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Dell 1705 with 4GB RAM. good news and bad news, question for other 4gb ram user - Page 2

post #21 of 37
4/10/07 at 11:14am
I would have to disagree with you on that. Most of it applies to the situation & it explains to people WHY they are seeing less than the 4GB of RAM on their machines. Granted they cannot add more than 4GB to the system & the PAE switch has no funcionality in a 4GB limited system. The article was explaining WHY you do not see the ful 4GB
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post #22 of 37
4/10/07 at 11:21am
My Desktop MB specs indcate a 8 GB memory limit
Asus M2N32-Sli
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post #23 of 37
4/10/07 at 11:24am
And this from Microsoft

Memory specifications
All editions of Windows Vista 64-bit provide increased memory support beyond the standard 4 gigabytes (GB) available with 32-bit editions. Refer to the specific edition of Windows Vista 64-bit to determine maximum memory capacity.
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post #24 of 37
4/10/07 at 11:25am
Windows Vista Edition 64-bit memory support

Home Basic
8 GB

Home Premium
16 GB

Ultimate
128+ GB

Business
128+ GB

Enterprise
128+ GB
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post #25 of 37
4/10/07 at 11:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dave-p
All editions of Windows Vista 64-bit provide increased memory support beyond the standard 4 gigabytes (GB) available with 32-bit editions.
That is true, but it will be of no use whatsoever if your hardware does not meet certain requirements. So, even with 64bit Vista, you will not be able to use more than the infamaous about 3.25GB on any current Dell laptop. If you opt for a graphics card with less memory, you will gain some, though...
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post #26 of 37
4/10/07 at 11:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolApathy
Most of it applies to the situation & it explains to people WHY they are seeing less than the 4GB of RAM on their machines.
Well, yeah, kind of. In the way of an explanation, the link that xccess21 has provided above is much better, methinks. I also had a post with a link on that subject a couple of months ago that was quite good, but for the life of me I cannot find it anymore
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post #27 of 37
4/10/07 at 11:53am
different explainations are needed for different users... the first one is quite informative...Some people just like sometihng a litlte less in depth... I was posting that as a less technical overview... Of course you like to argue with everyone
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post #28 of 37
4/10/07 at 3:22pm
I'm in the same boat with my M1710 4GB Vista64. Is this a permanent hardware limitation or would a BIOS update resolve the issue and allow memory remapping? I vaguely remember reading somewhere that this was a problem with some desktop PCs and some manufacturers came out with BIOS updates to resolve the issue.
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post #29 of 37
4/10/07 at 3:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolApathy
Of course you like to argue with everyone
Of course... You, on the other hand, only like to argue with people who like to argue with everyone
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post #30 of 37
4/10/07 at 3:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elkay
I'm in the same boat with my M1710 4GB Vista64. Is this a permanent hardware limitation or would a BIOS update resolve the issue and allow memory remapping? I vaguely remember reading somewhere that this was a problem with some desktop PCs and some manufacturers came out with BIOS updates to resolve the issue.
It's a PCI hardware limitation. The whole system needs to go 64-bit. Currently some of the hardware does 32-bit addressing, and no BIOS update can change that.
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post #31 of 37
4/10/07 at 4:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by m94mni
It's a PCI hardware limitation. The whole system needs to go 64-bit. Currently some of the hardware does 32-bit addressing, and no BIOS update can change that.

After some reading, I've discovered the bottleneck. The issue is the Intel 945 chipset in the M1710. This chipset utilizes 32-bit addressing, locking down addressable memory to 4GB. I think you're right that we're SOL on this one. Perhaps the next generation Inspiron XPS motherboard will utilize a 64-bit chipset (955?) and will be swappable in and we can simply do that swap to use the rest of the RAM. What a waste putting all of that 64-bit technology in the M1710 but leaving the 945 bottleneck.
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post #32 of 37
4/10/07 at 5:21pm
Yes, I think the Santa Rosa chipset is pure 64-bit.

Do you happen to have a good link regarding the Intel 945 and 32-bit?
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post #33 of 37
4/10/07 at 5:38pm
http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/945g/index.htm (check product brief, states 4GB for 64-bit (how is this actually 64-bit then?))
http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/945pm/index.htm (says 4GB limit right there)

I'll have to look into Santa Rosa, as that's a new name for me.
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post #34 of 37
4/10/07 at 5:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elkay
Perhaps the next generation Inspiron XPS motherboard will utilize a 64-bit chipset (955?) and will be swappable in and we can simply do that swap to use the rest of the RAM. What a waste putting all of that 64-bit technology in the M1710 but leaving the 945 bottleneck.
I wouldn't count on that being possible. At least, you may find that your graphics card is not compatible with the new mobo, so you'll have to replace that one, too. By that time, you might be better off replacing the whole machine.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elkay
What a waste putting all of that 64-bit technology in the M1710 but leaving the 945 bottleneck.
I don't think Intel is providing any fully 64-bit laptop chipsets. Frankly, there was precious little reason to do so, too. Anyway, as has been said, that problem may be solved with Santa Rosa.
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post #35 of 37
4/10/07 at 5:39pm
http://download.intel.com/design/mob...s/30921903.pdf

Page 21... 4 GB LIMIT.

Crestline should boost that to 8GB
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post #36 of 37
4/10/07 at 5:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolApathy
Hmm, very interesting. Under "Supported memory configurations" it lists "asymmetric dual channel". Not that it seems to matter much, but I read that as saying that it will do dual-channel even if you do not have identical memory modules, like having one 2GB and one 1GB module.
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post #37 of 37
4/10/07 at 5:58pm
It's still the same socket though, right? Socket-M I believe is what my T7200 is. Even replacing the video card, they're in enough demand that ebay will lessen the wallet blow. If they keep the next gen Inspiron XPS the same chassis, there's a good chance the video card layout will be the same. Any early release shots of the next gen Inspiron XPS?
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