In every 32 bit version of a operating system you will have a limit of 3gb working RAM
Yep, the law of mathematics says so. 2
32 is the maximum number of bits of informtion that your system can physically access.
Simple description:
If you have a single light bulb it can have only 2 states (on or off). That's 2
1.
If you have 2 light bulbs, they can have four different states -
off-off
on-off
off-on
on-on
That's 2
2.
If you have 3 light bulbs, you can have 8 different states (you can figure them out yourself).
That's 2
3.
If you have 8 light bulbs, you can have 256 different states (you can figure them out yourself).
That's 2
8. And so on.
When you get to 32 light bulbs, you get 2
32. That's 4,294,967,296, which is 4Gig.
On your PC, 32 bits means that the software can control up to 32 sets of wires that can access the memory. The PC can therefore read or write a single piece of information (a "bit") at 2
32 locations.
So you can install 8GB (Giga bytes) if you wish, but your 32-bit software can't access it all. But a 64-bit system can access a whole load more. (Try working out 2
64 - that's 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2... 64 sets of x 2).
Hope that's a bit clearer than black, slimey mud.