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"Lost" memory

50Twuncle
50Twuncle Posts: 10,763 Forumite
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in Techie Stuff
My i7 Medion PC HAS 6Gb of RAM and a 3Gb Video card - yet it still shares 3Gb with the video

So, potentially, it has twice the video memory as system memory !!

Is there a work-around to regain this shared memory to speed up the PC ?
The BIOS does not allow any adjustment .....

Comments

  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,129 Forumite
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    What OS are you running, 32 bit or 64 bit? Windows 32 bit can only address about 3.5GB of RAM, regardless of the amount physically installed.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
  • 50Twuncle
    50Twuncle Posts: 10,763 Forumite
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    macman wrote: »
    What OS are you running, 32 bit or 64 bit? Windows 32 bit can only address about 3.5GB of RAM, regardless of the amount physically installed.

    I am running 64bit Win 7 professional
  • S0litaire
    S0litaire Posts: 3,535 Forumite
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    Are you sure the video card HAS 3Gb installed?

    It sounds like the graphics card is just reporting the amount of system RAM it's using.

    Is the graphics on the motherboard or is it a separate card?
    Laters

    Sol

    "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
  • 50Twuncle
    50Twuncle Posts: 10,763 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    S0litaire wrote: »
    Are you sure the video card HAS 3Gb installed?

    It sounds like the graphics card is just reporting the amount of system RAM it's using.

    Is the graphics on the motherboard or is it a separate card?

    The graphics card is a separate Nvidia Geforce GT 545
  • S0litaire
    S0litaire Posts: 3,535 Forumite
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    Weird! >_<

    Only thing i can think of is that the BIOS is somehow reserving the memory for an on-board graphics chip.

    Double check through the "Advanced BIOS" options see if their is an option to switch between PCIe and Onboard graphics.
    Laters

    Sol

    "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
  • 50Twuncle
    50Twuncle Posts: 10,763 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    S0litaire wrote: »
    Weird! >_<

    Only thing i can think of is that the BIOS is somehow reserving the memory for an on-board graphics chip.

    Double check through the "Advanced BIOS" options see if their is an option to switch between PCIe and Onboard graphics.

    No there is not - the BIOS is basic and tied down
    Hence my original question - whether there was a work around - from within windows perhaps ?
  • poppy10_2
    poppy10_2 Posts: 6,588 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Are you absolutely sure the card is using 3GB memory? It's very rare for all but the very top range graphics cards to use any more than 2GB - the GT 545 is an older mid-range OEM card that only uses 1GB in its standard config.

    Try running GPU-Z and look at the "Memory size" to see how much ram it actually has in use.

    http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/2244/techpowerup-gpu-z-v0-7-1/mirrors
    poppy10
  • S0litaire
    S0litaire Posts: 3,535 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    that model card came in 1.5Gb and 3Gb versions.
    Laters

    Sol

    "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
This discussion has been closed.
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