How come my megabites is 191?

Question

my ram is only 191 mb but its supposed to be 256 mb

Answer 1

this is a easy answer,the reason for your p.c just having 192(191mb)mb is because your p.c has intergrated graphics which uses s.m.a (shared memory architecture) and the graphics borrows 64mb from the system ram so 256mb minus 64mb graphics equals 192mb memory
you can change this though but this means less graphics memory but if you dont play games you can lower it down to 16mb or 32mb
to do this simply restart and when your p.c starts up press delete to enter set up and then when in set up go to "advanced bios options",what you need to look for is video memory option,you will know when you see it as it will be set to 64mb,to alter it press page up/page down to alter the amount of memory,like i said before if you dont play games you can lower it down to 16 or 32 mb,at least your system memory will go above 200mb,you can even go as low as 8mb,and if you are using just the internet this will be ok,remember some early graphic cards like the riva t.n.t and the matrox millenium only used 8mb graphics memory and they could perform quite well
after you have reset any video memory settings,remember to save and exit set up,this will save any settings to cmos and will be permenetly saved
when you get a graphic card for your system ,you will need to do this again,as graphic cards have their own memory,you wont need to use the intergrated video memory and this can be disabled or reduced to the least amount
you can buy a basic graphic card for less than £20 and this will free up more memory and 128mb memory modules can be bought for around £13
take a look at these bargains
RADEON 7000(A.G.P)(64MB)...http://www.misco.co.uk/productinformation/~48312~WW~/Connect3D%20Radeon%207000%2064MB%20DDR%20AGP.htm
RADEON X300SE(PCI-EXPRESS)...http://www.misco.co.uk/productinformation/~110363~WW~/Sapphire%20Radeon%20X300SE%20512Mb%20PCI-E%20graphics%20card.htm
RADEON 9250 (P.C.I BUS)...http://www.misco.co.uk/productinformation/~110366~WW~/Connect3D%20Radeon%209250%20128Mb%20PCI%20graphics%20card.htm
KINGSTON DDR400(3200) MEMORY...http://www.misco.co.uk/productinformation/~64978~WW~/256MB%20DDR400%20PC3200%20MEMORY.htm

This is just a few examples of some cheap accesories you can buy on-line,i use misco for all my upgrades and as you can see you could get a new graphic card and a 256mb memory upgrade for less than £40
my personal opinion would be a radeon 9250 card and a 256mb(3200) mamory upgrade
this would cost you less than £40 but would increase the performance of your p.c by 100%,as a 256mb upgrade is more than you even use at the moment and the radeon 9250 has 128mb of graphics memory(there is a 256mb model avalible),so there will be no strain on the system ram
simple upgrades dont have to cost the earth,for example if you like to play games you can buy a nvidia ge-force 6200 for £39,a sounblaster audigy for £18,and a 256mb ddr ram module for £18,this would cost you less than £70 but the graphics card will play most of the latest games(due to the inclusion of the pixel and shader model 3.0 and direct x 9.0c compatible) and the sounblaster audigy would bring your games to life,with dolby 5.1 surround sound,and any extra memory will make all of your games run smoother and faster
i hope this info has helped and if you have any upgrade problem or query,just let me know
good luck mate

Answer 2

It's probably the video card that's using the missing memory. If a video card doesn't have on-board memory, it will use a portion of the RAM. Most new high end video card have their own memory built in so they don't have to "borrow" it. But lower end video cards don't.

Answer 3

I used to make RAM chips and when tested any chips not running at their full capacity were sold off cheaply so its possible you may have got a dodgy chip

Answer 4

Onboard Video from your motherboard.

If your motherboard has a video processor/display adapter then it will take your system memory to display the image.

A dedicated video card will fix this problem for you.

Answer 5

besides to the two black buses the motorcade incorporates yet another super bus, 21 gasoline guzzling SUVs, an ambulande, a SWAT truck and 20 or so community and state police autos.

Answer 6

Sounds like you have a fried chip. Try replacing it.

Answer 7

It is possible that your motherboard only supports that much ram.

Another possibility is that one of your modules is malfunctioning OR has an incompatible bus speed.

By the way, its "MegaBytes"

Answer 8

you have save versatile data on it probably, switch your computer off and lok again.

Answer 9

because that is how much ram you have