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    Intel GMA 950 Max video memory

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by Delslayer, Apr 19, 2010.

  1. Delslayer

    Delslayer Notebook Enthusiast

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    My HP dv6244us has:
    • Windows 7 (32bit)
    • Intel Centrino Duo T5200 @1.6 Ghz
    • 4 Gb RAM (2.99 usable)
    • Intel GMA 950


    In regards to the Intel GMA 950, I'm a bit confused about its video memory usage. I know that it dynamically allocates memory, and according to what information I could find via Google search, at most, it should be able to allocate up to 256 MB of video memory. When I go into BIOS however, it lists the video memory size at 128 MB, and when I select this it give me the option to either leave it at 128 MB or change it to 64 MB. I assume that these values are the maximum amount of video memory that the card will allocate, but I'm a bit unsure of whether or not that is accurate. If it is in fact the maximum amount of video memory that the card will allocate, I'm wondering why I'm unable to change that to, or at the very least closer to, 256 MB.

    It may also be worth noting that stock, my laptop had 1 GB of memory and I recently upped it to 4 GB (2.99 GB with the 32bit OS). However, 128 MB has always been the highest value for video memory shown in BIOS, so Upping the RAM had not effect on the selectable values.

    tl;dr

    • In BIOS, when it tells me 128 MB for video memory, is that the maximum video memory allocatable by the card?
    • If so, why am I able to turn this down to 64 MB and not up, closer to the cards maximum of 256 MB?
    • If not, what does the video memory value being set to 128 MB in BIOS actually mean?
     
    Delslayer, Apr 19, 2010
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  2. Angelic

    Angelic Kickin' back :3

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    According to the Intel website, the max is 224 mb. The setting you're referring to may just be how much memory it uses by default. It probably ramps up to 224 mb when it's needed, automatically. It could also be a BIOS limitation set by HP. You could call or check HP's website and see if you can get an updated BIOS, but that seems unlikely. But I wouldn't worry too much about it, the extra memory won't affect performance much, the chip is so weak anyway.
     
    Angelic, Apr 19, 2010
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  3. Delslayer

    Delslayer Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thank you for clearing that up for me.
     
    Delslayer, Apr 19, 2010
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  4. Angelic

    Angelic Kickin' back :3

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    Not really 100% on that, but it's nothing to worry about to be honest. ^_^
     
    Angelic, Apr 19, 2010
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  5. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Yeah, I hate to say it but Angelic hit it right on the head...that card is never going to benefit from more RAM.

    It's too weak. It's great for non-gaming usage, but that is it really.

    Also just so you know, the card is not going to allocate much RAM at all during non-gaming use. When I had the GMA 950 in one of my laptops, never did it allocate more than 16MB of VRAM during non-gaming.
     
    Greg, Apr 19, 2010
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