt you in any
way.

However it's also unlikely that it will make it run any faster. How
much RAM you need for good performance is *not* a one-size-fits-all
situation. You get good performance if the amount of RAM you have
keeps you from using the page file, and that depends on what apps you
run. Most people running a typical range of business applications find
that somewhere around 256-384MB works well, others need 512MB. Almost
anyone will see poor performance with less than 256MB. Some people,
particularly those doing things like editing large photographic
images, can see a performance boost by adding even more than
512MB--sometimes much more.

If you are currently using the page file significantly, more memory
will decrease or eliminate that usage, and improve your performance.
If you are not using the page file significantly, more memory will do
nothing for you. Go to
http://billsway.com/notes_public/winxp_tweaks/ and download
WinXP-2K_Pagefile.zip and monitor your pagefile usage. That should
give you a good idea of whether more memory can help, and if so, how
much more.

 

[K2NNJ]

Okay thanks.

No. It certainly won't slow down anything. There's no such thing as
"too much RAM" and having more than you need won't hurt you in any
way.

However it's also unlikely that it will make it run any faster. How
much RAM you need for good performance is *not* a one-size-fits-all
situation. You get good performance if the amount of RAM you have
keeps you from using the page file, and that depends on what apps you
run. Most people running a typical range of business applications find
that somewhere around 256-384MB works well, others need 512MB. Almost
anyone will see poor performance with less than 256MB. Some people,
particularly those doing things like editing large photographic
images, can see a performance boost by adding even more than
512MB--sometimes much more.

If you are currently using the page file significantly, more memory
will decrease or eliminate that usage, and improve your performance.
If you are not using the page file significantly, more memory will do
nothing for you. Go to
http://billsway.com/notes_public/winxp_tweaks/ and download
WinXP-2K_Pagefile.zip and monitor your pagefile usage. That should
give you a good idea of whether more memory can help, and if so, how
much more.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Okay thanks.

You're welcome. Glad to help.