The memory limit isn't quite as simple as that.
The physical memory limit includes all the memory containing components such as the graphics cards, sound cards, etc.
The other limit is the limit on each process (normally 2GB) - you need to see if the programs you are using will be able to use the memory you are putting in.
Have a read of this
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa366778.aspxMy guess is that to use the amount of memory you are suggesting the main user process needs to be 64 bit unless you are using Photoshop CS2 or higher where it can use the extra memory as a scratch disk.
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=320005| Quote |
| When you run Photoshop CS2 on a computer with a 64-bit processor (such as a G5, Intel Xeon processor with EM64T, AMD Athlon 64, or Opteron processor), and running a 64-bit version of the operating system (Mac OS v10.3 or higher, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition), that has 4 GB or more of RAM, Photoshop will use 3 GB for it's image data. You can see the actual amount of RAM Photoshop can use in the Maximum Used By Photoshop number when you set the Maximum Used by Photoshop slider in the Memory & Image Cache preference to 100%. The RAM above the 100% used by Photoshop, which is from approximately 3 GB to 3.7 GB, can be used directly by Photoshop plug-ins (some plug-ins need large chunks of contiguous RAM), filters, actions, etc. If you have more than 4 GB (to 6 GB (Windows) or 8 GB (Mac OS)), the RAM above 4 GB is used by the operating system as a cache for the Photoshop scratch disk data. Data that previously was written directly to the hard disk by Photoshop, is now cached in this high RAM before being written to the hard disk by the operating system. If you are working with files large enough to take advantage of these extra 2 GB of RAM, the RAM cache can speed performance of Photoshop. |
