RAM Useage in Windows 7 32 Bit

I have just bought a new system and specified 4 GB of RAM thinking that this was the limit for 32 Bit OS. So I was surprised when I looked at the system page and saw that it said: 4.00 GB installed (2.93 GB usable). I had understood that it should be around 3.5 GB usable. Is there any config that I can change to make more of the RAM useable or is this my limit? Does it make any sense to change to the 64 bit OS to utilise more of the RAM??

Many thanks

Welcome to the forums

Sorry Felix, you're going to need to use Windows 7 x64 to make the most of your 4GB RAM.

Windows 7 32 bit is limited to 4GB of total memory - that is everything addressable - including your graphics card memory. Do you have a 1GB graphics card out of interest?

Thanks Ian,

Intel HD Graphics is my graphics card.... not sure the memory useage.

Hello there,

Yes, you will need Windows 7 64-bit to take advantage of extra RAM.

Just a bit of FYI to understand the issues with 32-bit and 64-bit OS upgrades and later options that may or may not be available to you later:
When upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7 you must upgrade the version currently installed within Windows Vista to the corresponding version in Windows 7. I.E. Windows Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Home Premium; Windows Vista Business to Windows 7 Professional; and Windows Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Ultimate. You also cannot upgrade a 32-bit operating system to 64-bit -- to migrate from 32-bit to 64-bit will require a custom install.
Additionally, you will not be able to "upgrade" from a 32-bit version of Windows 7 to 64-bit -- the architecture between the two is too drastically different to allow such a change. To learn more about the differences between a 32-bit operating system and 64-bit please go to the following link: http://bit.ly/2aT3xP
I hope that helps you out!
You can also find lots of information on Windows 7 here in our Springboard website:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/default.aspx
Thanks again,
John M.
Microsoft Windows Client Support

I understand that in a 32 bit OS, only 3 to 3.5GB is usable by your OS. But what about other parts that require RAM, such as your video card? On mine, I have 4GB (3.75 usable), which accounts for the 256MB (.25GB) that the OS doesn't have access to. Suppose that the user who has a 32 bit OS has a 1GB video card, would that all come from the OS's share, or would the extra be used to help support the card? If so, the extra RAM wouldn't be a total waste, after all.

Yes it would all come from the maximum addressable area, so someone running dual 1GB video cards in SLI or whatever on a 32bit system is left with about 1.25 GB of useable memory

In device manager, view - resources by type, look at Memory to see what is eating the top off your maximums.