If I double my ram on a x86 processor, does that double the ram I can use for each individual process?

Posted by Derek Reitz on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Derek Reitz
Published on 2012-12-02T22:00:23Z Indexed on 2012/12/02 23:12 UTC
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memory

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cpu

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32-bit

I don't understand how 32-Bit OS's use RAM on a per process basis. I've read the max RAM my x86 processor running a 32-bit OS can use is 2^32 = 4gb; but that's just for one process, right? 3DS Max keeps crashing, but it typically can never use more than 2GB of RAM before it crashes, if I increase my RAM from 4-8GB, would that double how much RAM I can use for each individual process or actually cause no change in my performance? Also would increasing my VRAM and getting a better graphics card increase the extent to which individual programs can preform? Lastly, is there any way to upgrade a 86-bit processor to be able to run a 64-bit OS? I feel like it would be ridiculous to sell modern processors that are capped at 4GB of RAM?

Thanks.

Quad-Core Intel i7 Q 720 @ 1.6GHz

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