RAM questions??? Newb Help!!

Ok i thought i knew some stuff about adding RAM to my PC's but today I am confused. Ok my PC has 512 MB ram BUT when you look in the system/performance files it says i only have 384. What is up with that!!!??? So then I took out the 2 256 cards that were in the machine and installed one of my 2 new 512 cards and it still shows i only have 384???!!!!! So now why does this happen and why when i put in all the cards i have which is 2x256 and 2x512 cards does it show i have 1.37 mb of ram when i should have 1.536 mb of ram? 512 times 3 is 1536 right????

Now be gently if i have made a total A$$ out of myself here ok? I just thought the numbers all add up correctly and show what RAM you have, at least I thought that is how it used to work with the old 8 16 32 and 64 cards!

Anyway be gently and help me figure this out!!! And yes the cards are the right ones i needed to get 512MB 333MHz DDR. (as far as what the guy from the geek squad told me at Best Buy!!)

Does your system share RAM with the video card? I know my old system at home did this so it showed 448mb installed. But 64mb was shared with the video card.

how do i find that out??

go to *run* and type in

dxdiag

click on the display tab and see what it says your graphics are

well I think it is straightened out now. After installing all cards and then my new graphics card i now have 1.50 GB of RAM so that is closer to what i thought i shopuld have. I also did what you told me to do Lovitar and it i showed i had 1.534 GB of RAM so it seems better to me now. Sp my guess is the old card used some of the RAM like GraceAlone said.

Thanks guys. I can Def. tell the difference in performance already. Even the Guild Wars wallpaper looks different. I never noticed the detail in the words Guild Wars before now!! AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

Sitruc Adus,

Isn't that a great feeling to NOW have ample resources for your computer?

A good video card and lots of ram is a WONDERFUL thing.

it is SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!