Post your rig!

[RobbieThe1st]

The title is kind of self-explanatory: Post your PC rig(s).
Show off what you have, and see what others have.

If you want to show off your other interesting things(MP3 players, servers etc.) go ahead, but -try- to keep the whole thing sort of short; I don't particularly want to read a three-page paper on the exact driver-versions of everything you have in your PC, and I don't think anyone else does either.
Just try to keep things fairly short, concise, and show off what you have.


------------------------
I'll start:
Desktop:

• Make: Selfbuilt
• CPU: Phenom II x4 3.2GHZ
• Ram: 4GB DDR3 1600
• Video card: EVGA GTX 260(216 core)
• Sound card: Audigy 2ZS with front panel
• Harddrive(s): 2x WD Caviar Blue 640GB in a Raid-1 config(50GB - ntfs - windows, 20GB - ext4 - linux, 10GB - swap, 100gb - ext4 - data, 408GB - ext4 - files/media/backup)
  
• Optical: 1X DVD burner, 1X Blu-ray reader/dvd reader
• OS: Kubuntu 9.10 x64 Linux, Windows XP x64
  
• Screen: Alienware Aw2310 true-120HZ 1920X1080 LCD
• Peripherals: Logitech G15 keyboard; Razer DeathAdder left-handed mouse

Laptop:

• Make: Lenovo T500
• CPU: Intel C2D 2.54GHZ
• Ram: 4GB
• Video card: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650
• Harddrive(s): 300GB 5400RPM (50GB - NTFS - windows, 20GB - EXT4 - Linux, 4GB - swap, 226GB - fat32 - Data)
• OS: Linux Mint 8(KDE edition) x64 Linux, Windows 7 Pro x64
• Screen: Internal, 1680X1050 15"

MP3 player:

• Make: Iriver H320
• Disk: 8GB CF card
• FW: Rockbox

[Tapewolf]

Rather than post all that stuff again, I'll post a link and some updates:
http://clockworkmansion.com/forum/index.php/topic,6329.msg290247.html#msg290247

...while taking apart the softsynth I found it actually had a K6-200, not a 450.

OS-wise, the following changes have occurred since that posting:

* The main system now has an Asus Xonar D2x audio card in it, but is otherwise basically the same.
It no longer has W2K but has Windows 7 Home Premium (AMD64) - all I could afford - but this has been such a mess that I've only just avoided the temptation to go back to W2K.  I probably will when it needs to reauthenticate with Microsoft and eats itself, because I simply cannot get it to connect to the network anymore.

* I attempted to upgrade from Kubuntu 9.10 to 10.04 last night.  The system is now hosed, and is also unable to connect to the network.  I think I can probably just about get the comic done, but I think I know what I'll be doing on Sunday 

[VAE]

 PC:
Name: saturn
* Make: Selfbuilt
* CPU: Athlon 2400 1.8GHz
* Ram: 1.5 GB DDR
* Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 5200. 128 MB
* Sound card: Builtin, uses AC97 driver
* Harddrive(s): 1x 120 GB of unknown make - conf: 128 MB /boot 2GB swap 4GB /var 40GB /  the rest /home
* Optical: 1X DVD burner, 1X CD/DVD reader
* OS: SlackWare 10.2 (updated since then, mainly with own compiles)
* Screen: unknown 17 inch LCD
* Peripherals: Generic 105 key  PS/2 keyboard, Microsoft PS/2 mouse (ball bottom, two buttons), old JRC reproductors

Old PC:
name: zax
cpu: Cyrix MII (i586 type) 300 MHz
ram: 64 MB
Video card: S3 VESA type 16MB, Voodoo 3DFX 3D card!
audio: Yamaha OPL3SA
harddrive: Caviar (unknown number ) 1.6 GB, something Bigfoot, 2.5 GB
Optical: 4x CD-ROM
OS: FreeDOS. Slackware 10.2
screen: unknown make, 15 inch CRT
peripherals: Serial mouse, DIN keyboard, a pair of broken earphones for reproductors

Laptop
Name: merkur

Mark: In-Store, it was better hardware and cheaper
CPU: Core 2 Duo 2GHz
RAM: 2GB
<reserved - i am lazy and need to look up a few specs>
OS: Slackware 12.2 (upgraded)  Win XP (VirtualBox)
peripherals: CanoScan 100 scanner

[Turnsky]

• AMD Athlon64 X2 5600+ Dual Core (2.9GHz)
• Gigabyte GA-M720-US3 Motherboard
• Twin Seagate 500GB Barracudas 7200rpm
• Corsair 4096MB (2 x 2048MB) PC2-6400 800MHz DDR2
• HIS Radeon HD4650 - 1GB
• 22" Viewsonic LCD monitor (i forget what model) Native Res: 1680x1050
• SB Audigy 2 ZS Platinum (no front panel)
• Logitech X220 2.1 Speakers
• Samsung DVD Burner
• Logitech Cordless Elite Keyboard & Logitech G7 Mouse
• Belkin 10/100 NIC (cheap thing that lets me hook my 360 up to the 'net)
• Netgear ADSL2+ modem (yeah yeah, modem, router, what's the diff, it hooks up to the internet)
• All running on a Windows XP SP3(?) install, hasn't failed me yet
• Also: HP Deskjet 5440, Scanjet 2400, Wacom Intuos 2 12x12"
• all sitting in, or hooked up to a Lian Li PC60 ATX case.

Not the most beastly of machines, but eh, it runs.

[Drayco84]

• Netgear ADSL2+ modem (yeah yeah, modem, router, what's the diff, it hooks up to the internet)

Oh.. Ehm... Gee... Flashbacks... Starting... Again! Sir, I'd like you to take the DSL modem outside, set it on the ground, press the business of a shotgun against it, AND OPEN FIRE. We'll send you a replacement in a few days, free of charge.(Seriously man, have SOME considerations for the people that used to do tech support...  And really, get a router. You can do all kinds of fun things with a router, like keep your wireless wide open and only allow them access to Google while blocking everything else.)

My desktop is a completely moot point as the BIOS on the motherboard is borked and it won't even boot. (Don't skimp on the motherboard and DO YOUR RESEARCH, kids!) If it worked, it'd have a Pentium D 3.00 GHz, an older NVIDIA GForce, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, and some other stuff I can't remember as it's been down for... Over a year now? Geez, time flies...

Laptop: Mini-PIMA
Asus EEE PC 1000HE (Yup, the one with almost 10 hours of battery life. Almost 7 in reality, probably more if I disabled the camera and the Wifi, but you can only do that in the BIOS. Yeah, there's NO switch.)
Intel ATOM 1.66GHz (Dual Core is emulated.)
Intel Mobile 945GME Express (Graphics)
2GB DDR2 RAM (A $20 upgrade, but totally worth it.)
OS: PCLinuxOS and Win XP (XP is borked via malware. Since this is the LAST PC I've got, I'm a tad leery on trying anything.)

[Cvstos]

Desktop:

Dell XPS 420
Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
3GB DDR2-800 RAM
nVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
1.5TB HDD
Blu-Ray Drive
Windows 7
21" widescreen monitor
Name: Nuclear Winter HD

Back when I got it this thing was very high end. Now, not so much. But it still runs anything I throw at it.  I got the DDR2 RAM instead of DDR3 because at the time DDR3 memory was absurdly expensive and not worth the price premium. My previous machine can't even touch this thing.

Laptop:

Nsme: Andromeda
Apple MacBook Pro 15"
Core 2 Duo CPU @ either 2.8 or 3.0Ghz (forget which)
4GB DDR3 RAM
9600M/9400M graphics cards
500 GB HDD
Snow Leopard

I love this computer. Best system I have ever had, even when I'm running Windows on it.

iPod Touch: 8Gb 2nd Gen. "Eureka Maru"

NEW ADDITION!!

iPad 3G 64 GB "Fate of Valor"

I'm really loving this thing. It's incredibly neat and eventually I want to get a high-end iMac and do away with (sell in the best case scenario) my current desktop and laptop, as this thing will fulfill my post-graduation "laptop" needs quite well.  Going to be a long while on that though.

Cell Phone: some samsung pos on Verizon. I hate it. Sitting here, my cell is LUCKY to get even a single bar. My 3G iPad is pulling a minimum of 4 bars from AT&T and is usually at 5 bars.

Written on my new iPad!  

[superluser]

64-bit Sempron 140 2.7GHz
GeForce 9400 GT
250GB hard drive
2GB DDR3 RAM
1 Lite-On DVD-RW drive (Region 1)
1 Lite-On DVD reader (Region 2)
Gentoo Linux
Acer X213H monitor
Case: Dunno.  Cheapest ATX from my local computer shop.

Name: Parts: The Clonus Horror (all of my computers are eventually called Parts: The Clonus Horror)

[Turnsky]

• Netgear ADSL2+ modem (yeah yeah, modem, router, what's the diff, it hooks up to the internet)

Oh.. Ehm... Gee... Flashbacks... Starting... Again! Sir, I'd like you to take the DSL modem outside, set it on the ground, press the business of a shotgun against it, AND OPEN FIRE. We'll send you a replacement in a few days, free of charge.(Seriously man, have SOME considerations for the people that used to do tech support...  And really, get a router. You can do all kinds of fun things with a router, like keep your wireless wide open and only allow them access to Google while blocking everything else.)

Son, i'd like to take you aside, and say that i took offense to your statement.

A) it works perfectly fine, PHONE LINES notwithstanding.

B) i don't trust wireless modems/routers AT ALL.

C) It's a Netgear DM111 DSL modem, and it's WIRED.

D) Sure, provided you send me the money for replacement parts, firearm and license, and the inevitable fine i'd get for discharging a firearm in a suburb. Australian firearms laws are kinda strict. Chances are i'd spend it on something more important, but eh, the intention's there.

[Jack McSlay]

Phenom X3 8450
4GB DDR2 667MHz Kingston RAM
Onboard GF8200 video
250GB Samsung HD
1TB Maxtor HD
Samsung 740N 17" Monitor
5.1 Speakers

Soon-to-be arcade machine:

Athlon 64 (forgot which specific model)
2GB DDR 400MHz
Geforce 6200 256MB
250GB Samsung HD
Samsung LN26R71BAX 26" TV
Extra 2.1 speakers
Arcade controls with 4 pinball buttons and two sticks with 8 action buttons and 2 menu buttons

[Drayco84]

• Netgear ADSL2+ modem (yeah yeah, modem, router, what's the diff, it hooks up to the internet)

Oh.. Ehm... Gee... Flashbacks... Starting... Again! Sir, I'd like you to take the DSL modem outside, set it on the ground, press the business of a shotgun against it, AND OPEN FIRE. We'll send you a replacement in a few days, free of charge.(Seriously man, have SOME considerations for the people that used to do tech support...  And really, get a router. You can do all kinds of fun things with a router, like keep your wireless wide open and only allow them access to Google while blocking everything else.)

Son, i'd like to take you aside, and say that i took offense to your statement.

A) it works perfectly fine, PHONE LINES notwithstanding.

B) i don't trust wireless modems/routers AT ALL.

C) It's a Netgear DM111 DSL modem, and it's WIRED.

D) Sure, provided you send me the money for replacement parts, firearm and license, and the inevitable fine i'd get for discharging a firearm in a suburb. Australian firearms laws are kinda strict. Chances are i'd spend it on something more important, but eh, the intention's there.

I'll do ya one better! Ship the sucker to the States and I'LL shoot it!

Sorry, I was mostly referring to everyone that had ever called in about a problem, assumed that tech support are some kind of magic-abusing wizards, and didn't know how to use a computer to save their lives. Conversely, I wish that our system had some mechanism to take note of dedicated lines. (Where the installing tech split the DSL signal at the NID so the DSL signal went to just one phone jack. Nice setup, really. Skipped the hassle of DSL filters, but nine time out of ten somebody forget about it when they went to move their computer...) Now I have to resist the impulse to start troubleshooting...

If you don't trust wireless routers, that's fine. The good ones are hard to find, and the only real advantage wireless offers is mobility, which only a laptop can really take advantage of anyway.

I'm getting waaaaaay off-topic, and I'm going to stop now. Again, I'm sorry. Being on the receiving end of "My DSL don't work!" issues tends to drive one slightly bonkers...

[Turnsky]

I'm getting waaaaaay off-topic, and I'm going to stop now. Again, I'm sorry. Being on the receiving end of "My DSL don't work!" issues tends to drive one slightly bonkers...

That's okay, i generally troubleshoot my own DSL, or check in with my ISP to see if their service is out of whack or somesuch..

Last time it was cats chewing through the line... my internet is being held together by duct tape and prayer.... mostly just duct tape, though.

(note: previous ADSL modem was my Telco's Thompson/Alcatel speedtouch thingie... it died)

[ShadesFox]

Oh goody, this game.

Main:
  AMD Phenom II 720 X3 Black Edition
  8GB DDR2 1066 memory
  1 TB disk
  500 GB disk
  radeon 4870 (I think)
  Xondar sound card of some sort

Built this one as a dual purpose gaming rig and super computer emulator.  Research is fun.

Laptop:
  Mac Book - over 5 years old and falling apart at the seams.  Half the time the screen doesn't turn on and the battery is dead.  May replace it some day

Ancient machine I keep for the lulz:
  2x 1 GHZ Pentium 3 copper mine chips.  That's right, this thing is dual sockets
  512 MB PC133 memory
  400 GB of disk space
  No sound card
  Nvidia TNT2 card

Old workhorse machine.  Only replaced recently by

Dell Poweredge 2900:
  2x Quad core Xeon chips (don't remember exactly which sort)
  4GB fully buffered DDR2 667 memory
  Unknown sound card
  Unknown video card
  3.75 TB disk space

Yea, which your research creates 200GB output files and you need to process those further, then you need big machines.

I have one other machine hooked up to the TV.  I have vague delusions about doing something with that.  I think he has 4GB of memory, dual core AMD K8 chip, Nvidia card of some sort, 4800 I think.  Don't remember which disk drive is in it.  It may be the 320 gig disk.

Oh yes, only two keyboards and mice between them.  Most don't need it. Last time I had friends over they said my computer setup is horrifying.

[Vidar]

Ah, the old Internet eCock measurement content, or if your a mac-user, a iDick size competition.

Desktop:
Intel Core2 6400
2 GB RAM
HD : 500 GB +  250 GB
External disks: 500 GB and 1 TB
Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT
OS : Windows XP.

Its a couple of years old now, and it still runs nicely compared to the slow underpowered chunks of upchuck at work. I use it mostly for browsing and gaming.

Laptop:
AsusZ99 E series.
OS: Ubuntu.
It was cheap, and now that windows no longer pollutes it, it runs nicely.

[Turnsky]

i'll post to note that i've hadta replace my old Power supply with a fresh 650w, the previous committed seppuku on Wednesday 

[Ketchup-Crumbles]

Ah, the old Internet eCock measurement content, or if your a mac-user, a iDick size competition.

So this is probably one of the few times when even females can have those Mine isn't the best of all, but I got it rather cheap, I think, and it works nicely
Desktop:
  Intel Core i5-750
  4 GB DDR3 RAM
  500 GB HD
  Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT, 1024 MB
  OS: Windows 7 Professional
(More info can be found on the producers site over here, but I'm sure I have a different mainboard, as mine has 4 RAM slots oO)

No Laptop, but an iPod Touch (1st gen.) which my boyfriend gave me and which I use while in University (Any post on forum with almost no capital letters from me, might have been written on it ^^)

[Reese Tora]

Oh, what the heck.

PC: Martel
Case: Black Cool Master "Praetorian" (November 2006) (I love this case, but I probably need to replace the fans)
Motherboard: ASUS M3A AMD 770 (January 2008)
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 x2 5200+ socket AM2 (January 2008)
RAM: 2x 1 GB PC2 6400 Kingston RAM (January 2008)
Video: ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/1G Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 (October 2008)
OS: Windows XP Professional
HDD Capacity
- 250 GB Western Digital Caviar SE16 7200 RPM (Primary boot)(January 2008)
- 160 GB Western Digital Caviar RE 7200 RPM (old boot drive from 2006 build)(November 2006)

Laptop:
HP DV1000, too old to think about, and it's my work laptop

Netbook:
ASUS Eee PC 901 black
16GB SSD
1GB RAM
Running Asus's preinstalled version of Linux

my e-Peen needs upgrading.

[Keleth]

Mise well post my rigs here too.

PC: Self Built
Case: Generic black 30 dollar special
Motherboard: Not really sure. Something with onboard nvidia Geoforce chips
Processor: AMD 64 x2 4200+
Ram: 4GB DDR2
Video: Nvidia 8600 GT OC 1GB (BFG)
OS: Windows 7
HDD: IDE Western Digital 250GB


Laptop: Acer Aspire 6530
Processor: Turion X2 2gz
Ram: 3GB DDR2
Video: ATI 3200 Mobile
HD: 320GB

[Ryudo Lee]

Desktop
Model: Self built, case made by Ultra, all parts bought on TigerDirect
Name: Silverbeast (because the case is black and silver, my previous computer was Bluemonster because the case was all blue)
Motherboard: XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI Socket 775
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.66Ghz
RAM: 4GB OCZ SLI PC16000 DDR3 2000MHz
Video: 2x NVIDIA GeForce GST 250 (SLI enabled)
OS: Windows XP Professional 32bit
HDD: SATA Western Digital 2TB

Since I'm running Windows XP 32bit, Windows only reads 2.5gb RAM, but that's gonna change one of these days when I upgrade it to Windows 7.  I've been having such a good experience with Win7 with my laptop that I'm comfortable enough to upgrade my desktop to Win7.

Laptop
Model: Alienware M17x, purchased from Dell
Name: <My first name>-Alienware (this is my naming convention for laptops... <Owner's first name>-<Laptop Make and/or Model>)
Processor: Intel Core2 Duo P8600 2.4GHz (3MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
RAM: 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz 2 x 2048MB
Video: 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M (NB10E-GT1), Hybridized with onboard video
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
HDD: 320GB 7,200RPM (xMB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection

[Madd the Sane]

Desktops
Mac mini:
Model: Mac mini mid-2007
Name: (My real name)'s mini
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo "Merom" 2.0 GHz
RAM: 3 GB PC2-5300 DDR2
Video: Intel GMA 950
OS: Mac OS X 10.6.3
HDD: Western Digital My Book (External USB) 320 GB

My first purchase of a "modern" Mac.  I'm using an external hard drive to boot off of because the internal one is so small (160 GB). To help alleviate the space limitation of the external one, I have a 1TB NAS storage. I also have a 500 GB external hard drive I use as a Time Machine backup drive. Primary computer.

Linux box
Model: self-built computer
Name: susetower
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 1.4 GHz
RAM: 1.5 GB RDRAM
Video: nVidia GeForce 5200
OS: OpenSuse 11.2 (Linux Based)
HDD: 2 Maxtor drives set up in LVM2: ~40 GB

I found this computer at a thrift store (Deseret Industries) I was working at. It had an experimental Graphics card inside that I later replaced with a more powerful card. The main reason why I got it is because the motherboard supports two floppy drives.

Power Mac G4:
Model: Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics)
Name: Power Mac G4
Processor: PowerPC G4 450 MHz
RAM: 896 MB PC133
Video: ATI Radeon 9000
OS: Mac OS X 10.5.8, 10.4.11
HDD: 80 GB, 120 GB

This is mainly used to play games that aren't available for Mac OS X and don't run under SheepShaver.

[WhiteFox]

Desktop:
Name: Aivas
Model: Mac Mini
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.26GHz
Ram: 2 x 1GB DDR3, 1067MHz (Going to be upgraded ASAP.)
Video: NVIDIA GeForce 9400, 256 MB
OS: MacOSX 10.6.3
HDD: 160 GB (More then I will ever need.)
Accessories:
-Samsung SynchMaster 2233 (21.5 in. widescreen)
-'07 Apple Keyboard (with No. Pad), wired.  (I love this thing. It's thinner then my wallet... which is saying a lot)
- Wacom Intuos4 (Medium) Tablet
-CanoScan LiDE200 scanner
Notable Software:
-Adobe CS4
-Strata 3D CX 5.5 (General 3D work)
-Silo 2 (3D Powermodeler)

Primarily used for artwork; comics, web design, and the occasional dabbling in 3D work. I don't do any gaming anymore. The monitor and tablet are the real highpoints.

Laptop:
Netbook:
Name: Ono-Sendai
Model: Compaq Mini
Processor:
Ram: Unknown
OS: Win XP (Considering I bought it in early '10, it was a miracle I got XP with it.)
HDD: 160 GB (More then I will ever need.)
Accessories:
-Wacom Graphire 2 tablet
-Built in Webcam (Handy for taking pictures of my face/hands for drawing reference)
-A neat looking NIN sticker covering up the Compaq logo.
Software of Note:
-Open Canvas 1.1

I got the netbook for two purposes: so I could take my huge collection of art reference images around with me, and for creative writing away from home (I spend about 4-5 hours every day sitting in a coffee shop with a sketchbook).

Trivia: All the computers in our family are named after science fiction AIs, robots, and other such stuff. Ono-Sendai is from Neuromancer, while Aivas comes from the Dragonriders of Pern series.

[Jack McSlay]

Since I'm running Windows XP 32bit, Windows only reads 2.5gb RAM, but that's gonna change one of these days when I upgrade it to Windows 7.  I've been having such a good experience with Win7 with my laptop that I'm comfortable enough to upgrade my desktop to Win7.

That's a strangely low ammount of ram in WinXP, I heard WinXP recognizes only 4GB of ram, but a portion of this is kept to the system and is unreported, leaving something less available the system as whole, but most of the time it's reported 3-3.5GiB.

Btw, I suggest you pay attention to what version of W7 you are buying. The biggest points of W7 Pro over Home are the 192GiB RAM limit (W7 Home limits to 16GiB) and coming with a license of Windows XP (which you already own) for virtualization. And there's a hefty price difference between the two. Be warned tho, W7 still has driver problems. I couldn't have it work with my printer, PCI ethernet card and USB to PS/2 adapter

[Ryudo Lee]

Btw, I suggest you pay attention to what version of W7 you are buying. The biggest points of W7 Pro over Home are the 192GiB RAM limit (W7 Home limits to 16GiB) and coming with a license of Windows XP (which you already own) for virtualization. And there's a hefty price difference between the two. Be warned tho, W7 still has driver problems. I couldn't have it work with my printer, PCI ethernet card and USB to PS/2 adapter

I'm planning to shell out the extra ton-o-money money for Ultimate.  I have it on my laptop and I <3 it.  As for driver problems, I've had no problems at all.  My laptop has worked with every USB device I've plugged into it.

[Drayco84]

Since I'm running Windows XP 32bit, Windows only reads 2.5gb RAM, but that's gonna change one of these days when I upgrade it to Windows 7.  I've been having such a good experience with Win7 with my laptop that I'm comfortable enough to upgrade my desktop to Win7.

That's a strangely low ammount of ram in WinXP, I heard WinXP recognizes only 4GB of ram, but a portion of this is kept to the system and is unreported, leaving something less available the system as whole, but most of the time it's reported 3-3.5GiB.

This doesn't make any sense as XP will report the full amount of RAM it detects, especially in the System Properties. Plus, it does detect and will use up to 4GB if you've got it. I would know, my main rig had 4GB DDR2 RAM and ran XP. To me, it sounds like a defective stick. However, I haven't used DDR3 RAM yet, so I'm not sure if it's just too new for XP... Anybody with more experience using DDR3 wanna weigh in and/or correct me?

[Ryudo Lee]

Since I'm running Windows XP 32bit, Windows only reads 2.5gb RAM, but that's gonna change one of these days when I upgrade it to Windows 7.  I've been having such a good experience with Win7 with my laptop that I'm comfortable enough to upgrade my desktop to Win7.

That's a strangely low ammount of ram in WinXP, I heard WinXP recognizes only 4GB of ram, but a portion of this is kept to the system and is unreported, leaving something less available the system as whole, but most of the time it's reported 3-3.5GiB.

This doesn't make any sense as XP will report the full amount of RAM it detects, especially in the System Properties. Plus, it does detect and will use up to 4GB if you've got it. I would know, my main rig had 4GB DDR2 RAM and ran XP. To me, it sounds like a defective stick. However, I haven't used DDR3 RAM yet, so I'm not sure if it's just too new for XP... Anybody with more experience using DDR3 wanna weigh in and/or correct me?

My BIOS reads 4gb of RAM with no issues, but I found the answer for Windows.  It's related to my SLI'd video cards.  WinXP 32bit IS limited to 4gb, but the total RAM calculation includes video RAM.  I actually have 6gb of RAM in there.  2gb is dedicated to video memory, and so the rest, up to 4gb, is for Windows use.  Since I have 2 video cards with 1gb of ram each (minus 256mb from each probably for something system related, or maybe this is all some kind of funny rounding, I dunno), Windows only gets to use 2.5 gb from my sticks.

But eventually this whole thing will be completely and absolutely moot, once Windows 7 is dropped onto my HDD... AFTER I back everything up (again).

[ShadesFox]

BIOS hole.  The x86 BIOS (still in used in x86_64) reserves about that much memory for BIOS related stuff.  It is a terrible legacy thing, though if you get a 64 bit OS it becomes moot as there is just so much address space that it can shovel everything in somewhere.

[Reese Tora]

um...

Windows XP can only use 3 GB of RAM (and has a limit of 2GB allocatable to any one program) because it's programmed that way- it's 32 bit operating systems in general that have a hard limit of 4GB of RAM (2^32 bytes addressable, or 4,294,967,296 Bytes... 64 bit processors have a hard limit of 2^64 bytes, or 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 ~ 18,446 petabytes, since I don't think anyone's coined a word for the next level of memory size after that.)

If you are planning on using more than 4GB of RAM, make sure that you are installing a 64 bit version of the version of windows 7 you get. (or the 64 bit version of XP, if you get that)

--edit--

oh, and in case you were wondering, the good versions of windows 7 are limited to 192 GB, home premium to 16 GB, and home basic to 8GB- as long as they are the 64 bit version. (Starter isn't worth mentioning, and it isn't worth using )

[Ryudo Lee]

Windows XP can only use 3 GB of RAM (and has a limit of 2GB allocatable to any one program) because it's programmed that way- it's 32 bit operating systems in general that have a hard limit of 4GB of RAM (2^32 bytes addressable, or 4,294,967,296 Bytes... 64 bit processors have a hard limit of 2^64 bytes, or 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 ~ 18,446 petabytes, since I don't think anyone's coined a word for the next level of memory size after that.)

You see, that's what I thought too.  But I did some digging and it seems that MSDN says otherwise.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa366778%28VS.85%29.aspx
WinXP 32bit does have 2gb of address space limits, true.  But the physical limit IS 4gb.  But again, Windows counts video RAM too... but all this will be moot in due time anyway.

[superluser]

64 bit processors have a hard limit of 2^64 bytes

Technically speaking, I think they have a hard limit of 2**48 at present.  I only mention this because it's also conceivable that you could come up with a segmented memory model for 64-bit chips, which you should be able to address to 2**78 bytes.

...not that anyone in her right mind would set up a segmented memory model these days, mind.

[Jack McSlay]

In fact 32-bit systems can use up to 64GiB RAM if the kernel is PAE-enabled (which WinXP32 obviously isn't). Windows Server 2003 can use more than 4GiB thanks to this, and so does Mac OSX (which still only partially supports 64-bit). 32-bit linux distros may or may not have it, as it can be disabled when compiling the kernel, and the RAM performance reportedly takes a hit when it's on.

Windows XP has this limitation because they found too many old apps barfed over when given too much ram, including video card drivers (which probably explains why the VRAM may subtract the total RAM ammount)

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

PAE is all well and good, but performance suffers. For the case where I used it, more than 8-10 gig was pushing the limits, and it actually broke things to push it further.