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M$2 April 25, 2009 09:37 PM

Dell Inspiron 1720, 64 bit and a ram upgrade.

Ok, here is my problem, I have this Dell Inspiron 1720 with 2 gig of ram and Windows Vista. I do a lot of photography work with Photoshop CS3; I do not have enough ram for the ram intensive Photoshop work I do. Also we are all familar with the virtues of Windows Vista. I find Photoshop crashes often due to lack of ram and also due to the virtues of Vista. I have allocated 1.2 gig of memory to Photoshop and I have read a lot that if you are working of big files you really need a minimum of 2 gig dedicated to Photoshop. I have also read a lot that the 64 bit version of Vista works flawlessly with apps like Photoshop. So this is what I want to do, I want to upgrade my ram to 4 gig and get the 64 bit Vista as I believe this will solve my problem. My question is will the 32 bit version of Photoshop run on a 64 bit Operating System and can I upgrade the ram from 2 gig to 4 gig on a Dell and if so can I buy generic ram or do I have to buy specific from Dell?
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April 26, 2009 05:32 PM
First of all, 32 bit Photoshop on a 64 bit OS won't be a problem. 64 bit OS's are capable of emulating 32 bit for 32 bit apps, but they cannot run 16 bit apps like a 32 bit OS. Also, for 4GB of RAM, upgrading to a 64 bit OS may not be worth it. A 32 bit OS will still use all 4 GB of RAM, it just won't show up in system properties and it may not be used quite as efficiently as it would be with a 64 bit OS.

Next, you do not need to buy Dell RAM. Look up the RAM on Dell's website to see how much they want for it, but you do not have to buy it if you can find a better deal. Then go to www.crucial.com and click "Scan my system." Follow the instructions. When it is finished, it will tell you what type of RAM your PC needs, how many open slots you have, how much you currently have, and it will list some RAM you can buy from them. As with Dell RAM, it may be cheaper to buy elsewhere. Go to www.newegg.com and under "Computer Hardware" select "Memory". Then, using the left sidebar, select the RAM specifications you need. From there, you can decide who you want to buy RAM from. If you get RAM from newegg, make sure you buy it from a reputable brand and check costomer reviews, as very cheap RAM from some companies sometimes has a high failure rate.

I have another suggestion. If you don't care about performance or you need a temporary solution, you may be able to correct the problem by increasing your swap file size as long as your computer meets the minum system requirements for Photoshop. More info as well as how to do it here: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/understanding-windows-vista-paging-file-size/.

Good luck!
Asker's Rating:
• very good advice, thanks!


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April 25, 2009 11:39 PM
I can help you for sure with the memory part of your question...as for the 32bit PS on 64bit OS I'm pretty sure it will run. The forums I checked, some people got it to work, others did not. But for those who didn't, there was a fix (see source below).

As for memory, the Dell Inspiron 1720,

Each memory slot can hold DDR2 PC2-5300 or DDR2 PC2-6400. You can only put a max of 2GB per slot. With 32 bit Windows, it will only recognize probably 3 to 3.5 gigs of memory, but with 64 bit, it should recognize more. Just be sure to check how many sticks are in it now, if there are two 1GB modules, one in each slot, then you will have to replace all memory, to get to your 4GB.

I would suggest going to http://www.newegg.com and just putting in either DDR2 PC2-5300 or DDR2 PC2-6400. The 6400 will give you a small boost compared to the 5300, but not a drastic change. The memory DOES NOT have to be from Dell.
Source(s):
http://blogs.msdn.com/rickbrew/archive/2007/04/26/problems-installing-adobe...


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Helpful: hartwell, rosshann

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April 26, 2009 12:16 AM
Yes, 32 bit applications will run on a 64 bit OS.

You might go ahead and upgrade to 4 gig ram, and try it out leaving vista 32 on there. (yes, vista 32 will only see 3.5 gigs or whatever, that's still a 75 percent increase in you RAM.) Yes, you could double your RAM if you also install a 64 bit OS, but the increase from 3.5 to 4.0 gig is less than 15%. So the advantage just isn't there. (IMHO)

you do not need to get RAM from Dell, you SHOULD price it there and see how much they want.

RAM is so inexpensive these days that you may as well pay for the higher quality RAM from Crucial or Kingston. Don't try to save 10 or 20 dollars by buying cheap RAM. It's just not worth it.

Also, keep in mind that there may not be an upgrade path from your 2 gig to 4 gig without discarding the 2 that are in there now. the Dell site will tell you if that's the case. Also, either Crucial or Kingston have "configurators" that will take your make and model and figure out what you need.
Source(s):
http://www.kingston.com/branded/default.asp

http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/


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