P.C. World.

[marco123]

Just stumbled upon this on the PC World website. (PC World is the biggest PC retailer in the U.K.) - http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0330700588.120421140 8@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccgadedhdlefeicflgceggdhhmdgmh.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=292227&category_oid=#productInformationSection

Next to where it says 4GB Memory Configurations there's a link which opens a .pdf document. It says:-

"Note about systems
configured with 4GB
of memory

Above 3GB, all memory may not be available because
of system resource requirements.
This limitation is not limited to HP and Compaq
systems. The memory above 3GB is used for system
resources."

So if I bought a PC with 16GB of RAM the system uses 13GB for "Resources"? - Surely we'll have to wait for Vista2 for that kind of bloat.:)

Thought I'd share this amusing lie with you. They are trying to cover up that Windows isn't next-gen (64Bit) ready yet. :)

They should just say that Windows can't recognise more than 3GB of RAM and that you should buy a MAC because 64Bit Leopard can. (They don't sell Linux PCs.)

Marco.

[Nevon]

Vista can (though not all versions, apparently). XP 32-bit cannot though.

[marco123]

It's just that 32bit operating systems can't recognize more than about 3GB of RAM and Windows 64Bit isn't very good.

It just bothers me that they are blatantly lying to customers who don't know any better.

[aeiah]

is it even legal to say that it's system resources when it's actually an OS limitation?

and pc world do sell linux pcs, kinda. they sell the eee

[forrestcupp]

The truth is that Vista 64-bit can access more than 3 GB, and that support for Vista 64-bit is almost as good as 32-bit. The problem is that most OEM's ship with 32-bit Vista, which cannot support 4 GB. I believe that MS has a program where you can get a 64-bit disk for free if you have a legitimate license.

It's important to not spread false facts.

[Vitamin-Carrot]

I had a look att he eee in a store down here :( i was not impressed it looked ugly and small and sales piggy couldnt tell me jack about it.

[Lster]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_Address_Extension

[saulgoode]

It's just that 32bit operating systems can't recognize more than about 3GB of RAM and Windows 64Bit isn't very good.

It's not true that 32-bit systems are limited to 4Gb (even 3Gb). 32-bit OSes are generally capable of handling 64Gb or more (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_Address_Extension), if the motherboard/processor supports it (for Linux the kernel would need to be compiled with HIGHMEM support enabled). The caveat is that any single process cannot access more than 4Gb; you could have many 4Gb processes though.

Some versions of Windows (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_Address_Extension#Windows) have extended memory enabled, but it is not available for XP (and I guess not for Vista, never checked).

[Kernel Sanders]

Seems to me that they are explaining the situation in a non technical way to be honest.

If they explained it properly, do you really expect Jo Public to understand it?

[Lster]

For those interested in what Microsoft operating systems support:

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platform/server/PAE/PAEdrv.mspx

[Superkoop]

Seems to me that they are explaining the situation in a non technical way to be honest.

If they explained it properly, do you really expect Jo Public to understand it?

If people would just explain computers properly in the first place, everyone would be able to understand it. And anyways, just saying that most Windows isn't able to use all the memory properly is just as easy to say, and it's not lying either.

[marco123]

If people would just explain computers properly in the first place, everyone would be able to understand it. And anyways, just saying that most Windows isn't able to use all the memory properly is just as easy to say, and it's not lying either.

Yes. It's not hard to put the truth there. The truth simply being that 32Bit OSs wont recognize as much RAM as 64Bit OSs, therefore they wont be able to use the full amount of RAM "out of the box".:confused:

[marco123]

I think the Dell and Alienware sites explain it properly; there's just a disclaimer if you select more than 3GB for your config. saying that you'll need Vista 64bit to use it all. Pretty simple if you ask me.

[Polygon]

also, the operating system has limits on how much memory each process can handle. Windows its like 2 gb and linux around 3 maybe. I found this out while reading some blender tutorial....im guessing its for security reasons?

[jrusso2]

Vista can (though not all versions, apparently). XP 32-bit cannot though.


I have Vista home premium it only see's 3.5 gigs out of the 4 gigs I have.

[icechen1]

is it even legal to say that it's system resources when it's actually an OS limitation?

and pc world do sell linux pcs, kinda. they sell the eee

It is an computer design limitation.When 32 bit were invented,nobody taught about the limitation problem.The max memory that a 32 bit can address is 3.5GB.

[speedwell68]

PC World employ idiots to sell computers to idiots. I was looking at network hard drives, I bought a Freecom in the end. Talking to the sales guy he was harping on about the software it came with, so I said I wasn't interested in the software as I ran Linux. He told me that if I didn't replace it with windows I ran the risk of damaging my pc. They are real idiots.