[SOLVED] 32 bit OS compatibility with 8gb RAM

[Gebaben]

Hi there!

I know that a 32 bit system only use 4GB RAM and to use more than 4GB, need to upgrade to a 64 bit system etc.
I'm curious if I have 8GB RAM and I use 32 bit system with it, can it generate instability, low memory errors, crashes and other problems?

I hope I don't look stupid asking this question 😀

 

[Deleted member 2720853]

It simply won't use the remaining 4 GB of RAM.

 

[rgd1101]

can it generate instability, low memory errors, crashes and other problems?

If you have hardware issue, 32bit will have the same issue as 64 bit. just limited the use to 4GB.

 

[kanewolf]

Hi there!

I know that a 32 bit system only use 4GB RAM and to use more than 4GB, need to upgrade to a 64 bit system etc.
I'm curious if I have 8GB RAM and I use 32 bit system with it, can it generate instability, low memory errors, crashes and other problems?

I hope I don't look stupid asking this question 😀

The OS will just ignore the additional memory. Low memory errors and other issues will be because you only have 4GB RAM.

 

[Math Geek]

what version of windows are you using?

most of them allow you to go from 2 to 64 bit with the same key. i've done it with everything from vista up. over the years.

 

[william p]

Actualy that configuration can allow modern 4GB GUs to run in that system. The GPU will find the extra RAM adresses from the top down, and use them to cache textures. The OS will run in the other 4GB. It won't cause a problem. Also there is a thing known as a RAM Drive where the extra RAM is used assigned a drive letter. But it's volatile and will lose verything in it. Perfect for cookies and other internet trash.

 

[SamirD]

Neat to know about the gpu.

Won't have an issue at all. I actually ran xp on my z420 with 256GB of ram just for kicks, lol.

 

[Gebaben]

Ok, so it won't cause problems. Thank you guys!

And what about games? If this rig meets a game's all system recommendations except ram because the recommended is 8GB (min 4GB)?

 

[Wolfshadw]

Unless it specifically states a 64-bit OS is required, it shouldn't matter. It should run, but likely not very well.

-Wolf sends

 

[Math Geek]

some games may let it try to load anyway and it will run terribly if at all. stuff from the windows store won't even let it try to load if you don't meet the specs.

i had a old system that i took from 4 to 8 gb ram and it was a whole new experience. was well worth it to make the move. since you have the ram, i'd highly suggest you go ahead and make the move to 64 bit windows no matter what version you are using.

it does take a fresh install but it's well wroth it

 

[Pinhedd]

Hi there!

I know that a 32 bit system only use 4GB RAM and to use more than 4GB, need to upgrade to a 64 bit system etc.
I'm curious if I have 8GB RAM and I use 32 bit system with it, can it generate instability, low memory errors, crashes and other problems?

I hope I don't look stupid asking this question 😀

All Intel microprocessors since the Pentium Pro have supported more than 4GiB of memory. Microsoft Windows has supported this in the kernel since Windows 2000, however only certain server variants have support for this enabled. If the system has more than 4GiB installed, the rest is simply ignored; this is a marketing decision made by Microsoft, it is not a technical limitation.

32-bit versions of Linux and other operating systems will happily use more than 4GiB of memory if it is installed, the firmware has Physical Address Extension enabled, and the kernel has PAE support.

For completion's sake, all versions of Windows have used PAE by default since Windows XP SP2 because PAE is required to support the XD/NX bit which is a very important security feature.

 

[Gebaben]

Very interesting facts Pinhedd, thank you

i had a old system that i took from 4 to 8 gb ram and it was a whole new experience. was well worth it to make the move. since you have the ram, i'd highly suggest you go ahead and make the move to 64 bit windows no matter what version you are using.

it does take a fresh install but it's well wroth it

Well, one thing that a 64 bit systems doesn't do well while a 32 bit do, is running old games.
I've seen many forum posts about games from 2000-2006 that users struggle to play them without any problem or they can't even start the game. This can be an important point when deciding about a 64 bit upgrade (at least for me).

 

[ex_bubblehead]

....Well, one thing that a 64 bit systems doesn't do well while a 32 bit do, is running old games.
I've seen many forum posts about games from 2000-2006 that users struggle to play them without any problem or they can't even start the game. This can be an important point when deciding about a 64 bit upgrade (at least for me).

Games and such from that era still contained 16-bit code (especially installers), this is what caused the majority of the incompatibilities. The 64-bit environment does not support 16-bit code.

 

[Gebaben]

Ahh so this is the reason for it. Thank you!

 

[william p]

Back when 32 bit OS was common there was s uspposed 4GB RAM "limit".
The OS could only use 3.5GB of RAM and most old GPUs were 256k,or 512K RAM. Even 1GB GPUs ran OK.
When 2GB GPUs started coming out , it was discovered that you could run 6GB of RAM with a 32 bit OS and the GPU would reserve the extra RAM and the OS had all it could handle. With 8GB you could run up to a 4GB GPU such as a 1050Ti4GB.
I've actually had problems with GTX1050Ti 4GB GPU and 8GB RAM with a 64bit OS and solved it by running a 3GB GTX1060.

 

[geofelt]

There are no stupid questions.
You are good and will have no issues.

I run a pc with the 32 bit version of windows 10 exclusively so I can still play civilization 2.54 which is a 16 bit dos implementation that will run only on a 32 bit os.
Using a stronger 6600k processor and motherboard, I found that there are no DDR4 ram kits, only a minimum of 2 x 4gb.
It works fine, and I still get dual channel operation.
32 bits can address 4gb.
Originally, the first 2gb of virtual space was reserved for the os and the second was for the program.
Later, it was found that a app could move the dividing line a bit to allow 3gb available for the app.
On task manager, I see 5037gb hardware reserved .
I could have used integrated intel graphics, but at some point, intel no longer supported a 32 bit os for integrated graphics.
I found that a GTX750ti worked well and was supported in 32 bit windows 7 and 10.