Had 8gigs of RAM, installed 16gigs more. PC now says "20gigs installed, 12gigs usable". Huh???

Forums › Desktop computing › Had 8gigs of RAM, installed 16gigs more. PC now says "20gigs installed, 12gigs usable". Huh???

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coffeebaron

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#1103494 6-Aug-2014 17:00

I always install ram in pairs and try to keep all modules the same.

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dman

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#1103548 6-Aug-2014 18:44

sidefx: I'm going to be "that guy" and ask why you need 24 gig of ram? Are you running vms on it?

I work as a videographer, and I'd like to be using DaVinci Resolve, which is "the standard" (for everything all the way up to big blockbuster Hollywood productions) when it comes to the choice of colour grading tools.
http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve

DaVinci Resolve needs roughly speaking a minimum of 16gigs to even be able to run ok, and the more you can give it, the better! Isn't unusual to see folks with a lot more RAM in their PC for their colour grading work than mine has.

Additionally, I ordered last month a new camera which shoots raw video (most video cameras do only heavily compressed video. Only the higher end ones do raw video as an option. For an example/analogy, they are more or less shooting a series of JPEG photos which ends up being the video which you see, while if shooting raw video that is kinda more like shooting a series of raw photos. And if you have any experience with shooting JPEGs vs shooting raw photos, such as with a DSLR or the high end P&S cameras, then you'll realise what a *HUGE* difference that means!).

So in short, I can see my computing needs will be going up very steeply in the coming weeks, and my old 8gigs doesn't come even close to what I'll be needing.

https://www.youtube.com/c/SoundSpeeding

gzt

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#1103555 6-Aug-2014 18:52

Is that one 8 GB module? and you purchased two more?

gzt

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#1103557 6-Aug-2014 18:55

It is probably a good idea to post the exact ram specifications you already had and those you purchased to check them against the specification and each other.

As a quick test I'd suggest removing the old ram and installing just the new pair, in the recommended slots. If that works, it is a better situation than current.

dman

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#1104038 7-Aug-2014 13:26

I'm going to try swapping around the arrangement of sticks in the slots as suggested. Though it doesn't seem to explain why I'd get the odd numbers of 20gigs recognised but only 12gigs usable out of 24gigs installed in total?!

btw, the latest version of DaVinci Resolve (just came out of beta) is looking really good (and this is the primary reason why I've got 24gigs of RAM in my PC!):
http://nofilmschool.com/2014/08/blackmagics-davinci-resolve-11-finally-beta-download-release-version-now/

https://www.youtube.com/c/SoundSpeeding

DravidDavid

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#1104074 7-Aug-2014 14:10

Just before we rush in and start getting technical, make sure you don't have a set amount allocated within msconfig.

Start > Run > Type "msconfig" in search box (without quotations) > Press Enter > Select "Boot" tab > Select "Advanced Options" > Check "Maximum memory" and make sure it isn't set to something else. If it is set at all, uncheck and reboot. Setting your "Number of Processors" to maximum can help boot time.

I had a machine with 64GB of memory installed and Windows refused to use any more than 256MB of RAM, because that is what was accidentally set! Boy was I happy when it turned out to be so simple...

I'll suggest more things when my brain is working. :| Good luck!

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