Ram and Win 98

Here are two articles. Take your pick.

(Type the Q number in the search box at support.microsoft.com)

Windows 95 Can Access Up to Two GB of RAM

Q181594

"Out of Memory" Errors with Large Amounts of RAM Installed

Q253912

I understand that a machine will run with that much ram, but how much does it actually utilize? I have heard from 190 to 510 MB. Does anybody have a definate number?

Windows will use all of the memory it needs for a given set of applications.
The debate is over how "effectively" it uses large amounts of physical memory.
I suspect that an additional variable is how well the chipset is designed for large amounts of memory, and how well the BIOS deals with it.

I read an article where the author had run benchmark tests on numerous RAM configurations in W98.
His benchmarks showed optimum performance with 196MB. I suspect that this is only true for hissystem, and the benchmark tests used.

Windows will use more memory depending on what you are doing. One big memory user is print spooling. I have seen a print spool fill all physical and virtual memory, and then crash because the graphics for the print job were to large.

I set up my personal W98 boxes with 384MB of RAM, either 3 128MB, or a 256 and a 128.
I then set the AGP aperature to 128MB.
So, my effective system memory is only 256MB.

the amount of memory that can be supported depends on the mother board also if you are using 810 or 815 chipset it can take 512mb of ram

The Chaz is absolutely correct. Even though some boards can handle more memory, win98 will not show much improvement in performance above 256mb. I put 512mb on several of my boxes just to address the print spooling issue he mentioned. On Kingston's website, they list 384 as most that will be needed for the most demanding apps. I also set a fixed value for the swapfile.

Though it depends on the chipset; but actually comparison on different systems (whole computer) and mother broads with CPU and memory; usually lies on 256MB or a little more. The 512MB does not make great improvement.

You can check the PC magazines or their webpages.
The reasons for that:
The more the RAM, the more the time to search for the location of the data in RAM. So when it is 512MB, the effectiveness is not increasing much.

You can test your own system. Or compare it with the systems tested and listed in webpage or PC magazines.

None of the answers so far are wrong. The amount Win98 uses depends on a lot of factors, primarily the programs you use and what you do with them. Theory is nice, but here is an easy way to measure reality.

I suggest you use the System Monitor to find out your system's memory use. Click Start - Programs - Accessories - System Tools - System Monitor. This program will track your memory, CPU, and disk usage while you run the programs you like to run, in the way you run them.

If the memory usage goes above what you physically have, you will see an increase in disk accesses as it pages memory in and out (which will also bump up your CPU usage a bit).

Based on what System Monitor tells you, you will have a better idea whether *you*need more memory, and how much.

Good fortune,
Don

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