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    ATI HD 3200 Memory question

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by kratos88, Mar 5, 2009.

  1. kratos88

    kratos88 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey guys! I was wondering if you could help me out with this. My laptop is the following:

    HP dv4-1275mx
    AMD ZM-80 2.1 Ghz
    ATI HD 3200
    4 Gigs of Ram
    400 GB Harddrive
    Vista 64-bit

    I've read online that the amount of memory allocated to the 3200 can be changed from 256 MB (which mine shows under) up to 512 MB. When I check the BIOS it does not give me that option to change it. I've also read that HP tends to lock this sort of thing. Is there any way to go ahead and do this on my laptop?

    Thanks to those who do respond to my question in advance.
     
    kratos88, Mar 5, 2009
    #1
  2. namaiki

    namaiki "basically rocks" Super Moderator

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    This isn't answering your question, but why do you want to increase the amount of system RAM locked to your video card.

    I can assure you that there is no benefit in doing that.
     
    namaiki, Mar 5, 2009
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  3. kratos88

    kratos88 Notebook Enthusiast

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    From what I have read online, "supposedly" there is a slight increase. Of course there is an increase in heat. My reasoning is, if it is capable of doing so and is actually a feature on it that comes with it, why not use it?
     
    kratos88, Mar 5, 2009
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  4. namaiki

    namaiki "basically rocks" Super Moderator

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    There should not be any increase in heat, just loss of usable RAM to programs. Unfortunately, the 'integrated' ATI Radeon HD 3200 isn't powerful enough to take advantage of such a large amount of memory and even if it could it, system ram is slow (compared to dedicated video ram).
     
    namaiki, Mar 5, 2009
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  5. kratos88

    kratos88 Notebook Enthusiast

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    What you say is true, but I guess that its just my curiousity to see and try it out. Ram isnt the issue as task manager shows that i'm mostly barely using 1.2 gigs if that of Ram. I just want to try and see whats the difference. Any help in trying to do this would be great...
     
    kratos88, Mar 5, 2009
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  6. Bog

    Bog Losing it...

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    To add to namaiki's correct posts, IGPs that dynamically allocate VRAM do not have a user option to change the amount of RAM usable for the GPU. Just let the driver do the work for you.
     
    Bog, Mar 5, 2009
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  7. Tippey764

    Tippey764 Notebook Deity

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    In older HP's with Nvidia 6150's and 7150's you could change the ram ammount in the bios from 64mb to 128mb / 256mb.
     
    Tippey764, Mar 5, 2009
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  8. Bog

    Bog Losing it...

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    Same with an old Radeon 9100 IGP I used to have on an old Toshiba, but those days are long gone. :)
     
    Bog, Mar 5, 2009
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  9. kratos88

    kratos88 Notebook Enthusiast

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    hey guys thanks for the replies...not to say you guys are wrong or anything, but i did read that it was possible in these same forums, when i get the chance i'll post a link to it later on after working out...thanks by the way
     
    kratos88, Mar 5, 2009
    #9