can APU access RAM above 3.3GB with 32b OS?

aberson · Feb 10, 2014

I'm upgrading my 4.5 y/o HTPC and went with an APU and 4GB of RAM.

My current HTPC is WinXP 32bit. Eventually I may install 8GB of RAM and then would obviously want a 64b OS, but in the mean time, to avoid a complete reinstall, I might just plug the old HD into the new machine and update the drivers.

I know WinXP 32bit will only see ~3.3GB of RAM, and I know the APU will utilize RAM from the system. So, will the APU be able to use the 0.7GB that Windows can't?

In other words, let's say the APU takes 1GB of RAM. Would windows report 2.3GB? or 3GB?

Thanks for sharing any thoughts you have on this topic!
Adam

FabioZ · Feb 10, 2014

No, it won't be able to see it. I recomend making a backup of your movies and stuff (maybe use a friend's HDD or something) and installing a new, 64bit OS.
If it's an HTPC, you could try installing a Linux distro that's made for those kinds of PCs like OpenELEC ( http://openelec.tv/get-openelec/download ).

aberson · Feb 10, 2014

FabioZ :

Thanks for the suggestion. The recordings are on separate partition of the HD, so I could just install the new 64b OS into the current OS partition without disturbing all the recordings.

I'm less concerned with losing the video than I am with having to go through the hassle of a complete reinstall where everything is tweaked just right. If the APU was going to be able to use that inaccessible portion of RAM, then I could justify sticking with the 32 bit OS.

k1114 · Feb 10, 2014

32 bit can see more than 4gb ram but it won't address it as system ram. You can use the rest for a ram disk just to prove it. It's 4gb total=ram+vram so your current gpu is using .7gb so you can only use 3.3. If the apu is using 1gb, then you can use 3.

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can APU access RAM above 3.3GB with 32b OS?

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