The fact that 32bit(x86) Windows can only use a little more than 3GB of installed RAM is not caused by the 32bit system arch, but a mere marketing policy/desicion by microsoft. You can find kernel hacks on the net that enables x86 windows to use all installed memory, just Google something like "Ready 4GB" and you can find the patch very easily.

The real point of using a 64bit(x64) Windows is that it enables a single process to access memory space larger than 2GB, while on a x86 system a single process's memory space is limited to 2GB by the length of pointers - a 32 bit binary number on a x86 system which is used to locate a certain place in a process's memory space.

On a x64 system, a pointer becomes a 64-bit-length binary number, which enables a process to locate a certain place in a much larger memory space. This is very important for extreme memory hungry programs (like Photoshop) since it allows them to put all need data into memory rather than reading them in small blocks from disk when needed. For Crysis2, this allows the game to cache all texture into memory rather than contantly streaming them from disk which would have a very bad impact on the game's perfomance.

yeah but Crysis 2 has no 64-bit executable right?

Backwards compatible. I run Win7 64 and everything works.

The fact that 32bit(x86) Windows can only use a little more than 3GB of installed RAM is not caused by the 32bit system arch, but a mere marketing policy/desicion by microsoft.

lol WUT!?

The fact that 32bit(x86) Windows can only use a little more than 3GB of installed RAM is not caused by the 32bit system arch, but a mere marketing policy/desicion by microsoft. You can find kernel hacks on the net that enables x86 windows to use all installed memory, just Google something like "Ready 4GB" and you can find the patch very easily.

The real point of using a 64bit(x64) Windows is that it enables a single process to access memory space larger than 2GB, while on a x86 system a single process's memory space is limited to 2GB by the length of pointers - a 32 bit binary number on a x86 system which is used to locate a certain place in a process's memory space.

On a x64 system, a pointer becomes a 64-bit-length binary number, which enables a process to locate a certain place in a much larger memory space. This is very important for extreme memory hungry programs (like Photoshop) since it allows them to put all need data into memory rather than reading them in small blocks from disk when needed. For Crysis2, this allows the game to cache all texture into memory rather than contantly streaming them from disk which would have a very bad impact on the game's perfomance.

Its great to see another person that understands 64-bit operating systems. I can't believe that 10 years on, most people still have no clue. Actually the problem of only being about to use 4 gigs of ram (3 gigs after video card and other devices), is due to 32bit, however processors since the late 90s can allocate 36 bit though extention.

I use the Microsoft/Chinese patch/hack to use all the ram. Microsoft started the project, random Chinese programers continued it, though the big problem is you don't know who developed it, so its up to you whether you trust some of these things. The real problem as is mentioned and I have mentioned before, is the 2gig application ram allocation issue.

does this mean, to solve this issue of mega ram allocation.... we need more cowbell? i mean, more ram?

now the question is.. how much ram is going to be enough? or does 64-bit processing allocate even more resources the more RAM space it has instead of using the RAM more effeciently?

does this mean, to solve this issue of mega ram allocation.... we need more cowbell? i mean, more ram?

now the question is.. how much ram is going to be enough? or does 64-bit processing allocate even more resources the more RAM space it has instead of using the RAM more effeciently?
There's never such a thing called "enough RAM".
A few decades ago ppl were saying something like "What kind of MONSTER program would need more than 640KB of RAM!?"

On the matter of "using the RAM more effeciently", there's really no difference between the x86 and x64 version of Windows7: both use whatever they got very effeciently.

While XP would just let your idle memory sits idle, vista/7 would actively predict what you may about to use next and pre-cache into idle memory space, so the next time you use that content, it will load super-fast. Go google "superfetch" if you're intrested in the details.

You can find kernel hacks on the net that enables x86 windows to use all installed memory, just Google something like "Ready 4GB" and you can find the patch very easily.
Wrong - it actually doesn't work

You can find kernel hacks on the net that enables x86 windows to use all installed memory, just Google something like "Ready 4GB" and you can find the patch very easily.
Wrong - it actually doesn't work
Well then sorry for you!
There are ppl including myself who tried it and it really works.

It's a placebo effect. It shows you all your Physical ram. It does not use it as it's 32 bit. If it does use more than 4 gig with your Vram + Ram sticks, screen shot of a process doing it, or it never happend.

It's a placebo effect. It shows you all your Physical ram. It does not use it as it's 32 bit. If it does use more than 4 gig with your Vram + Ram sticks, screen shot of a process doing it, or it never happend.
Did you read OP? A single process in 32bit mode can't use more than 2GB of memory space.

You can find kernel hacks on the net that enables x86 windows to use all installed memory, just Google something like "Ready 4GB" and you can find the patch very easily.
Wrong - it actually doesn't work
Well then sorry for you!
There are ppl including myself who tried it and it really works.
Rly? I never tried it (I never go above 2gb usage anyway) but I read it's fake :/

edit: meh it sounds too risky I could screw up my whole installation

wait so will the texture pack work if you use the 4gb hack?

No.
The 4GB hack only increase the totoal memory limit. A single process still can only use no more than 2GB of memory.

So I have to upgrade to 64 bit to use the textures?

So what your saying is that in a 64 bit system running Crysis 2, zagoogles of ram is good; right!

[edit] for the uninitiated "zagoogles" is a technical term. ;0

yeah but Crysis 2 has no 64-bit executable right?

Yah, what he said. Answer that Batman?

yeah but Crysis 2 has no 64-bit executable right?

Yah, what he said. Answer that Batman?
crysis 2 WILL include 64 bit exe. with the optional download pack.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_Address_Extension

It's kind of a "cheat" but it works, but a single process is still limite to 4GB max.

If you want a single process to use more than 4Gb, you'll need a 64bit CPU.

You can find kernel hacks on the net that enables x86 windows to use all installed memory, just Google something like "Ready 4GB" and you can find the patch very easily.
Wrong - it actually doesn't work

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You can find kernel hacks on the net that enables x86 windows to use all installed memory, just Google something like "Ready 4GB" and you can find the patch very easily.
Wrong - it actually doesn't work

To prove you wrong

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ROFL. Thats just shows you have 4 gig of RAM. Doesn't mean it'll use it.

It's nothing to do with Windows because all 32bit OSs have the same limitation, even Linux unless you use a PAE kernel, which 'Ubuntu' uses if you want to stick with 32bit and have 4Gb of ram.

Thanks for misleading people rather than clearing things up. *sarcasm*

It's nothing to do with Windows because all 32bit OSs have the same limitation, even Linux unless you use a PAE kernel, which 'Ubuntu' uses if you want to stick with 32bit and have 4Gb of ram.

Thanks for misleading people rather than clearing things up. *sarcasm*

Server editions of windows too? :O

32bit limitations to 4 gigs of ram and 2 gigs per application, were hardware based limitations until the late 90s. With PAE included in most processors since then it became a software limitation, due to both Windows and the actual applications.

The 2gig allocation limit is a hold over because companies aren't stupid. If you were a company, who would create programs and drivers for 32bit+PAE (not many users) when it is as much effort as making drivers for 64bit (The future!?). Microsoft also said the stability of a 32bit windows with PAE has issues mainly due to lack of driver support, so you don't really even gain that much. Also if I was gonna start selling a 64bit OS, I wouldn't fix my supported amount of RAM for 32-bit OS's (except server versions that cost a lot). The majority of computers on the planet don't have more than 4 gigs of ram as its the current standard, however in 1-3 years, probably 6-8 gigs will be the standard. The Australian government is switching to 64-bit, if they can do it, anyone can.

Bascially all companies stick to 32bit with 2 gigs allocation limit for programs, and 64bit for more ram allocation. This isn't the 80s where you can do whatever you want and stick it on your own hardware and OS.

If they were serious about keeping old technology alive, technically you could get away with 32bit until 6-8gigs of ram became standand. So you could have held off 64bit for 4-5 years. However it would have taken the exact same amount of effort to do that as it has taken to start switching to the 64bit standard.

The first computer I used had 128kb of ram.

PAE isn't supported very well. It's simpler and better to just use a 64 bit OS if your system is compatible.

It's nothing to do with Windows because all 32bit OSs have the same limitation, even Linux unless you use a PAE kernel, which 'Ubuntu' uses if you want to stick with 32bit and have 4Gb of ram.

Thanks for misleading people rather than clearing things up. *sarcasm*
[facepalm] How'bout doing some research first? [/facepalm]
Both Windows and common Linux distros will automatically choose the PAE kernel at installation time if your CPU supports it (unless manually disabled in some rare BIOSes). And the chance that you run into a x86 CPU that doesn't support PAE nowadays is extremely low. So a PAE kernel is de fato a standard for a modern Windows or Linux system.