Windows 7 (Professional) - Free download and software reviews - CNET Download.Windows 10 & Windows 7 RAM Requirements – How Much Memory Do You Need?

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The usable memory may be less than the installed memory on Windows 7-based computers.

 

When it comes to RAM requirements in Windows 10 or even Windows 7 there are a few things to keep in mind. RAM is the working memory area of your computer. This dramatically slows the entire system down. How much RAM can you actually use in your computer? For bit versions of Windows, the limits vary. Microsoft limits how much RAM various versions of Windows can use. For Windows 7, the maximum amount of RAM is as follows:.

Modern motherboards use a trick where RAM modules are given their own dedicated memory channels. It is better to have two 8GB modules in dual channel mode rather than a single 16GB module running in single channel mode. While plenty of factors are going to affect your individual needs, here are our general recommendations for Windows 10 and Windows 7 RAM requirements:. After all, money you save on RAM can be spent elsewhere in the system. Depending on what the computer is meant to do, that could be a better way to spend the available budget.

Sydney Butler is a social scientist and technology fanatic who tries to understand how people and technology coexist. Graphics memory mapping overwrites a part of the system memory. These conditions reduce the total amount of system memory that is available to the operating system. For more information about how to determine how memory is used on your computer, see the " Physical Memory Allocation in Windows 7 " topic in the "More Information" section.

There are several additional situations that could cause the usable RAM to be less than expected. These issues and possible solutions are listed here:. This problem may occur because the Maximum memory option is selected incorrectly. To fix this, follow these steps:. Click Start , type msconfig in the Search programs and files box, and then click msconfig in the Programs list. In the System Configuration window, click Advanced options on the Boot tab.

Click to clear the Maximum memory check box, and then click OK. The problem may occur because the system BIOS is outdated. If you have an older computer, the system may be unable to access all the installed RAM. In this case, you have to update the system BIOS to the latest version. Or, contact your computer manufacturer for help. Enable the memory remapping feature Check the BIOS settings to see whether the memory remapping feature is enabled.

Memory remapping gives Windows access to more memory. You can enable the memory remapping feature in the BIOS by booting to the system setup.

See the User's Guide for your computer for instructions on how to boot to system setup on your computer. The name for the memory remapping feature may be different for different hardware vendors.

This can be listed as memory remapping, memory extension, or something similar. Be aware that your computer may not support the memory remapping feature. This is the memory that the system is sharing with the video card that is used for texture mapping and rendering. This memory would not be used by the system, because it is locked by the video card.

You can test each setting to see which offers the best results. Check whether you have bad memory modules To check whether you are experiencing this issue, turn off the computer, unplug the computer, and then swap the order of the memory. Make sure that the memory arrangement is correct Refer to the User's Guide of the computer to determine in what order the memory modules should be inserted into the memory slots.

The system may require you to use specific slots when you are not using all the available slots. For example, the computer has four slots available. But you may have to use slot 1 and slot 3 if you want to use only two memory modules. Check whether memory standoff cards are used If you use a memory standoff card to hold multiple memory modules on the computer, the system may require specific configurations for this scenario.

Therefore, the usable memory may be less than expected. The following sections offer additional information about memory allocation as reported in the Resource Monitor, describe the terminology used, and offer additional information on Memory reporting and memory limitations in Windows 7.

The following table shows how the Resource Monitor categorizes the memory currently installed on a Windows 7-based computer. Memory that does not contain any valuable data and that will be used first when processes, drivers, or the operating system need more memory. Note To view how the installed memory is allocated in Windows 7, follow these steps:.

Click Start , type resource monitor in the Search programs and files box, and then click Resource Monitor in the Programs list. Click the Memory tab, and then view the Physical Memory section at the bottom of the page.

The following table defines the Resource Monitors current reported status of the installed memory on a Windows 7-based computer. Amount of memory including standby and free memory that is immediately available for use by processes, drivers, and the operating system.

Amount of memory including standby and modified memory that contains cached data and code for rapid access by processes, drivers, and the operating system. Amount of physical memory that is available to the operating system, device drivers, and processes. Windows 7 reports how much physical memory is currently installed on your computer. Windows NT-based operating systems before Windows Vista Service P1 report how much memory is available to the operating system.

The available memory reported in these earlier versions of Windows does not include hardware reserved memory. This is a reporting change only. You will see this reporting change in Windows Vista SP1 and later versions of Windows in the following locations:.