Turbo Memory Address Space?

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Peteman100

[H]ard|Gawd
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Oct 7, 2007
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Does anyone know if Intel Turbo Memory take up memory address space? Basically, I am running 4 gigs on a 32-bit OS and am only seeing 3.0 rather than 3.x. Trying to figure out why....
 
I don't think it's because of Turbo Memory --If you're running 32-bit Windows XP, it will never report 4GB of RAM, nor can it address all of it. My desktop system reports 3.25GB when 4GB is installed. Some systems report 3.0, some other amounts under XP. My Vista laptop reports 4GB, but that may be due to patching to SP1.

Note also that without proper patches, Windows Vista 32-bit has issues with 4GB of RAM (especially during installation).

Both 32-bit XP and Vista were designed to allow 2GB of address space for applications, and 2GB for kernel usage (this includes loading device drivers, etc.). It is possible to use some switches to change this to 3GB for apps and 1GB for kernel usage, but it can cause compatibility issues with some applications designed to operate under the 2GB/2GB scenario.

The only way to get full addressing for your 4GB of RAM is to run a 64-bit OS. And this may result in some application-compatibility issues too, so you're left with a tough choice.
 
Yeah, I understand the addressing issues with running 32-bit. I was just worried about going 64 since its a laptop, and thus a lot more finicky about drivers. Basically, I was hoping that I would end up getting 3.25-3.5 gigs rather than 3. Is there anything I can do to get some of that memory back? I'll probably just end up doing the 64-bit thing in a couple months if I can't figure anything out....
 
It is possible, since I think Readyboost works by creating a sort of page file in the flash memory, and page files are included in the memory address space. Considering you have 4GB of RAM already, you may as well disable the Turbomemory, since Readyboost has no meaningful effect on systems with 2GB or more of RAM.
 
I got the Turbo Memory mostly for the ReadyDrive half, since I am running a 7200 rpm hard drive. However, I guess I have also been secretly hoping that SP1 will bring improvements to ReadyBoost and make the other half more functional, as well.
 
Mystofolyse said:
Turbo Memory can also increase battery life by up to 30 minutes in some circumstances.
Click to expand...

Only if you have a RAM deficiency. The battery life savings come from using the Turbomemory instead of caching to the page file on the HD, but with enough RAM the page file isn't used much anyways, so any differences are minimal at best.
 
Zero82z said:
Only if you have a RAM deficiency. The battery life savings come from using the Turbomemory instead of caching to the page file on the HD, but with enough RAM the page file isn't used much anyways, so any differences are minimal at best.
Click to expand...
The pagefile is stil used with that amount of RAM; would it not still be beneficial, regardless of the usage, to have lesser consumption of power for the same task? Not to mention the hibernate state.

I was hoping you'd see my qualifier 'in some circumstances.' ;)
 
Peteman100 said:
I got the Turbo Memory mostly for the ReadyDrive half, since I am running a 7200 rpm hard drive. However, I guess I have also been secretly hoping that SP1 will bring improvements to ReadyBoost and make the other half more functional, as well.
Click to expand...

Keep hoping. I ran Vista SP1 for two weeks (that's how long I've owned my ThinkPad T61). I have 4GB of RAM, and Vista STILL doesn't measure up to XP for performance, though windows are slightly snappier than pre-SP1. Most professional reviews are finding only marginal performance increases from an SP1 upgrade; I'd agree with them.

Slow network file copies (even after SP1, which improves it some), and an annoying known issue that causes contention between Vista's audio/multimedia processes and network processes (leading to either slower network throughput when used at the same time, or audio stutters, or both) made me say "chuck it". Lenovo ships XP restore discs if you buy a machine with Vista Business or Ultimate so you can downgrade legally if needs be --I made the switch back last night.
 
Simplest way would be to take it out and see.

The vast majority of the space eaten up under 4GB is the videocard memory allocation, even if it has dedicated memory.
 
That might work, or it might not.

Like the old emm386 days, the reserved memory may not be software or even hardware unallocatable. In which case removing or installing devices physically or by disabling the driver will have little or no difference on available memory.

I might try this out later myself.
 
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