From Dells support here http://tinyurl.com/dell64bit 32-bit processors only have 32 address lines, limiting it to a memory addressing map of 4 gigabytes (GB).
The chipset, PCI devices, PCI-Express region, and any installed video cards use some of this map, and the BIOS correctly reports this range as unavailable to the operating system. If 4 GB of physical memory is installed, then the processor has no way to address the memory that overlaps with these regions that are already in use. The chipset directs memory access to the appropriate device rather than sending it to random access memory (RAM).
On Dell's newer lines of desktops, PCI-Express uses 500 megabytes (MB) in the map; integrated video takes 256 MB right below PCI-Express, leaving 3.25 GB of memory available to the operating system via RAM. In some cases, less RAM is available depending on what other add-in cards are installed.
thefatmould: From Dells support here http://tinyurl.com/dell64bit On Dell's newer lines of desktops, PCI-Express uses 500 megabytes (MB) in the map; integrated video takes 256 MB right below PCI-Express, leaving 3.25 GB of memory available to the operating system via RAM. In some cases, less RAM is available depending on what other add-in cards are installed. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q294418 see summary here for more info
I dont know how old that knowledgebase is.
The old 32 bit XP and Vista (before SP1) were like that. But the newer builds like Win7 (and Vista SP2) report 4GB physical memory as exactly that - i.e. 4GB.
And furthermore - the Dell you have spec'ed does not have integrated video that takes up 250MB.
However, may be you should stick to 3GB memory to be on the safe side.
Does anyone know where i can buy a cheap USB wifi Adapter and a USB DVB-T Tuner Compatible with Freeview HD and Windows 7 on this computer
thefatmould: ok might keep integrated audio and upgrade hard drive. also my friend says that vista and windows 7 32 bit won't be able to utilise the extra gig of ram so is it worth paying the extra 140 for the extra gig and upgrade the video card.
EDIT:Ok the specs now are:
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor E7400 (2.80GHz, 1066FSB, 3MB)
Pre-Loaded Genuine Windows Vista(R) Home Premium 32 bit OEM Version
Dell(TM) S2009WFP 20"Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor (1600 x 900 at 60Hz)
3GB (3X1GB) DDR2 800MHz SDRAM Memory
500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive with Native Command Queuing
thefatmould: Does anyone know where i can buy a cheap USB wifi Adapter and a USB DVB-T Tuner Compatible with Freeview HD and Windows 7 on this computer
I used to have one of these: Asus u3100 USB worked perfectly with XP and Vista 64 (should be fine with W7) - $84.98 inc shipping (I now have a PCI dual tuner and gave the Asus to a friend) I also had an AverMedia USB tuner, I had a few problems with it and the drivers aren't quite as good as the Asus.
If you have a spare PCI slot you could get a Hauppauge Nova-T 500 - $153.37. It's dual tuner meaning you can record multiple channels. I just have this and I've found I've never had a scheduling conflict. I use MediaPortal and as there's only 3 multiplexes in use with DVB-T in New Zealand I can record all the TVNZ channels and MediaWorks (TV3 & C4) at once. I'm not usually interested in the channels on the Kordia mux (Maori TV, Parliament and Central TV) but I'll just get a third tuner if it becomes a problem.
Not sure about USB Wifi adapters, are you after 802.11G or N?
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