Very interesting read here. http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/unlock-64gb-ram-32-bit-windows-pae-patch/ You can unlock x86 OS 4GB limitation.
That will just show you more RAM but the OS cannot use it. It is a hardware limitation of the x86 platform.
Third-party RAM disks and caching programs can, although I'm not sure if you need to "unlock" it first. And although you're technically correct (to at least the x86 definition strictly), PAE is officially available and usable by 32-bit Linux and Windows Server x86.
I'll add an observation to this thread. Several years ago I built this x64 machine with an Intel Ivy Bridge Core i5 3570K CPU, a SSD and 8g of RAM. I didn't see the need for (still don't) a graphics card since I don't game and the Intel graphics are really dang good. Anyway, while running programs I consider memory intensive or while on a busy website I periodically check RAM usage and it rarely if ever is using even 2g. Perhaps it is just because of the rest of the hardware, particularly the SSD. My point is, is a lot of RAM necessary?
For me, I cannot live without SoftPerfect RAM Disk for too long... Just so convenient having a temporary storage you can put whatever on (encrypted or not). You know, browser cache, scratch space, TEMP folder, Downloads, etc. Heck I'll tell you something you don't normally hear. Sometimes when my disk I/O is too high, and I want to watch a video without it stuttering, guess where I copy it? Onto the RAM Disk of course! Plus, Samsung Magician can utilize the extra RAM for caching as well! It's called "Rapid Mode". And then I upgraded from the original 12 GB to 16 GB due to my previous intensive usage of VirtualBox... Now, just extra space for the RAM Disk.
32 bit apps are limited to 2GB of RAM, even on a 64 bit OS. The 4GB limitation for a 32 bit OS is because there are only 4GB worth of memory addresses in 32 bits. The 32 bit versions of Windows server that had PAE used 36 bit addressing for that. PAE never worked on consumer versions. RAM drives are probably the only good option for unused memory on a 32 bit machine with more than 4GB of RAM.
If using Vista or later, then for the average user who is not into gaming then in my experience 4GB is more than enough, and adding more RAM than this is most likely pointless, as the extra RAM won't be used. If you have a 32 bit version of Windows installed, 3GB should be okay, although ideally, if it is a 64 bit CPU, upgrading tp 4GB of RAM and installing a 64 bit version of Windows would be better. I have 6GB installed in the main laptop I use (and could benefit from hacing 8GB) because I often have 20+ Chrome tabs open, and have many programs installed (as a result, I have a lot of extra services and programs running at startup), all of which use RAM. If I had left software running at once, then 4GB would be enough. I find that usually Windows Update is the biggest user of RAM, and times it uses over 1GB. Because of this in my opion you really need at least 3GB of RAM, or you will exeperience slowdowns when Windows Update starts using ridiculous amounts of RAM.
pae patch is high risk data loss or bsod when installing windows updates concerning the nt kernel. 64bit is the better choice.
Sometimes, yes. Go do some serious 3D work and you'll know For example, a single HDRI image in 16k resolution can easily reach 400 MB in size. Then you need to import this image to your 3D software (in my case, Blender) and this will make memory consumption to reach around 4 GB, just by adding this HDRI image. Then add your modeling scene, textures, lighting and so on, and it's very possible to reach 16 GB (if the scene is very complex with a lot of hair simulation). I remember making a really fluffy towel with 2 million hairs, and it had like 700 MB in size
In Windows 7, running Firefox, Opera Presto, Chrome, Opera Blink, Vivaldi and Seamonkey all at once which I often do, uses 4-6gb of ram easily. Some sites like Facebook can be very memory intensive. Add an Xp VM on top of that and 8gb is just about used up. That is my work computer which has 8gb. Photoshop and Lightroom will easily eat up 4gb on their own. My W520 which is dedicated to VM use has 20gb. These days, 4gb is pretty much the bare minimum for a functioning computer running Windows 7 or later with up to date software and 8gb is much more comfortable. For VMs and memory intensive apps, 12-16gb is advisable. I get away with 2gb on my older Xp machines but I run old software on them too. They are on the verge of retirement anyway and the Xp systems they run will be converted into VMs. It is mainly memory limitations that are making me move to 64 bit systems. 32 bit OSes don't cut it in the modern world anymore.
