OT Microsoft a little slow supporting more than 3.4 GB of RAM?

[John Doe]

(Crossposted)


Maybe this is a better way to put the question. The 32 bit and
64-bit operating systems, are they fundamentally the same except for
what one would expect (32 versus 64)?

It seems a little odd to me. When Windows XP came out, maybe I
missed something, but was there as great of a distinction between
operating systems (as there is now between 32 and 64-bit Microsoft
OSs) around that time?

If the second question I'm asking seems a little vague, well it
probably is.

Mostly curious, thanks.

 

[Conor]

(Crossposted)


Maybe this is a better way to put the question. The 32 bit and
64-bit operating systems, are they fundamentally the same except for
what one would expect (32 versus 64)?

It seems a little odd to me. When Windows XP came out, maybe I
missed something, but was there as great of a distinction between
operating systems (as there is now between 32 and 64-bit Microsoft
OSs) around that time?

If the second question I'm asking seems a little vague, well it
probably is.

Mostly curious, thanks.

Basically the big thing you're forgetting is that the highest address a
32 bit OS can address is 4GB. Hardware requires its own memory
addresses which the 32 bit OS needs to be able to address so that's why
you end up with less than 4GB usable in a 32bit OS.

Microsoft haven't been slow in supporting more than 3.4GB of RAM
because they've had a 64 bit OS out for years.

What your complaint is is that XP/Vista quite accurately reported what
they could address, not what was installed.

 

[johns]

Is there a mobo that is properly designed to use
a 64-bit OS ? I've talked to mobo tech supports, and
they tell me that for the most part their mobos are
designed only for a 32-bit OS. You can run the 64-bit
OS on it, but it will not run well. You can even put
8 gigs of ram on it, but the mobo is not designed
for that power load, and will slow down a lot.
Add to that, most of the peripherals are meant to
run on a 32-bit mobo, and are not supported in
a 64-bit OS.

So to do 64-bit, you've got to do all of it, and it
seems the vendors are not well informed.

johns

 

[Paul]

Is there a mobo that is properly designed to use
a 64-bit OS ? I've talked to mobo tech supports, and
they tell me that for the most part their mobos are
designed only for a 32-bit OS. You can run the 64-bit
OS on it, but it will not run well. You can even put
8 gigs of ram on it, but the mobo is not designed
for that power load, and will slow down a lot.
Add to that, most of the peripherals are meant to
run on a 32-bit mobo, and are not supported in
a 64-bit OS.

So to do 64-bit, you've got to do all of it, and it
seems the vendors are not well informed.

johns

Why not read this article, and then come back and answer
the question again.

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1825&page=1

Paul