RAM mistake?

[Guest]

I have 512MB DDR PC333 RAM installed, but my computer says I have 480MB when
I go into My Compuer-->System. How come?

 

[Guest]

what do you mean by try dxdiag?

From Start->run MSINFO32.
After that try DXDIAG
to get a few other opinions.

 

[Guest]

From Start->run MSINFO32.
After that try DXDIAG
to get a few other opinions.

 

[Guest]

thats 32MB missing...sounds like you have shared video card memory.

 

[Guest]

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? And is that normal? Also is the video
card part of the motherboard? I don't believe I have an add-on video card?
And may this be why there is jerkiness when I try to scroll pages on websites
and watch videos from mycomputer?

 

[Jim]

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? And is that normal? Also is the
video
card part of the motherboard? I don't believe I have an add-on video
card?
And may this be why there is jerkiness when I try to scroll pages on
websites
and watch videos from mycomputer?

If the video processor took some of the memory, it is good because otherwise
the video won't work. It is also bad because Windows can't use it for
processes.
Some computers have the video processor mounted on the motherboard. Such
video processors must use part of the system memory.
Other computers have a separate video card which may or may not have
sufficient memory onboard. If the card is lacking in memory, the video
processor on the card takes some of the system memory.
It is cheaper to build a computer with the video processor on the
motherboard, but the performance suffers.
It is cheaper to build a computer with a video processor on a separate card
and without enough memory on that card, but performance suffers.
Jim

 

[Roberto]

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? And is that normal? Also is the
video
card part of the motherboard? I don't believe I have an add-on video
card?
And may this be why there is jerkiness when I try to scroll pages on
websites
and watch videos from mycomputer?

You have an onboard graphics card that is "stealing" 32MB of system
memory. Check the machines manual or open the case and see if there
is an AGP slot if so, purchase a 128 /256MB card.

rgds
Roberto

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I have 512MB DDR PC333 RAM installed, but my computer says I have
480MB when I go into My Compuer-->System. How come?

Very likely because you don't have a separate video card, but have video
capability built into the motherboard. Without a separate video card,
there's no dedicated video memory, and so the motherboard "steals" a certain
amount of system memory (32MB in your case) to use for video purposes.

 

[Rock]

I have 512MB DDR PC333 RAM installed, but my computer says I have 480MB when
I go into My Compuer-->System. How come?

Some RAM, 32 MB, is being used by the video system. This is normal for
some systems.