# How to change RAM amount reservd for VGA



## Jags (Oct 27, 2005)

i have got an AMD3200+ on a gigabyte board .. 

when i boot the PC, the POST screen shows my 256 MB RAM as:
192 + 64 (reserved)

after a bit of searching i came to know that the "reserved" is actually reserved for VGA.. 

can i change this reserved value?

if yes. how?

thx


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## Tech&ME (Oct 27, 2005)

YES you can change this reserved amount of RAM. Enter the BIOS/CMOS and change the onboard VGA. 

I cannot give you the exact procedure since all BIOS/CMOS screen has a different menu now-a-days. If you can post which Motherboard you have or which version of BIOS/CMOS you have, I can try to give you the exact procedure.

Better find the item inside the submenu of your BIOS yourself and configure it accourding to your taste. But remember to atleast keep it at 32 MBs. and not below it.

But this is not recommended.


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## Jags (Oct 28, 2005)

i have AWARD BIOS .. and i couldnt find any such option..  

moreover why shud this value not be set below 32 MB? earlier i had a P3 and the "reserved" RAM was only 1 MB.. 
is it an AMD policy?

what adverse effects would it have if i set it too low.. say 10 MB?

PS: the primary reason i want to decrease it is to tweak system performance.. i hardly feel like working on an AMD3200


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## azhararmar (Oct 28, 2005)

Jags said:
			
		

> i have AWARD BIOS .. and i couldnt find any such option..
> 
> moreover why shud this value not be set below 32 MB? earlier i had a P3 and the "reserved" RAM was only 1 MB..
> is it an AMD policy?
> ...



It is not the Policies or any other thing... See Dude.. Maximum Games and some of the Softwares Requires good Graphics card which Nowadays Starts from 32 MB. First of All the VGA Shared Memory Depends on Motherboard Not Processor. It has Nothing to Do with Both Intel and AMD Processors.. And you have mentioned that your Earlier PC. of Intel P3 took only 1 MB Shared memory for your Onboard VGA.. your P3 Motherboard wont support Shared Memory more then 8 MB. if you do want to change your Shared Memory from 64 Mb to the Least.. then Go to BIOS/SETUP and Check for the Option VGA Shard Memory... or it may be anything Related to VGA.. and infront it will be written [64 MB, 32 MB, 16 MB, 8 MB] Select 8 Mb coz that will be the least shared memory on new motherboards be it intel or AMD... if you want the Shared Memory to be Zero.. then Buy an AGP or PCX Card...


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## Tech&ME (Oct 28, 2005)

azhararmar said:
			
		

> Jags said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



YES what @azhararmar said is correct and this is the reason I adviced you to not set the VGA below 32 MB but if you want you can still do it.

And this again does not enhance your PC performance by any means this will only degrade your gaming performance.


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## ammusk (Oct 28, 2005)

is there a way is can be on a notebook ?? i searched in the bios but no options . i have ASUS intel centrino


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## dabster (Oct 29, 2005)

I too am using the Gigabyte motherboard, And since I am not a pure gamer I want to Reduce the Shared Memory used,So that extra 32 MB is freed for my applications.
There is no option to decrease the VGA aperture to less than 64MB in BIOS.I hve Award BIOS...Model is gigabyte K8MV800,
Onboard-Graphics card is Actually s3/VIA unigraphics.

Anybody comeup with a solution for this...


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## meet_raman (Oct 30, 2005)

dabster said:
			
		

> I too am using the Gigabyte motherboard, And since I am not a pure gamer I want to Reduce the Shared Memory used,So that extra 32 MB is freed for my applications.
> There is no option to decrease the VGA aperture to less than 64MB in BIOS.I hve Award BIOS...Model is gigabyte K8MV800,
> Onboard-Graphics card is Actually s3/VIA unigraphics.
> 
> Anybody comeup with a solution for this...


DITTO HERE!

ame problem... dont need gaming performance AT ALL.. and no option in BIOS.

anyone plzzzzzzzzz


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## meet_raman (Nov 1, 2005)

** BUMP **


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## meet_raman (Nov 2, 2005)

plz someone help......!


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## nphanindra (Nov 2, 2005)

To increase ur physical memory u dont have to decrease the VGA aperture size   
I have AMI-Bios and this is the way I increase/decrease my shared  memory.

1. Go to Bios by pressing <Del> 
2. Choose <PNP/PCI CONFIGURATION> frm Main menu of BIOS.
3. Configure <OnChip VGA frame buffer> between (8/16/32)MB......Dnt choose 'none' if u dont have Graphics card.       
Save and Exit

You can check ur available Physical Memory in Taskmanager

~Cheers


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