Only showing 3.12 gb of ram not 8gb

[yendor]

well I put together my first pc the other day and im running into a problem where in the view system information screen it only shows that i have 3.12 gb of ram but I have 8 gb installed. I got a message bottom right of the screen saying low on memory close firefox to fix. I checked on the screen (boi screen)? push delete on the restart. It is showing that I have both of the sticks installed. sorry if this is confusing im not very familiar with computers or the correct names.

if it helps

mobo= asrock m3a770de
ram = G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
os = windows xp
hopefully I can fix this myself but I might have to bring it in to a shop

 

[Gamer-girl]

It is because you are using a 32bit operating system, your most likely using xp home edition which only comes in a 32bit version. Windows XP professional comes in 32bit and 64bit.

There is a 4GB limit on 32bit versions of windows - usually about 3.xGB is usable.

You will need to buy a 64bit version of windows to utilize all your ram, my suggestion is to buy windows 7 home premium.

 

[yendor]

would there be any difference with the extra 4gb of ram? All im interested in is playing video games anyways. Trying to figure out if its worth spending the $100 for windows 7. If there wont be much difference il just buy a video game instead of the OS.


and yes im using window xp home

 

[Gamer-girl]

If you are just going to be playing games then the maximum amount of ram a 32bit game could use is 2GB.

4GB is enough if you are playing the game and not multitasking/running demanding programs in the background or using multiple clients for mmorpgs especially using virtual machines.

You don't need it now but you might need it in the near future since there are more and more 64bit windows on gaming computers. You could buy the game now and save up for a windows upgrade.

 

[nikorr]

@ yendor
mobo= asrock m3a770de
ram = G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
os = windows xp
hopefully I can fix this myself but I might have to bring it in to a shop

Yes, u need x64bit Windows to enjoy all the RAM.

Hey, for only $100 u can have it done : )

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=32-116-986&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29&Page=1#scrollFullInfo