Shared Memory
- Thread starter Twist86
- Start date
me too i got exactly the same 
kookooshortman55
New Member
Haha me too. Could it be the shared system memory? Like, the video card has 512MB dedicated to graphics, but has 1791 MB available through the system? Can a GPU utilize system RAM? That's my only guess.
no it doesnt...my card has dedicated 512mb so does twists,Gareths card has 1gb.
were just unsure what the shared memory is for
your getting confused with intergrated graphics lawson
because thats what shared graphics do...NICK RAM lol
Twist86
Active Member
The new Microsoft Windows Vista Display Driver Model (WDDM) brings fundamental changes to the management of graphics memory in a system.
Prior to Windows Vista, graphics memory was reported by the graphics driver as a single number through the Display applet in the control panel. Some legacy APIs exposed two types of memory: local and non-local. However, these numbers were selected by the driver and were mostly inaccurate.
With the introduction of Windows Vista, the operating system is putting a much heavier load on the GPU than ever before. Overall system performance is now closely associated with the graphics subsystem performance and is directly affected by the amount of graphics memory available. Microsoft is enhancing how graphics memory is reported, so that end users can better understand the factors that directly impact the system performance. With WDDM, Windows Vista can accurately account for each of the graphics memory contributors and report available memory precisely through new APIs.
It's important for software running on Windows Vista to be able to accurately determine the amount of available graphics memory. WDDM manages the virtualization of graphics memory in itself and also ensures accurate reporting of various aspects of graphics memory. Application developers and software vendors are encouraged to take advantage of the DirectX 10 API for retrieving the accurate set of graphics memory values on systems that have WDDM drivers.
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/display/graphicsmemory.mspx
Calculation of Graphics Memory
This section provides a detailed explanation of how various memory numbers are calculated.
Total system memory
Total amount of system memory visible to the operating system. Memory allocated by the BIOS doesn’t appear in that amount. For example, a system with a 1-GB DIMM with a BIOS reserving 1 MB of memory will appear to have 1,023 MB of system memory.
Total system memory available for graphics use
Total amount of system memory that can be dedicated or shared to the GPU, calculated as:
TotalSystemMemoryAvailableForGraphics =
MAX((TotalSystemMemory - 512) / 2), 64MB)
So my thought is it doesn't do anything special for you...just shows a bigger number
From what I can read the GPU has access to it...but will never use it in the way we hoped
Prior to Windows Vista, graphics memory was reported by the graphics driver as a single number through the Display applet in the control panel. Some legacy APIs exposed two types of memory: local and non-local. However, these numbers were selected by the driver and were mostly inaccurate.
With the introduction of Windows Vista, the operating system is putting a much heavier load on the GPU than ever before. Overall system performance is now closely associated with the graphics subsystem performance and is directly affected by the amount of graphics memory available. Microsoft is enhancing how graphics memory is reported, so that end users can better understand the factors that directly impact the system performance. With WDDM, Windows Vista can accurately account for each of the graphics memory contributors and report available memory precisely through new APIs.
It's important for software running on Windows Vista to be able to accurately determine the amount of available graphics memory. WDDM manages the virtualization of graphics memory in itself and also ensures accurate reporting of various aspects of graphics memory. Application developers and software vendors are encouraged to take advantage of the DirectX 10 API for retrieving the accurate set of graphics memory values on systems that have WDDM drivers.
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/display/graphicsmemory.mspx
Calculation of Graphics Memory
This section provides a detailed explanation of how various memory numbers are calculated.
Total system memory
Total amount of system memory visible to the operating system. Memory allocated by the BIOS doesn’t appear in that amount. For example, a system with a 1-GB DIMM with a BIOS reserving 1 MB of memory will appear to have 1,023 MB of system memory.
Total system memory available for graphics use
Total amount of system memory that can be dedicated or shared to the GPU, calculated as:
TotalSystemMemoryAvailableForGraphics =
MAX((TotalSystemMemory - 512) / 2), 64MB)
So my thought is it doesn't do anything special for you...just shows a bigger number
From what I can read the GPU has access to it...but will never use it in the way we hoped
Last edited:
The new Microsoft Windows Vista Display Driver Model (WDDM) brings fundamental changes to the management of graphics memory in a system.
Prior to Windows Vista, graphics memory was reported by the graphics driver as a single number through the Display applet in the control panel. Some legacy APIs exposed two types of memory: local and non-local. However, these numbers were selected by the driver and were mostly inaccurate.
With the introduction of Windows Vista, the operating system is putting a much heavier load on the GPU than ever before. Overall system performance is now closely associated with the graphics subsystem performance and is directly affected by the amount of graphics memory available. Microsoft is enhancing how graphics memory is reported, so that end users can better understand the factors that directly impact the system performance. With WDDM, Windows Vista can accurately account for each of the graphics memory contributors and report available memory precisely through new APIs.
It's important for software running on Windows Vista to be able to accurately determine the amount of available graphics memory. WDDM manages the virtualization of graphics memory in itself and also ensures accurate reporting of various aspects of graphics memory. Application developers and software vendors are encouraged to take advantage of the DirectX 10 API for retrieving the accurate set of graphics memory values on systems that have WDDM drivers.
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/display/graphicsmemory.mspx
Calculation of Graphics Memory
This section provides a detailed explanation of how various memory numbers are calculated.
Total system memory
Total amount of system memory visible to the operating system. Memory allocated by the BIOS doesn’t appear in that amount. For example, a system with a 1-GB DIMM with a BIOS reserving 1 MB of memory will appear to have 1,023 MB of system memory.
Total system memory available for graphics use
Total amount of system memory that can be dedicated or shared to the GPU, calculated as:
TotalSystemMemoryAvailableForGraphics =
MAX((TotalSystemMemory - 512) / 2), 64MB)
So my thought is it doesn't do anything special for you...just shows a bigger number
From what I can read the GPU has access to it...but will never use it in the way we hoped
Thanks for the update
