Low Available Physical Memory?

jraschke11

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Feb 5, 2010
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Hi,

So I just custom purchased a new computer with 12 GB of Corsair Dominator RAM. My "System Information" shows 12 GB of installed physical memory, but only 10 Gb of available physical memory. And just an hour ago it was only 9.97 GB of available physical memory. Just wondering if anyone knows why it would not be the full 12 GB. As I typed this post, it went back down to 9.97. It was my understanding that the system information is not dynamic, and my available memory should not change anyway.

If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

I actually work in the IT industry, and have A+, Net+, Sec+, MCSA, CCNA. I am kind of embarassed to be here asking this, but it's odd.

I am running Windows 7 Ultimate x64 with a Core i7 extreme (not OC yet I just got the PC today lol) and Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 along with a single GTX-285. I found a great deal and would only have saved about $200 building it myself with the exact same specs, so I just went ahead and bought this one. I have been building a lot of systems for friends lately and needed a break.

Thanks.
 

Gandalf

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Dec 12, 2009
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I had a similar problem with the 12GB of RAM in a system I built. The solution to my RAM problem was to reseat the RAM strips until all 12GB were recognized by the BIOS.

The technique I used was to remove all but the first strip. Reboot into the BIOS to verify that the BIOS saw the 2GB strip, then install another strip and rebooted to verify that the BIOS saw 4GB, etc., until all 12GB were recognized by the BIOS.

The odds are if your BIOS recognizes all your RAM then Windows will as well.

By the way, if you turn on the Turbo in your BIOS, you don't need to overclock. Turbo will handle that for you and do it safely.