Full usage of RAM

[banyanbraid]

Ok so I've been using my new HP laptop with Windows 7. Although there are a few hiccups on it, I'm very happy with its performance. .

I was looking through my System Information and noticed that the "Installed RAM" was 6.00 GB but the "Available Physical Memory" is only 3.96 GB. I game a lot on my laptop so I want to know three things...

1) Does this mean that my computer is not optimizing how much memory it uses?
2) If this is a problem, what can I do to fix it?
3) Will it improve the performance of my computer when gaming if all 6.00 GB RAM are used?

if it helps here is a summary of my system information


[System Summary]

Item Value
OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Version 6.1.7600 Build 7600
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name SANKALP-PC
System Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
System Model HP Pavilion dv7 Notebook PC
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU Q 720 @ 1.60GHz, 1600 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Hewlett-Packard F.1A, 4/1/2010
SMBIOS Version 2.6
Windows Directory C:\Windows
System Directory C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.1.7600.16385"
User Name Sankalp-PC\Sankalp
Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 6.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 5.99 GB
Available Physical Memory 3.96 GB
Total Virtual Memory 12.0 GB
Available Virtual Memory 9.82 GB
Page File Space 5.99 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

[JogaBonito1502]

Can you go to Control Panel, then System and Security, then System, and double-check that the Operating System is 64-bit? Under your system specifications, "System Type x64-based PC" leads me to think that your operating system is indeed 64-bit. However, that may be merely talking about CPU support. 64-bit systems should allow up to 196GB of RAM (depending on the Windows 7 version; Home Premium is 16GB). The only logical reason for the system to only recognize 3.96GB would be that it is a 32-bit OS.

Also, can you tell me exactly where you read this information? Can you hit Ctrl + Shift (left) + Esc, click on the "Performance" tab, and read us the "Total Physical Memory" value. It should be a 4-digit number in (MB). If this number is 6xxx, then your system is reading all of the memory installed; it just happens that you're currently using 2GB and you have 4GB left. In any case, 4GB is more than enough for gaming.

[banyanbraid]

Ok sorry for the late response. Under the performance tab it says my total phyiscal memory is 6134 MB. And to answer your question, I sent you my system information from Start> Accessories> System Tools> System Information.

It's not that I'm worried about 4 GB of ram is insufficient. I just want to make sure that I am getting full use of what I paid for. Any other thoughts on this? Any further checks I should perform to ensure that my Computer is capable of using all 6 GB even if it currently doesn't need to?

[gmcrepair]

4GB is enough, I recommend 3GB on Windows 7.

[banyanbraid]

i understand that it is sufficient memory for what i do. It's just that I paid good money for my laptop so i want to make sure that my computer is capable of using all 6 gigs if need be. I don't anticipate that being any time soon obviously.

[GibsonSGKing]

i understand that it is sufficient memory for what i do. It's just that I paid good money for my laptop so i want to make sure that my computer is capable of using all 6 gigs if need be. I don't anticipate that being any time soon obviously.

Do you have a 32bit or 64bit OS?

[Remeniz]

It's a 64 bit OS.

Open up the Windows Task Manager and see how much RAM your set up is using.