Why is SQL Server memory showing in task manager
The number reported by Task Manager is not inaccurate exactly; you just have to understand what the number is telling you.

If you expand the Task Manager column so you can see the whole title, you'll see it says: Memory (Private Working Set). The working set does not include any memory that is being accessed via Address Windowing Extensions (AWE).

AWE is a technology API that allows a 32-bit process to access more memory than its 4GB virtual address space, by mapping and remapping a small 'window' of virtual address space onto a larger physical memory space.

AWE is how 32-bit SQL Server is able to access more than 4GB of memory, and the same mechanism is used in 64-bit SQL Server to implement the 'locked pages' feature.

So, Task Manager will show only a relatively small amount of memory in use for:


32-bit SQL Server using AWE to access memory; or
64-bit SQL Server using locked pages


In your case, with Task Manager reporting over 4GB in use, it seems likely the SQL Server you were looking at was a 64-bit installation that is not using locked pages. Instead of using Task Manager, use the Performance Monitor SQL Server instance counter Total Server Memory, or query the sys.dm_os_process_memory DMV in SQL Server 2008 and later.

Reference and further reading: Fun with Locked Pages, AWE, Task Manager, and the Working Set by Microsoft Customer Service and Support (CSS) SQL Support.