Question Need help in understanding MotherBoard 'G31M+ 6.x' Specifications

[Sherrinford]

Hi Guys,
My biostar motherboard is model number G31M+ 6.x, which according to its datasheet says that it supports a max of upto 4GB of memory.
Does this mean that I can only have 3GB of RAM and 1GB Graphics card at a time?
Or in any case is it possible to install 4GB RAM along with a 1GB Graphics card.....will this configuration work and give 100% hardware usage?

Also, I'm planning to upgrade my CPU from Core 2 duo E4700 to Core 2 Duo E8400 for the very same motherboard, do let me know if this motherboard will support the new processor(Will any BIOS update be needed for this change?).

Link to datasheet: https://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=503

All opinions are welcomed

 

[kanewolf]

The 4GB RAM is system RAM. RAM on the graphics card does not count in that total.

 

[Sherrinford]

The 4GB RAM is system RAM. RAM on the graphics card does not count in that total.

So I can increase my RAM without worrying about the graphics card ... this is convenient... that answers one of my several doubts
Can you help me with the rest as well

 

[kanewolf]

The webpage you linked has the list of supported CPUs. The E8400 is listed as supported. BIOS version is a little more difficult to tell. I would always recommend a BIOS update PRIOR to removing your existing CPU. BUT, there is only 1 BIOS file listed on the support page. So that is nothing available to update to.

 

[Sherrinford]

The webpage you linked has the list of supported CPUs. The E8400 is listed as supported. BIOS version is a little more difficult to tell. I would always recommend a BIOS update PRIOR to removing your existing CPU. BUT, there is only 1 BIOS file listed on the support page. So that is nothing available to update to.

There's another question swirling in my mind, does the presence of any integrated graphics memory present on Motherboard reduce accessible RAM (Assuming I insert 4GB of RAM, will only 3.5 or 3.8 be usable suppose there is built in video card of 256 or 512MB on board)?

 

[kanewolf]

There's another question swirling in my mind, does the presence of any integrated graphics memory present on Motherboard reduce accessible RAM (Assuming I insert 4GB of RAM, will only 3.5 or 3.8 be usable suppose there is built in video card of 256 or 512MB on board)?

Yes, motherboard graphics will usually take away some of your available RAM.

 

[BFG-9000]

The G31 chipset was intentionally crippled to be unable to map any addresses above 4GB. As such, if you install 4GB, some of that memory will be inaccessible even in a 64-bit OS because the addresses of any hardware including both GPUs take up space below 4GB. In other words, it behaves exactly like any 32-bit OS where the drivers aren't allowed to map >4GB.

In my experience, more modern graphics card drivers do not actually take up much memory address space--that is, they do not map vRAM 1:1 with system addresses so it doesn't matter how much vRAM the card has, and in any case you will only be able to use about 3.25GB of the installed memory. There is no change to this regardless of how you try to disable or reduce the amount of memory assigned to the IGP. I once set it at 8MB and it was 3.25GB usable whether or not a discrete GPU was installed.

 

[Sherrinford]

The G31 chipset was intentionally crippled to be unable to map any addresses above 4GB. As such, if you install 4GB, some of that memory will be inaccessible even in a 64-bit OS because the addresses of any hardware including both GPUs take up space below 4GB. In other words, it behaves exactly like any 32-bit OS where the drivers aren't allowed to map >4GB.

In my experience, more modern graphics card drivers do not actually take up much memory address space--that is, they do not map vRAM 1:1 with system addresses so it doesn't matter how much vRAM the card has, and in any case you will only be able to use about 3.25GB of the installed memory. There is no change to this regardless of how you try to disable or reduce the amount of memory assigned to the IGP. I once set it at 8MB and it was 3.25GB usable whether or not a discrete GPU was installed.

Actually following your point, I checked the motherboard datasheet and found this against memory component:
⦁ Support Dual Channel DDR2 533/667/800 MHz
⦁ 2 x DDR2 DIMM Memory Slot
⦁ Max. Supports up to 4GB Memory
⦁ ※Support DDR2 533MHz While Using FSB 533/1066 CPU

So then since im going to use a 1333 CPU
which DDR2 frequency will work (will both RAM slots be able to support 800 Mhz or RAM will need to be changed)?