16Gb RAM but only 13.9 usable?

paul1224

Well-known member
Hi, just got my new PC and in Control Panel it states I have 16GB RAM but only 13.9 usable. Is this normal?

Spec is:
CasePCS 6003B BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU)AMD Ryzen 5 2400G Quad Core CPU with Vega Graphics (3.6GHz-3.9GHz/6MB CACHE/AM4)
MotherboardASUS® PRIME A320M-K: Micro-ATX, AM4, USB 3.0, 6GB/s
Memory (RAM)16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics CardINTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st Storage Drive250GB WD Blue™ 3D NAND 2.5" SSD, (upto 550MB/sR | 525MB/sW)
down_right_arrow.gif
Partitions: 250GB
DVD/BLU-RAY DriveNOT REQUIRED
Power SupplyCORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor CoolingSTANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal PasteSTANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound CardONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired NetworkingWIRELESS 802.11 AC1200 867Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt OptionsMIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating SystemNO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System LanguageUnited Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery MediaNO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office SoftwareFREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-VirusNO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
BrowserMicrosoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
MonitorAOC I2490VXQ/BT 23.8" IPS Monitor - 1920 x 1080
Warranty3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
DeliverySATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build TimeStandard Build - Approximately 8 to 11 working days
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
The other part is allocated to the integrated graphics I expect.
 
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ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Can you open Task Manager, click on the Performance tab, then click on Memory (on the left) and post a screenshot of what you see there please? :)
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
As stated it'll be the integrated graphics. As much as the CPU has a built in GPU core, it doesn't have a separate allocation of RAM so utilises your main RAM source.
 

Muffinman76

New member
Can confirm that the Ryzen 2400G reserves 1GB of RAM for integrated graphics use.

Here are screen shot of the performance tab in task manager.

Notice the Dedicated GPU memory Usage
Capture.PNG


Also look at the Hardware Reserved RAM
Capture.PNG
 

debiruman665

Enthusiast
Sometimes the conversion between GB and GiB can shave off some space


1565338093847.png


this conversion is what turns a 2TB disk into a 1.8TB disk by the time it's on a windows machine.
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
When did the GiB happen? I'd never heard of it until now and had to visit that link to find out...

Personally I think all they've done here is add to the confusion, not reduce it. That's because a GiB (A Gibibyte of all things) is 1024 MB (Megabytes) so now an ordinary GB (a Gigabyte) is 1000 MB (even though a MB is still 1204 kB and a kB is still 1024 Bytes).

This to me is just dumbing-down, and it's crazy to have a mixture of decimal (the new GB) and binary (MB, kB) in the same system. Whilst it's true that historically naming 2^10 bytes a kilobyte (kB) wasn't entirely accurate since kilo implies 1000, everyone who has worked in computing has understood the numbering system. Computers are binary after all and IMO it behoves those working in the industry to learn the relevant numbering system.

We're also going to have the ridiculous situation when older techies are going to use GB to imply 1024 MB, which it really is, whilst newer people are going to think they mean 1000 MB. I'm glad I'm retired from this nonsense.
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
When did the GiB happen? I'd never heard of it until now and had to visit that link to find out...

Personally I think all they've done here is add to the confusion, not reduce it. That's because a GiB (A Gibibyte of all things) is 1024 MB (Megabytes) so now an ordinary GB (a Gigabyte) is 1000 MB (even though a MB is still 1204 kB and a kB is still 1024 Bytes).

This to me is just dumbing-down, and it's crazy to have a mixture of decimal (the new GB) and binary (MB, kB) in the same system. Whilst it's true that historically naming 2^10 bytes a kilobyte (kB) wasn't entirely accurate since kilo implies 1000, everyone who has worked in computing has understood the numbering system. Computers are binary after all and IMO it behoves those working in the industry to learn the relevant numbering system.

We're also going to have the ridiculous situation when older techies are going to use GB to imply 1024 MB, which it really is, whilst newer people are going to think they mean 1000 MB. I'm glad I'm retired from this nonsense.
Yeah, I’ve seen GiB used by a few people, just thought it was a variation on GB, but good to know there’s yet another rediculous way of confusing the consumer!

Everyone should be forced to work in GB imho!
 

Rakk

The Awesome
Moderator
Yeah, I’ve seen GiB used by a few people, just thought it was a variation on GB, but good to know there’s yet another rediculous way of confusing the consumer!
I thought it was a typo where I've seen it before :) (I didn't realise there had been some hair-brained idea to change it)
But yeah , how to confuse things even more, leave the GB as it was, cos yeah now half the people will be using it the old way, half the new and everyone will get confused.
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I've seen it used but I always thought it was in relation to storage rather than RAM.
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
GiB / GB is generally mentioned in this context, as far as I've seen it:

Though that's not what's happening to account for 1-2GB being shaved off users' RAM; that's is because of the APU's graphics needing some.
 

Stephen M

Author Level
Agree with Oussebon that losing that much RAM is more than a conversion thing.

As for the other, I hope that the use of gibi, mebi, kibi etc become standard. It may be annoying to some but it is an unfortunate situation that needs addressing. Using a decimal prefix for a binary number was never linguistically sound but while the only people using it were in a particular area it hardly mattered, as with most meta-language those of us who use it do not notice how absurd it can sound.

The problem now is that we now have both usages, my guess is that someone spotted a markting trick to make a storage drive sound more attractive for the price and 2 TB sounds much better than 1.8, so the fully decimal TB was born. As we cannot go back the best possible compromise has to be found and in my book that is the one that protects the consumer, ie we should know exactly what and how much of something we are buying and to do that a finite terminology is needed.
 

debiruman665

Enthusiast
Agree with Oussebon that losing that much RAM is more than a conversion thing.

As for the other, I hope that the use of gibi, mebi, kibi etc become standard. It may be annoying to some but it is an unfortunate situation that needs addressing. Using a decimal prefix for a binary number was never linguistically sound but while the only people using it were in a particular area it hardly mattered, as with most meta-language those of us who use it do not notice how absurd it can sound.

The problem now is that we now have both usages, my guess is that someone spotted a markting trick to make a storage drive sound more attractive for the price and 2 TB sounds much better than 1.8, so the fully decimal TB was born. As we cannot go back the best possible compromise has to be found and in my book that is the one that protects the consumer, ie we should know exactly what and how much of something we are buying and to do that a finite terminology is needed.

Agreed, lets go after ISP first and their small "b" megabit connections that make their internet sound much better than they are.
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
This isn't one I've looked at particularly closely, but the issue hasn't generally been Mb vs MB, though I'm sure a lot of people don't get the difference, as much as the numbers they publish being 'upto' rather than what you might realistically get e.g. at peak times:
Though this should be continued in another thread as it will hijack the OP's topic.
 
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