My point is if the OP wants to run a 32-bit OS with more than 4GB of RAM then the option is available.Quote from lylec305:
So your point is you can hack a 32 bit os to address more than it was intended. Why would anyone want to do that in this context? As you said you wouldn't.
Now a 64 bit OS can access more than 4 g ram, like windows 7 64 bit. No hacking required. Although, not to many apps are written to take advantage of 64 bit architecture.
Its neither esoteric nor rare: machines with 32-bit OS and more than 4GB of RAM are common in enterprise environments.
