shared system video memory in vista

[cochdu21]

hello, first i'd like you to excuse my english because i'm french.

so i wanted to know what is "shared system video memory" and how to remove it?
I learned it was RAM that was used to help the graphic card that is new with
windows vista, but am I loosing this ram in the games or is it not important?

i have an asus F3JM AK022H with geforcego7600 (512mo dedicated memory) and
2go RAM.

In my graphic card properties it's noticed that i have 512mo dedicated video
memory, 0mo system memory, 767mo shared system video memory and 1279mo total
graphic memory (the 512 of my GC and the 767 "shared system video memory")

So my question is : do I loose those 767mo of RAM during my games? (i don't
think my CG needs more memory since it already has 512mo dedicated), and I
have only 2go RAM so if I loose 767mo i don't have much RAM left.
And can I change this setting or disable it?

Thank you for the help you could bring me!

[Mark L. Ferguson]

During gaming, the best possible use for your Ram is to help your video.

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Mark L. Ferguson
..

"cochdu21" <cochdu21@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:8A9799E6-EE9C-4059-85F5-70162D8E69A2@microsoft.com...
> hello, first i'd like you to excuse my english because i'm french.
>
> so i wanted to know what is "shared system video memory" and how to remove
> it?
> I learned it was RAM that was used to help the graphic card that is new
> with
> windows vista, but am I loosing this ram in the games or is it not
> important?
>
> i have an asus F3JM AK022H with geforcego7600 (512mo dedicated memory) and
> 2go RAM.
>
> In my graphic card properties it's noticed that i have 512mo dedicated
> video
> memory, 0mo system memory, 767mo shared system video memory and 1279mo
> total
> graphic memory (the 512 of my GC and the 767 "shared system video memory")
>
> So my question is : do I loose those 767mo of RAM during my games? (i
> don't
> think my CG needs more memory since it already has 512mo dedicated), and I
> have only 2go RAM so if I loose 767mo i don't have much RAM left.
> And can I change this setting or disable it?
>
> Thank you for the help you could bring me!

[cochdu21]

yes I know ram is used to help video, but it's not the same kind as graphic
card memory.
so i wanted to know if my ram considered as "shared system video memory" was
really usefull and what is the difference between that ram and the rest of my
ram (i have 2go and 767mo are considered shared)
so will my computer be more fast if all my ram was used as normal ram and
not as memory to ease my graphic card?





"Mark L. Ferguson" wrote:

> During gaming, the best possible use for your Ram is to help your video.
>
> --
> Was this helpful? Then click the Ratings button. Voting helps the web
> interface.
> http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales...eAPostAsAnswer
> Mark L. Ferguson

[Mark L. Ferguson]

You did not ask if the 'system' would go faster, you asked if the game would
do better. Games do better with more video ram. As I told you before, the
best use of the ram you have is for video, as far as games go. If you were
talking about working a spreadsheet calculation, the opposite would be true.
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Mark L. Ferguson
..

"cochdu21" <cochdu21@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:A8EC55E4-88E0-4CFC-A1BF-6EA8F8870A65@microsoft.com...
> yes I know ram is used to help video, but it's not the same kind as
> graphic
> card memory.
> so i wanted to know if my ram considered as "shared system video memory"
> was
> really usefull and what is the difference between that ram and the rest of
> my
> ram (i have 2go and 767mo are considered shared)
> so will my computer be more fast if all my ram was used as normal ram and
> not as memory to ease my graphic card?
>
>
>
>
>
> "Mark L. Ferguson" wrote:
>
>> During gaming, the best possible use for your Ram is to help your video.
>>
>> --
>> Was this helpful? Then click the Ratings button. Voting helps the web
>> interface.
>> http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales...eAPostAsAnswer
>> Mark L. Ferguson
>

[cochdu21]

ok thank you for your fast answers.
and can you tell me how i can change this setting to increase/decrease the
shared system video memory to look how it is in game (because if the higher
the better, why is it set only at 767mo instead i have 2go? what about the
ram left when I play?)
I already tried to look for something in my bios but there is no option for
it.


"Mark L. Ferguson" wrote:

> You did not ask if the 'system' would go faster, you asked if the game would
> do better. Games do better with more video ram. As I told you before, the
> best use of the ram you have is for video, as far as games go. If you were
> talking about working a spreadsheet calculation, the opposite would be true.
> --
> Was this helpful? Then click the Ratings button. Voting helps the web
> interface.
> http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales...eAPostAsAnswer
> Mark L. Ferguson

[Charlie Tame]

Mark L. Ferguson wrote:
> You did not ask if the 'system' would go faster, you asked if the game
> would do better. Games do better with more video ram. As I told you
> before, the best use of the ram you have is for video, as far as games
> go. If you were talking about working a spreadsheet calculation, the
> opposite would be true.


There is not much info on the NVidia FAQ about this that I could see,
buy I suspect that either the card driver or Vista can change this
allocation dynamically. I have not seen a way for the user to set it.


I suspect that "Shared" is intended to mean "Shared", not "Stolen".

Google did find this post in a forum at techarena

> I will do my best to clear this up for people as it greatly concerned me as well. I was using Vista 32bit with 2Gb of ram. My system was sharing 756Mb of my ram to Video and with some lazy research I found that 64bit Vista would allow for more ram to be used...so I upgraded to 64bit and bought another 2Gb of ram (4Gb total). Now my shared memory is 1780Mb. I nearly threw the PC out of the window. Well, forums all over say a million different things so I swallowed my pride and readied my Visa and called Microsoft Technical Support. (it ended up not costing me)
>
> Vista does share a large chunk of your system memory for Video Purposes. However, Vista does not work the same way we are used to with onboard video solutions. Shared memory in Vista does not mean the memory is gone purely to video. In fact, it is hardly ever used for video purposes unless you do a lot of modeling, rendering, or play games at extremely high settings. (or just have a very low end video card) The memory is primarily still used for every day computer useage which is why you do not notice any slowdown on your system, and if you have, it's highly unlikely that it is because your memory is being shared. I wish I could explain it better but if this doesn't ease your concerns you can always call them...they seem to love talking about how wonderful they're memory design is.

[Mark L. Ferguson]

There is no setting for it. Vista allocates a percentage, based on what you
have, and what is available. Adding Ram is never bad. Probably the cheapest
way to speed it up is to add a Flash ram thumb drive, and use "readyBoost"
for Virtual Memory.

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Mark L. Ferguson
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"cochdu21" <cochdu21@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:6639A8AA-238E-4C1E-B3AF-E3BB5FB6AADA@microsoft.com...
> ok thank you for your fast answers.
> and can you tell me how i can change this setting to increase/decrease the
> shared system video memory to look how it is in game (because if the
> higher
> the better, why is it set only at 767mo instead i have 2go? what about the
> ram left when I play?)
> I already tried to look for something in my bios but there is no option
> for
> it.
>
>
> "Mark L. Ferguson" wrote:
>
>> You did not ask if the 'system' would go faster, you asked if the game
>> would
>> do better. Games do better with more video ram. As I told you before, the
>> best use of the ram you have is for video, as far as games go. If you
>> were
>> talking about working a spreadsheet calculation, the opposite would be
>> true.
>> --
>> Was this helpful? Then click the Ratings button. Voting helps the web
>> interface.
>> http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales...eAPostAsAnswer
>> Mark L. Ferguson
>

[sun_project4444]

Why Vista would share system memory to inproove video quality. The
system RAM will be allays slowes that video RAM. I have 2x512
dual-chanel 800Mhz banks, and the video memory is 256 @ 1400Mhz. And
what is the diferens.
This thing only obstruct for good adapters like 8800, 9800. What
graphics will be with 9800 with 1GB @ 2 Ghz, what can help thus shared
system memory for example 768 MB @ 800 MHZ.
Someone who maded this function must tell for everybody how to disable
this.
Excuse me from Microsoft development but this is the true.


--
sun_project4444
Posted via http://www.vistaheads.com

[danielgr]

There is no setting for it. Vista allocates a percentage, based on what you
have, and what is available. Adding Ram is never bad. Probably the cheapest
way to speed it up is to add a Flash ram thumb drive, and use "readyBoost"
for Virtual Memory.

Well, it might not be a bad thing if you have plenty of RAM and don't know what to do with it. I'm tired of reading everywhere "it's shared so it won't harm you".
Well, maybe I'm not as skilled as others, but it does harm me. For example, I really do an extended use of Photoshop, and one of the main reasons why I upgraded my PC is because I wanted to simultaneous open as many photos as I wanted without running out of RAM.
Together with the new PC, I decided to give Vista a try, and now I'm facing this "video-sharing" problem. Indeed, I have to tell Photoshop how much of the video memory it can take for itself, and that number is limited by the video system that Windows show it as "available". In case Vista would suddenly give him some more if needed, I've just tried to use it all, and I do run out of memory (as much as Photoshop is concerned, but I don't care about other apps) when I reach the maximum memory I gave it.

So, at least me, I would like to be able to tell Vista: "I bought 2 extra GB of RAM, but it doesn't mean you can share more of my RAM".

I would appreciated if either Microsoft of NVIDIA provided a solution for customers instead of looking for excuses. If Vista can allocate "shared memory" depending on the total RAM, it can also let you allocate what you want in the first place. If they are concerned about Aero running out of juice, they can simply provide two settings:

• default : Vista automatically determines shared video for you (recommended)"
• advanced : Set share-video memory manually (min: XXX MB)

My PC

• Mainboard: GA-E7AUM-DS2H (Nvidia730i)
• Proc : Intel Q9450
• Graphics : Integrated Geforce 9400
• Memory: 4GB PC2-6400 (DDR2 800)

My Vista-Memory Profile:

• Physical Memory = 2.557 MB
• Video System Memory = 64 MB
• Video Dedicated Memory = 256 MB (I set this one myself in the BIOS)
• Video Shared Memory = 959 MB
• Total Video Memory = 1279 MB
• Graphics Drivers version : 180.48

[Jim Moriarty]

danielgr <danielgr.3kgavc@DoNotSpam.com> wrote:

>
>Mark L. Ferguson;3742890 Wrote:
>> There is no setting for it. Vista allocates a percentage, based on what
>> you
>> have, and what is available. *Adding Ram is never bad*. Probably the
>> cheapest
>> way to speed it up is to add a Flash ram thumb drive, and use
>> "readyBoost"
>> for Virtual Memory.
>>
>Well, it might not be a bad thing if you have plenty of RAM and don't
>know what to do with it. I'm tired of reading everywhere "it's shared so
>it won't harm you".
>Well, maybe I'm not as skilled as others, but *it does harm me*. For
>example, I really do an extended use of *Photoshop*, and one of the main
>reasons why I upgraded my PC is because I wanted to simultaneous open as
>many photos as I wanted without running out of RAM.
>Together with the new PC, I decided to give Vista a try, and now I'm
>facing this "video-sharing" problem. Indeed, I have to tell Photoshop
>how much of the video memory it can take for itself, and that number is
>limited by the video system that Windows show it as "available". In case
>Vista would suddenly give him some more if needed, I've just tried to
>use it all, and I do run out of memory (as much as Photoshop is
>concerned, but I don't care about other apps) when I reach the maximum
>memory I gave it.
>
>So, at least me, *I would like to be able to tell Vista*: "I bought 2
>extra GB of RAM, but it doesn't mean you can share more of my RAM".
>
>I would appreciated if either Microsoft of NVIDIA provided *a solution
>for customers* instead of looking for excuses. If Vista can allocate
>"shared memory" depending on the total RAM, it can also let you allocate
>what you want in the first place. If they are concerned about Aero
>running out of juice, they can simply provide two settings:
>
>- *default* : Vista automatically determines shared video for you
> (recommended)"
>- advanced : Set share-video memory manually (min: XXX MB)
>
>
>My PC
>
>- Mainboard: GA-E7AUM-DS2H (Nvidia730i)
>- Proc : Intel Q9450
>- Graphics : Integrated Geforce 9400
>- Memory: 4GB PC2-6400 (DDR2 800)
>
>
>My Vista-Memory Profile:
>
>- Physical Memory = 2.557 MB
>- Video System Memory = 64 MB
>- Video Dedicated Memory = 256 MB (I set this one myself in the
> BIOS)
>- Video Shared Memory = 959 MB
>- Total Video Memory = 1279 MB
>- Graphics Drivers version : 180.48

Get a REAL video card that has a ton of RAM and disable your onboard
video.

THEN cry about your RAM.

I'm running Photoshop CS3 here on a machine that has 3GB of RAM and a
video card that only has 256k of its own RAM - NO RAM complaints at
all.

[danielgr]

Get a REAL video card that has a ton of RAM and disable your onboard
video.

THEN cry about your RAM.

I'm running Photoshop CS3 here on a machine that has 3GB of RAM and a
video card that only has 256k of its own RAM - NO RAM complaints at
all.

Well, if you'd read any of other people's problems with Vista shared memory, you'd know that it doesn't matter if you have a discrete card or an integrated one: vista "always" allocated shared system memory to graphics.

Then, you won't ever have a memory problem with Photoshop if you don't use it. Open a dozen typical D-SLR photos together and you'll run out of it. Get 5 of those same pictures to make a panorama and you'll run out of it, etc.
I don't need a gamer's graphics card, and I don't need more video RAM, what I need is to use my RAM the way I'd like to, and I certainly don't need 1.2GB for video...

Right now the only thing I could do to increase my available memory is going over 4GB of system RAM, but then I'd need Vista 64, and I use quite a lot of programs that do not like 64-bit OS...
Of course, I may simply go back to XP, which is a pity because I do like Vista for many reasons.

[critic]

I've got 64bit Vista here are the video stats
Display adapter type NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX
Total available graphics memory 2558 MB
Dedicated graphics memory 512 MB
Dedicated system memory 0 MB
Shared system memory 2046 MB
Display adapter driver version 7.15.11.8048
Primary monitor resolution 1280x1024
DirectX version DirectX 10

and memory
Total amount of system memory 6.00 GB RAM

I can still fill all 6 GB of memory with data or a bit more than 4 GB since
vista needs one and a bit for it to work. So it would seem that you need to
speak to the Photoshop people about memory detection. A downside is that even
with all that memory GTA IV only sees the 512 MB that sits on the card not
the extra 2 GB, which would be nice. It would seem that the shared memory is
there for aero to work with cards that don't have enough memory but offer the
functions needed to run it.

[danielgr]

I've got 64bit Vista here are the video stats
Display adapter type NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX
Total available graphics memory 2558 MB
Dedicated graphics memory 512 MB
Dedicated system memory 0 MB
Shared system memory 2046 MB
Display adapter driver version 7.15.11.8048
Primary monitor resolution 1280x1024
DirectX version DirectX 10

and memory
Total amount of system memory 6.00 GB RAM

I can still fill all 6 GB of memory with data or a bit more than 4 GB since
vista needs one and a bit for it to work. So it would seem that you need to
speak to the Photoshop people about memory detection. A downside is that even
with all that memory GTA IV only sees the 512 MB that sits on the card not
the extra 2 GB, which would be nice. It would seem that the shared memory is
there for aero to work with cards that don't have enough memory but offer the
functions needed to run it.

Yeah well, actually, that's how I ended up "solving" my problem. Simply bought 4 more GB of RAM and installed Vista64. Of course, that's not what I wanted but it seems that there is nothing else that can be done (i.e. to be able to chose the ammount of Shared video RAM).
I wonder if Microsoft has address this "requirement" in Windows 7, or if the system will still get to chose for you how much RAM it wants to dedicate to your graphics...