Atom 330 drives only enough pins for 32-bit physical addresses

[D. Hugh Redelmeier]

| From: Mike Kallies <mike.kallies-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org>

| Strangely, if it shipped with Windows XP, people are used to only seeing
| 3.25G when they're promised 4GB.  They can blame the OS.

It shipped with WIn7 home premium 64-bit.  So they cannot blame the OS
(some support folk tried anyway).

Win7 says 4.0 G of RAM, 3.0 available.  The shared video memory
accounts for 0.25G on top of that.  So 0.75G is missing.

| If you load Linux, they can say that the OS is not supported.

Oh yeah.  I told them that I booted a live Linux CD and they demanded
that I reinstall Win7 to fix Win7 in case I had broken it.  With a
live CD!

Linux sees 3.25G which, with the 0.25G shared video memory, leaves
0.5G missing (based on reading the MTRRs).  I don't know why Linux
sees more than Windows.

| From: Lennart Sorensen <lsorense-1wCw9BSqJbv44Nm34jS7GywD8/FfD2ys at public.gmane.org>

| The Atom 330 mobile versions are only 32bit capable.  Desktop editions
| can do 64bit.  Who knows which one acer used in their box.  A 32bit
| version would only do up to 4GB address space after all.

This is non-mobile: it runs x86-64 software (Win7 and Linux).

Even 32-bit hardware, since the Pentium Pro, has had PAE to allow more
that 32-bit physical addresses.  I imagine that this hardware has PAE
but just doesn't drive the pins.

| As for what Acer advertises, well it does have 4GB ram installed.
| The fact you can't use it all is a different issue. :)

I would call it misleading.
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