Can i use urdinary RAM to compensate RAM on the graphics card?

[Maximus I]

I have an old 4mb graphics card, and i wonder if anyone know of a program that emulates more graphics ram by using the ordinary RAM??

[tjaymadison]

Some systems -- like Compaq and HP I think -- implement "shared" video memory, where the graphics processor can use some of the main system RAM. I think this has to be designed into a motherboard that has an integrated video chip on the board, and possibly configured via the BIOS. Some older graphics cards had empty sockets for adding special video RAM chips, but that might be almost as expensive as just replacing the card altogether. You didn't say -- is the card PCI, AGP, or ISA?

[Randy_tx]

Bingo TJ.......by the time you can FIND additional video ram (assuming the card has empty sockets) you can usually only add in one mb modules and by that time you could find an 8 mb vid card for the same money. I assume it's an ISA or PCI card since it is "old" and 4 mb.

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"As hard as a rock & dumb as a brick"...Windows CEMeNT

[This message has been edited by Randy_tx (edited 03-26-2001).]

[Maximus I]

It´s a PCI card.
I just figured, since you can manipulate ordinary ram to show more ram than is installed on the system, it would be possible to manipulate graphics ram also.

It does not matter if it will work well or not, only that you can start a program or game that needs 64MB for example.

This is just a temporary sulotion.


(Thanks to all the clever users on this board)
http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

[mjc]

More memory than you have installed is called 'virtual memmory' also called swapfile, and it is on your hard drive. If you got a game that ran by swapping video memory to the hard drive it would have a frame rate of about 2 or 3 fps.

The onboard video that shares system memory does so by using part of the existing RAM for video memory but it too has perfomance issuse, usually makes part of the program use the swapfile.

Dedicated video memory is the fastest way to go, but even if your card is capable of adding more memory, it would be easier and cheaper to get a new card.

If you are talking about a game that needs 64MB of texture memory to run then you need to cut back a little on the resolution and configure the textures (usually in the games setup options) to something smaller. It may not be the prettiest picture but at least you'll be able to play........


TJ, not just HP and the like, but almost any MOBO with onboard video uses some sort of memory sharing (i810 chipset boards are everywhere)
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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/highrise/11/index.htm)

Do Vulcans even have to debug?

[This message has been edited by mjc (edited 03-28-2001).]

[Randy_tx]

So far I've only seen one board out with "on-board" Video that Isolates the RAM memory to the vid chip.....Chaintech CT-7AIV2 has a on board 32MB TNT-2 AGPchip that doesn't share any RAM memory.

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"As hard as a rock & dumb as a brick"...Windows CEMeNT

[sea69]

yes.. and not all compaq's or Hp's have this onboard by default.. its a matter if you are uneducated enough to purchase one like that !! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

and yes.. Randy as usual, you are correct my compaq has Nvidia TNT-2 32MB's and there is no onboard or shared/emulated anything.. this card has its own chip.(ram)

** btw- another way you can tell if your card is onboard or not.. The other machine (not mine ) that I was working on had 64MB's sdram installed. However, when you accesss system information is states that it has only 56Mb's. This is because 8MB's of the sdram (system) is reserved for video.
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"Remember your 'unique'... just like everyone else!"


[This message has been edited by sea69 (edited 03-30-2001).]