I just started learning assembly.
My laptop specification says:
Microprocessor: Intel Core Duo processor T2300
Microprocessor Cache: 2MB L2 Cache
Memory Max: 2048MB
Memory: 1024MB 667MHz DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
"Intel Core Duo processor T2300" specification says:
instruction Set : 32-bit
I think now I can assume that the data bus is also at least 32 bit. So minimum addressable memory should be 4GB.
Moreover CPU specification also mention the Memory Specifications
Physical Address Extensions 32-bit
which as I understand means it can address 64GB of memory
Would that mean that, given only 2 memory slots on motherboard, my laptop can support 2x 2GB memory sticks == (4GB) memory?
I guess the laptop guys assumed that there won't be 2GB sticks, so they might have mentioned Memory Max: 2048MB
Best Answer
Addressable memory for a 32-bit system is 4GB, physical memory is whatever's installed. Your operating system manages the later to give running programs the illusion of the former. Its a good deal more complicated than that, but that's the gist of it.
PAE increases the amount of physical memory that a machine can use, not the addressable memory. Pointers remain 32-bit, so addressable memory is still restricted to 4GB.
Memory capacity on a machine is dictated by more than just what the CPU is capable of. Don't assume your machine can support 4GB.