Adding Dedicated Video RAM

[Jstagzsr]

 

so i was wondering something.. i "added" ram to my integrated graphics.. The value has changed from 128mb to 15xxmb, and ive had it up to 4096mb.. but my qyestion is, what is this actually changing? is just the displayed value changed? is the number sent to games changed? or did this actually allocate real physical memory from RAM to video RAM? i tested it out on every game i own... changed all the graphics settings to "high" or "ultra" and it gets laggy and choppy..  I dont think its my processor or System RAM, so i think even though the value of the video ram changed in adapter properties, i dont think it is actually using anything more than the 128mb of ram that was originally there..

 

Run.. regedit... local machine/ software/ Intel.. right click on intel.. new/ key.. Rename that new folder "GMM" (all caps, no quotes).. in the GMM folder, right click in the box to the right that shows the contents of the folders, new/ DWORD (32 bit) value.. rename that file "DedicatedSegmentSize" (just as written there, no spaces, first letter of each word capital, no quotes).. Double click "DedicatedSegmentSize" where it says "value Data" enter a number....

( the exact value you enter is NOT the value of ram that you want... i entered 1024 and it gave me 4096mb.. i entered 512 and it gave me 1566mb.. havent figured that part out yet why it does that..)

 

thats what i did.

 

ive read that this does NOT work on integrated graphics 400 or lower.. and does NOT work on AMD integrated graphics.. works ONLY on intel.

if anyone has any input that would be great.. or if anyone knows what that is actually doing, it would be awesome..

 

thanks in advance everyone..

 

lenovo ideapad 320 15iap

windows 10 x64

quad core 1.1 - 2.5ghz

8GB ddr3 12800

Intel Integrated Graphics HD 505

[boey]

integrated graphics use system ram as video memory, but if you didn't actually physically add more sticks of ram, i'd think that it's just changing the displayed value and not the actual value.

[Jstagzsr]

1 minute ago, _d0nut said:

integrated graphics use system ram as video memory, but if you didn't actually physically add more sticks of ram, i'd think that it's just changing the displayed value and not the actual value.

i did add more system ram. this laptop only has one slot which is irritating, but it came with 4gb and i replaced that one stick with an 8GB stick..
and if the videoram uses system ram then it seems like it would be easy to upgrade it, but this method is the only one ive found that actually works.. but my games arent acting like theres 4gb of videoram.. i AM able to run some games that didnt used to even run at all.. thats a plus..

 

so you think its not actually changing the amount of vram being used? do you know of that process i listed? or is that an educated guess?
 

[boey]

I did some research, and I [pretty sure what you're doing is just allocating more of your system RAM to be used by the integrated graphics as VRAM. 

[Jstagzsr]

3 minutes ago, _d0nut said:

I did some research, and I [pretty sure what you're doing is just allocating more of your system RAM to be used by the integrated graphics as VRAM. 

yeah, thats exactly what i did.. so it IS actually working? There really is physical real ram being used by my graphics card in the amount i changed it to?

[boey]

2 minutes ago, Jstagzsr said:

yeah, thats exactly what i did.. so it IS actually working? There really is physical real ram being used by my graphics card in the amount i changed it to?

Well, yeah. But I'm not sure if the RAM allocated to the graphics will not be able to be used as regular RAM.(Like if you were to allocate all 8GB, will the game crash because all the ram is allocated to the iGPU and none is allocated for normal use)

[Spotty]

The integrated graphics built inside your CPU utilises your system memory as video memory. Since it doesn't have its own dedicated vram like a proper graphics card, it has to share memory with the rest of the system. If you assign 1gb of ram to the integrated graphics, that's 1gb of ram less the rest of the system can use as it's reserved for the integrated graphics.

 

It appears you have an Apollo lake CPU. They are low powered CPUs designed for very basic systems like a basic all in one. The reason your games perform poorly when you are playing on high settings is because the CPU is too weak, not because of a lack of video memory. Continuously reserving more and more ram to the graphics will not make it perform better, and if you keep increasing the amount of ram reserved for the integrated graphics, you will eventually start to run out of accessible system memory.

[Jstagzsr]

Just now, _d0nut said:

Well, yeah. But I'm not sure if the RAM allocated to the graphics will not be able to be used as regular RAM.(Like if you were to allocate all 8GB, will the game crash because all the ram is allocated to the iGPU and none is allocated for normal use)

thats why i changed it from 4096 back to 1566.. i didnt want to use half my ram as vram and not be able to have the full 8gb (or close to it) usable by everything else i do with my computer besides gaming.. i figured it would dedicate the amount listed to the graphics card and it wouldnt be available for regular use.. im not 100% sure on all that. i just wanted to make sure it was actually doing what i thought it was.. seeing SO many videos and posts about fooling games into thinking theres more vram than there is so they can run has made me kinda paranoid that its just some illusion and its not really working. lol.
 

[Jstagzsr]

1 minute ago, Spotty said:

The integrated graphics built inside your CPU utilises your system memory as video memory. Since it doesn't have its own dedicated vram like a proper graphics card, it has to share memory with the rest of the system. If you assign 1gb of ram to the integrated graphics, that's 1gb of ram less the rest of the system can use as it's reserved for the integrated graphics.

 

It appears you have an Apollo lake CPU. They are low powered CPUs designed for very basic systems like a basic all in one. The reason your games perform poorly when you are playing on high settings is because the CPU is too weak, not because of a lack of video memory. Continuously reserving more and more ram to the graphics will not make it perform better, and if you keep increasing the amount of ram reserved for the integrated graphics, you will eventually start to run out of accessible system memory.

yeah thats kinda what i figured with the ram.. although im not sure about the processor part.. it turbos to 2.5ghz.. id think thats enough to get by with games on highish settings.. i HATE that you cant upgrade processors in laptops.. but it is what it is. the only reason i game on this laptop is because i dont have a gaming desktop. but im in the process of getting one. im just trying to tweak what i got to work how i want in the meantime.

[Spotty]

What games are you trying to play?

[Jurrunio]

dedicating memory to be video memory should only be used when whatever apps you run restricts function based on amount of detected video memory. All video memory used by an integrated graphics chip comes from the main system memory, so there wont be speed differences no matter you run out of video memory space, unlike graphics cards. All GPUs, on a card or in the CPU, will take system memory as video memory if needed, so just because your dedicated video memory amount is low wont slow down the GPU at all. If it's slow, blame the weak GPU itself.

[Jurrunio]

4 minutes ago, Jstagzsr said:

id think thats enough to get by with games on highish settings.

I hope that doesnt include any 3D game.

[Jstagzsr]

5 minutes ago, Spotty said:

What games are you trying to play?

World of warcraft, call of duty, starcraft, emulated games, combat arms, command and conquer, halo 1, counter strike, left for dead..
those all play and work and are fine, UNLESS i run them at high graphics settings..

 

[Jstagzsr]

7 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

I hope that doesnt include any 3D game.

im not sure

[Jurrunio]

3 minutes ago, Jstagzsr said:

im not sure

this is the N4200 CPU right? Does it have Radeon 530 graphics?

[Jstagzsr]

Just now, Jurrunio said:

this is the N4200 CPU right? Does it have Radeon 530 graphics?

yes on the cpu. no on the graphics... intel integrated hd graphics 505. from what ive read that process i posted wont work on anything but intel integrated graphics.

[Spotty]

6 minutes ago, Jstagzsr said:

World of warcraft, call of duty, starcraft, emulated games, combat arms, command and conquer, halo 1, counter strike, left for dead..
those all play and work and are fine, UNLESS i run them at high graphics settings..

Your CPU isn't powerful enough to game on high settings.

Just run the games on low or medium settings. 

 

3 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

this is the N4200 CPU right? Does it have Radeon 530 graphics?

Intel hd505 integrated graphics

 

1 hour ago, Jstagzsr said:

Intel Integrated Graphics HD 505

[Jurrunio]

1 minute ago, Spotty said:

Intel hd505 integrated graphics

4 minutes ago, Jstagzsr said:

yes on the cpu. no on the graphics... intel integrated hd graphics 505. from what ive read that process i posted wont work on anything but intel integrated graphics.

just asking because that Radeon dGPU is listed on Lenovo's site. Of course it's possible they made a cheaper version without it and sold it.

[Jstagzsr]

1 minute ago, Jurrunio said:

just asking because that Radeon dGPU is listed on Lenovo's site. Of course it's possible they made a cheaper version without it and sold it.

ive never even seen a radeon version of this computer.. as far as i know theres only 2 variations.. mine and one with an i5 that has nvidia graphics

[Jstagzsr]

4 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Your CPU isn't powerful enough to game on high settings.

Just run the games on low or medium settings. 

 

Intel hd505 integrated graphics

 

yeah i do run them on medium or a mixture of low and high depending on what it is.. i was just hoping id be able to squeeze out a little extra