A 32-bit OS without PAE can handle up to 4GB of memory addresses.
A 32-bit OS with PAE can handle up to 128GB of memory addresses via TLB.
VRAM does not directly map to system memory so VRAM does NOT directly impact the number of available addresses.
However, video cards (and all devices) do require addresses for communication. The OS reserves some addresses for legacy uses as well.
A good series to read about memory:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/markrussinovich/archive/2008/07/21/3092070.aspxQuote:
Originally Posted by
Arimis5226 
To confirm what Mott555 said, 32 should be supported (assuming whoever wrote the software isn't a total slacker). Most programmers/developers run into issues when trying to get 16 bit drivers to work with a 64 bit OS. I couldn't imagine having issues running a 32 bit program. There are windows compatibility tools available if you are running Win7 that will help get a 32 bit program running good as gold usually. If you end up having issues repost and I'll pass the info you need along to you.
All 32-bit software should run in 64-bit... the OS handles the memory addressing so the 32-bit program should not even be aware.
The only major exception would be if the 32-bit application did low-level access to hardware. i.e. Was programmed to write to specific memory addresses.
Edited by DuckieHo - 3/22/12 at 7:25am
