dv9500t and nVidia 8600GS memory

Hello.. I need some help here...
I recently bought a new dv9500t Notebook with 2GB of System ram and 512MB of Video memory (at the time of purchase I had the option of selecting 384MB or 512MB). Now I have my notebook but whenever I go to System information (all programs/accessories/system tools/System information) under components/Display I get that my adapter only have 256MB of Ram.
Someone told me that this system uses discrete tech so it shares the other part with my main system memory (2Gb of ram).
But, if that's true why I had the option of selecting 384MB or 512MB and why my other Notebook a dv9000 with a 7600Go card shows 512MB of ram.
One of the HP representatives told me to flash my bios with one he provided me (the one shown on Drivers & support page corresponding to my model (dv9500t) which is F.08 and my notebook came with F.09
well I did it, but that didn't solve anything, the System information keeps showing 256MB of adapter memory with the only difference that now I have an older Bios installed on my Notebook And I can't find the F.09 anywhere...

What's the purpose of offering 384 or 512MB of video memory if either way It's sharing the other part with the main system memory.

A quote from Hp's website says:
"The NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) 8600M GS delivers unparalleled levels of graphics realism and performance. If configured with the 1GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm), there will be 256MB dedicated memory and up to 255MB shared memory. If configured with the 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm), there will be 256MB dedicated memory and up to 667MB shared memory"

So could someone explain to me why I have the option of choosing only 1GB of main memory and a nVidia 8600GS card with 512MB of video ram. ?!?

Any help regarding this matter would be truely appreciated since on HP don't know nothing about it......
Thanks

 

I believe your video card has 256mb of dedicated memory, and up to 512mb of total (dedicated + shared) memory. The dv9000t could be configured with a dedicated 512mb 7600 (which was a waste of money, as it performed exactly the same as the 256mb version), which is why that one shows the full 512mb. The 384mb option on the dv9500t has less dedicated memory (I believe only 128mb), if I'm not mistaken, and can only share up to a total of 384mb.

 

First off, the 384MB and 512MB options you saw were for different gpus. The 8400M GS is the 384MB unit, the 8600M GS is 512MB.

The 8600M GS has 256MB of it's own ram (dedicated), the rest is taken dynamically from system ram via TurboCache. How much it can take depends on the total amount of system ram.

The Go 7600 had 512MB of it's own ram (dedicated), and had no TurboCache ability.


EDIT: Odin beat me to it.

 

wow...
Thank you both for your fast response and clearing up this issue....
I've been talking to HP for 3 days now... and they could't give me any satisfactory answer... one of their representative even sent me a Bios for dv9500t notebooks with AMD processors.... (I almost killed brand new notebook)

I just need to find the F.09 bios back.... on Hp's site they only have it up to F.08A...... strange since I had F.09 installed....
And if someone with a dv9500t and a 8400GS with 384MB could please verify the amount of dedicated ram this card has I would greatly appreciate it...
Just run msinfo32.exe and go under "components/display/adapter ram"

Thanks

 

I agree that this was very misleading - I expected to have 512MB dedicated VRAM and I got 256MB with 768 shared (I have 4GB of system memory). They should just call it 256MB with TurboCache and be done with it.

 

dv9500t with 8400GS video shows 128mb

 

Thank you very much...

 

yes very misleading and I wonder if there are grounds for legal measures! they should provide detailed specs of what theyre offering and they clearly have not here.

 

Well, they never said that all of the memory was dedicated, like some manufacturers do. They merely stated the total amount of possible VRAM, which was accurate, so there's no real legal recourse.

 

If you bought it online, there's a link next to each component "help me decide" which displays more detail.

It does describe all of this. In detail.

 

I certainly do see Pir8's point.

HP/Nvidia may have invented a new trend in dedicated video specifications. Don't mention the actual dedicated memory, just hype the total with/potential shared memory as native and move the actual specs to the fine print (in this case, the "tell me more" section).