title: Java Heap Space and the RAM
body: <p>I have a question that bothered me after reading an article on analyzing thread dumps. There was one paragraph which mentioned that the logical maximum heap size in a 32-Bit JVM is 4GB. </p>
  
  <p><a href="http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/hotspotfaq-138619.html#gc_heap_32bit" rel="nofollow">This</a> link states that the maximum heap size on a 32-bit Windows machine will be around 1.4 - 1.6 GB. </p>
  
  <p>My question is, say if you have RAM of say around 8GB, does this mean i can only utilize 1.4-1.6 GB of it if i were to you a 32-bit JVM? And what will be the maximum size allowed for a 64bit JVM?</p>
  
  <p>Appreciate your help regarding this as i am confused on the same.</p>