Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN
 ·Comcast
| Windows Vista and RAm I have been told I do not have enough RAM to run Windows Vista. I have Vista home premium (32-bit) and I have 2 gig of RAM. Could someone please tell me if I have enough or not? Vista came on my computer so I would assume that it came with enough to run the darn thing.
Thanks!! | |
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Airwolf
Premium
join:2001-10-30
Windsor, ON
clubs:
1 edit | Re: Windows Vista and RAm 2GB is fine.
If you game, I would invest in another 2GB at least. However, you'll have to obtain a 64-bit copy of Vista to actually use 4GB and higher.
I wouldn't worry otherwise. | |
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Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN | Re: Windows Vista and RAm Ok ty. I have someone trying to tell me that the recommended is 3gb. I thought my comp ran just fine..including playing WoW.. | |
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Airwolf
Premium
join:2001-10-30
Windsor, ON
clubs:
·Cogeco Cable
1 edit | Re: Windows Vista and RAm I've ran on 2GB just fine with Vista Home Premium 32bit.
3Gb would be a nice buffer for those moments where it's needed the odd time.
I helped pick out a computer for my sister with 3GB just in case, even though I know 2 is plenty for her. | |
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Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN | Re: Windows Vista and RAm Ok ty. They are still arguing with me, even though I went to the "can You Run It" site and it surpassed all the recommended settings for the game. Sometimes I think the forums is not a very good place for information. | |
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Airwolf
Premium
join:2001-10-30
Windsor, ON
clubs: | Re: Windows Vista and RAm It's up to you. If you want to play it safe, get 3GB. | |
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Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN | Re: Windows Vista and RAm It couldn't hurt. Is it still inexpensive? I read at one time RAM was pretty cheap. Of course it's like the stock market..lol. | |
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Airwolf
Premium
join:2001-10-30
Windsor, ON
clubs: | Re: Windows Vista and RAm Depending on what speed of RAM you need.
Most computers come with DDR2-667, but if the current ones in there are DDR2-800 and you add in DDR2-667, that will drop them to the same speed. | |
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Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN
·Comcast
| Re: Windows Vista and RAm said by Airwolf  :Depending on what speed of RAM you need. Most computers come with DDR2-667, but if the current ones in there are DDR2-800 and you add in DDR2-667, that will drop them to the same speed. Could you tell me how I can find out exactly which type of memory I need? And, I forget the site everyone uses for those types of things. On the tip of my tongue...grr! | |
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Leathal
Premium
join:2002-02-09
Toronto, ON | While some come with DDR3. 
L. | |
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Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN
·Comcast
| Re: Windows Vista and RAm said by John_W :RAM is dirt cheap. I paid just under $50 for 2 sticks of 2GB DDR2 for 4 total. Newegg has some DDR2-800 on sale now for $37 for 4 GB. I threw 4GB in my 32 bit machine Vista Ultimate computer(it was cheaper for me to put 4gb in than 3gb). It'll access 3.581GB of it and I am currently using 2.180GB of that right now, so adding a few more sticks to your machine won't hurt. It'll most likely help, and it is not that expensive. NEWEGG! That's the place! LOL I couldn't think of the name to save me! LOL. Thanks. Now I just need to figure out how to see exactly which type of memory I need. | |
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| | Margolis
Premium
join:2003-11-24
Saint Louis, MO
·Charter Pipeline
| said by Duchess44 :Ok ty. I have someone trying to tell me that the recommended is 3gb. I thought my comp ran just fine..including playing WoW.. I can't comment on 3gb, but going from 2Gb to 4Gb of ram made a noticable improvement in WoW. But that is with vista 64 ultimate. With 32b vista, anything over 3Gb would be overkill though, do to the address limitations of 32bit. Video memory is also included in the total that can be addressed.
Another reason that some people go for 3Gb is that they are using a motherboard that uses triple channel memory, which means 3 sticks of ram. That makes 3Gb optimal. If your motherboard uses dual channel memory, then 2Gb makes sense, since there are no 1.5G memory sticks. As long as you are happy with the performance ignore the naysayers. | |
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Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN
·Comcast
| Re: Windows Vista and RAm said by Margolis :said by Duchess44 :Ok ty. I have someone trying to tell me that the recommended is 3gb. I thought my comp ran just fine..including playing WoW.. I can't comment on 3gb, but going from 2Gb to 4Gb of ram made a noticable improvement in WoW. But that is with vista 64 ultimate. With 32b vista, anything over 3Gb would be overkill though, do to the address limitations of 32bit. Video memory is also included in the total that can be addressed. Another reason that some people go for 3Gb is that they are using a motherboard that uses triple channel memory, which means 3 sticks of ram. That makes 3Gb optimal. If your motherboard uses dual channel memory, then 2Gb makes sense, since there are no 1.5G memory sticks. As long as you are happy with the performance ignore the naysayers. No, I am not very happy with the performance as it is. I asked because I needed to get the settings for the video tab ingame so that I could get a little better FPS. Then they started all this about my memory and video card being crap. | |
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| | | | Margolis
Premium
join:2003-11-24
Saint Louis, MO
·Charter Pipeline
| Re: Windows Vista and RAm said by Duchess44 : No, I am not very happy with the performance as it is. I asked because I needed to get the settings for the video tab ingame so that I could get a little better FPS. Then they started all this about my memory and video card being crap. ok, what are your system specs? what kind of cpu? what video card? and what resolution?
More memory will not automatically give you higher fps. It will make the game run smoother when things get hairy though. But if you are having fps issues, it could be the cpu, or video card. | |
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Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN
·Comcast
1 edit | Re: Windows Vista and RAm said by Margolis :ok, what are your system specs? what kind of cpu? what video card? and what resolution? More memory will not automatically give you higher fps. It will make the game run smoother when things get hairy though. But if you are having fps issues, it could be the cpu, or video card. Ok could you please tell me where I find such information to post?
I do know that my card is a ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 512MB dedicated memory. And it is at 1440x900 resolution. | |
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| | | | | | Margolis
Premium
join:2003-11-24
Saint Louis, MO
·Charter Pipeline
1 edit | Re: Windows Vista and RAm said by Duchess44 : Ok could you please tell me where I find such information to post? I do know that my card is a ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 512MB dedicated memory. And it is at 1440x900 resolution. the video card is a big problem. the 2600 is not good enough to run at 1440x900 at a very high framerate. I would guess maybe 30fps tops, and dipping down into the teens if there is anything going on. And with a video card that old, I would guess that your cpu is also a bottleneck.
To find out your cpu, go to "control panel" and "system" | |
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Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN
·Comcast
1 edit | Re: Windows Vista and RAm said by Margolis :said by Duchess44 : Ok could you please tell me where I find such information to post? I do know that my card is a ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 512MB dedicated memory. And it is at 1440x900 resolution. the video card is a big problem. the 2600 is not good enough to run at 1440x900 at a very high framerate. I would guess maybe 30fps tops, and dipping down into the teens if there is anything going on. And with a video card that old, I would guess that your cpu is also a bottleneck. To find out your cpu, go to "control panel" and "system" Ok it says "Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz"
And, which vid card would you recommend? I can not spend a lot of money on it...perhaps between $100-$200 | |
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Leathal
Premium
join:2002-02-09
Toronto, ON
| said by Duchess44 :Ok ty. I have someone trying to tell me that the recommended is 3gb. I thought my comp ran just fine..including playing WoW.. I play WoW on a 8GB machine!
Leathal | |
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jabarnut
Light Years Away
Premium,MVM
join:2005-01-22
Galaxy M31
3 edits | said by Duchess44 :I have been told I do not have enough RAM to run Windows Vista. I have Vista home premium (32-bit) and I have 2 gig of RAM. Thanks!! That's pretty silly....I ran Vista Ultimate on one machine with 1GB of Ram for quite a while, and while it was a little slow in some respects, it ran just fine....and was still more than tolerable, even enjoyable.
I've since upped that particular machine to 2 GB (it's an older machine and that's all the Motherboard would take), and it runs great.
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I had a life once.....now I have a Computer and a Modem. | |
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Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN | Re: Windows Vista and RAm Yea, that's the WoW forums for you | |
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jabarnut
Light Years Away
Premium,MVM
join:2005-01-22
Galaxy M31
1 edit | Yeah, I agree that adding more Ram (to a point), sure can't hurt and is one of the easiest and most effective upgrades you can make....but to flatly state that 2GB is "not enough RAM to run Windows Vista" is ridiculous.
It runs quite well on 2GB and seems to be the "sweet spot" for Vista, from what I've seen.
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I had a life once.....now I have a Computer and a Modem. | |
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Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN
·Comcast
| Re: Windows Vista and RAm Exactly. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read that. Well yes I can. It is the WoW forums, after all lol. I have never had an issue but I did uninstall and quit playing for about 2 months so I lost all of my video settings ingame. I was asking if anyone had that post from a while back that had all the video settins in it. Then they start jumping down my poor machine's throat lol. | |
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
| Vista Home Premium 32bit here.
3GB PC2-5300.
ATM, I am using 1.35GB.
As stated, 32bit will only address ~3.5GB.
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Think outside the Fox... Opera | |
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Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN
2 edits | Re: Windows Vista and RAm Strange that's exactly how mine looked when I took it. Only it was 1.37 instead of 1.35.
BTW..is that with or without WoW running?
And, where do I look on here to see what Memory I need to purchase? | |
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
| Re: Windows Vista and RAm said by Duchess44 :Strange that's exactly how mine looked when I took it. Only it was 1.37 instead of 1.35. BTW..is that with or without WoW running? And, where do I look on here to see what Memory I need to purchase? Without.
Don't do WoW.
I have a bunch of other crap though.
This is with Flatout 2 running ontop of everything else(see pic)
Crucial has a scanner that should see what you got and what it can hold:
»www.crucial.com/
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Think outside the Fox... Opera | |
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howie
Premium,MVM
join:2003-04-08
Little Falls, NJ
| Vista Ultimate 32bit here.
4GB PC6400 DDR-2 800Mhz.
ATM, I am using ~1.35GB. | |
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Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN
·Comcast
| Re: Windows Vista and RAm Sweet! TYVM | |
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Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN
·Comcast
1 edit | Re: Windows Vista and RAm said by ydoucare :2 GB is fine (but more never hurts). Been running 2 GB here for a while on a gaming/web and graphic design machine and it runs good. Anyone that tells you 2 GB is not enough to "run" Windows Vista hasn't the slightest clue what they are talking about. Perhaps the people that are arguing with you are the type of morons that have 120 processes running in the background and wonder why their computer runs like shit. In any case, memory is cheap, so it wouldn't hurt to run more than 2 GB. Oh I am going to get another 1gig, but I read somewhere that if you get more than that, you have to go to Vista 64-bit? True? | |
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praetoralpha
join:2005-08-06
Mount Vernon, OH | »www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
Get CPUz and the memory tab will tell you what you have, its speed, how many empty RAM slots you have, and more stuff that anyone should probably have to know. | |
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Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN | Re: Windows Vista and RAm Ok got it and it did say which kind I have, and it says slot #2 and #4 are empty, and #1 and #3 have memory installed. | |
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Daarken
Rara Avises
join:2005-01-12
Cajun Countr
·Cox HSI
·Suddenlink
| Re: Windows Vista and RAm Duchess44, please keep in mind that when you do purchase your new ram, you need to replace the existng ram with new ram also.
So basically you need to purchase 4 gigs of new ram, not just 1 gig. Sure your system will probably run if you used the old ram, however you will have system stability issues.
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www.pointofexistence.com | |
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Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN
·Comcast
3 edits | Re: Windows Vista and RAm said by Daarken :Duchess44, please keep in mind that when you do purchase your new ram, you need to replace the existng ram with new ram also. So basically you need to purchase 4 gigs of new ram, not just 1 gig. Sure your system will probably run if you used the old ram, however you will have system stability issues. »www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs···A5CA7304
Ok then...if I get two of these...would it work? I mean, I believe I only need 3 gig total, right? Because if Iget the max 4 gig, I will have to get Vista 64 bit. And why is it SO much more expensive at Newegg...
»www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi···er=PRICE | |
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howie
Premium,MVM
join:2003-04-08
Little Falls, NJ
2 edits | Vista will see about 3.5GB of 4GB installed in a 32-bit OS. I use 2-2048MB sticks with Vista 32-bit.
»www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···20145184
It was less than $50 for 4GB of PC6400 DDR2 800Mhz. RAM.
If and when I install Vista or Win 7 64-bit, It'll use all 4GB. At some point, I'll probably add 4GB (2-2GB sticks) when I switch to a 64 bit OS.
If I were you, I'd just buy a kit with 2-2GB modules.
[EDIT] I don't know if your system can use 2GB modules. Hopefully someone here does.... | |
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Duchess44
Premium
join:2001-10-24
Chattanooga, TN
·Comcast
| Re: Windows Vista and RAm said by howie :Vista will see about 3.5GB of 4GB installed in a 32-bit OS. I use 2-2048MB sticks with Vista 32-bit. » www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···20145184It was less than $50 for 4GB of PC6400 DDR2 800Mhz. RAM. If and when I install Vista or Win 7 64-bit, It'll use all 4GB. At some point, I'll probably add 4GB (2-2GB sticks) when I switch to a 64 bit OS. If I were you, I'd just buy a kit with 2-2GB modules. [EDIT] I don't know if your system can use 2GB modules. Hopefully someone here does.... Right. That's what I am trying to figure out. I believe it can only do 1gig. It has 4 slots, total of 4gig of memory can be installed on it. So I would guess that it would be 1 gig sticks. | |
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imtim83
You All Deserve The Economic Meltdown
Premium
join:2001-06-03
Kenner, LA
| I have 8 GB of ram but suggest if your a gamer to have at least 4 GB of ram. Though 2 to 3 GB of ram could be enough always best to be safe than sorry sense ram is so cheap. I like to multitask a lot. If I want to keep my game open while encoding I can. | |
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longstreet
join:2004-11-14
Plano, TX
1 edit | If you have 32 bit Vista, do not install more than 3 gig main memory.
If you decide you want more memory than 3 gig, you need to upgrade to 64 bit. | |
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See 11 replies to this post |
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howie
Premium,MVM
join:2003-04-08
Little Falls, NJ
| I just wanted to make it clear that you don't need to use a 64-bit OS if you use 4GB. Yes, not all of it's used but it is perfectly alright to do so. Sorry for any confusion but I thought some might think that you can't use Vista 32 with 4GB, period. | |
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
| WoW? | |
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See 6 replies to this post |
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Keizer
I'M Your Huckleberry
Premium,MVM
join:2003-01-20
1 edit | If you are a gamer, then 2 gigs of RAM is bare bones minimum with Vista. I have 8 gigs running Vista 64, and some games use 28% of my 8 gigs of RAM at times.
By the way, that "Can you run it" test does not read video RAM correctly. | |
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idlewillkill
Go Blue
Premium
join:2005-09-28
North York, ON
| You mentioned you're not terribly happy with the performance you're getting right now.
Have you turned the shadow detail down?
It carries a HUGE performance penalty. I have mine down to medium. My video card isn't a beast, but faster than yours, and high shadow detail made it cry. | |
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See 11 replies to this post |
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idlewillkill
Go Blue
Premium
join:2005-09-28
North York, ON
| FYI, this is what I'm running to get ~60 FPS, on a Q6600 OC to 3.2 ghz, 4 gigs RAM, and a slightly overclocked 9800GT. Resolution is 1680 x 1050, so you wouldn't need as much to hit decent framerates at a lower resolution. | |
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elios
join:2005-11-15
Springfield, MO
·Mediacom
2 edits | DDR2 is cheaper then air no point and not upgrading to 4GB
wile some will SAY you need 64bit windows this is not totally true
you can run it just fine some of the ram will not be used becouse some hardware uses the address range space
but dont let that stop you
in the mean time if you really want to use it all Windows 7 Beta is great and free for the next year and gives you time to save up and buy a copy just get the 64bit ver
oh Running WoW maxed out but shadows one noch back
~60FPS all the time on a OCed E7200 @ 3.8Ghz Dual core and a GTX260
4GB of ram on Vista x64 | |
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longstreet
join:2004-11-14
Plano, TX
3 edits | Again, my recommendation to the OP :
3 gig main memory installed max
No bigger than a 512mb video. | |
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Keizer
I'M Your Huckleberry
Premium,MVM
join:2003-01-20
| Re: Windows Vista and RAm said by longstreet :Again, my recommendation to the OP : 3 gig main memory installed max No bigger than a 512mb video. That would be my recommendation too. That or switch to a 64 bit OS. | |
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elios
join:2005-11-15
Springfield, MO
·Mediacom
4 edits | »www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1035670
read that
a 1GB video card is FINE 4GB of ram is FINE
running 4x ram sticks can lead to slower ram speeds
its better to just get 2x 2GB and leave it be and go 64bit at a latter time
the VRAM does not impact the useble system ram only the card mapped IO set by the driver and BIOS
L2MEMORY MAPPED IO
The hole the graphics adapter causes in physical memory is called its aperture. This value is settable in the system BIOS, at the cost of being able to access memory on the video card directly and rapidly. With very large buffers on video cards, and the advent of SLI systems, the memory aperture taken out of the system address space can be huge, and reduces the usable general-purpose memory accessible by the system.
your confusing this with mapping all of the vram
the aperture setting is normal ~128MB to 256MB MAYBE has high as 512MB but a setting of 256MB is fine and tests show a larger setting doesnt really effect speed much if at all
While the card still reserves 256 megs for its video memory, the aperture now takes much more room from the system address space. In the first screen shot, we see the aperture is from 0xF8000000 to 0xFBFFFFFF, which is 64 megabytes. On the second screen shot, the aperture extends from 0xE0000000 to 0xEFFFFFFF, which is 256 megabytes.
Had this system four gigs of memory, the system would show at most 3.94 gigabytes of physical memory available after it booted with the 64 megabyte aperture. With the 256 megabyte aperture, the maximum is 3.75 gigabytes. The true maximum is substantially less, since the 256 megabyte card memory also comes from the physical address space, as well as memory for other devices on the system.
»blogs.technet.com/markrussinovic···070.aspx
I purchased one from a boutique gaming rig company that came with 4GB of RAM and two 1GB video cards.
Device Manager reveals that 512MB of the over 2GB hole is for the video cards (256MB each), and it looks like the firmware has reserved more for either dynamic mappings or because it was conservative in its estimate:
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