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GT640 1gb, dxdiag says aprox total mem 2740

Tags:
  • Nvidia
  • DxDiag
  • Memory
  • Palit
  • Geforce
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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August 7, 2014 12:19:01 AM

I have a Palit nVidia Geforce GT640 1gb but I notice something strange. If I go to dxdiag -> display it says, Geforce GT 640, Aprox total memory 2740. I know that my video card has only 1gb but can someone explain me what does "aprox total memory" means?

More about : gt640 1gb dxdiag aprox total mem 2740

August 7, 2014 12:25:55 AM

The OS reserves some of the system RAM for video-RAM purpose (if you will run out of VRAM), so your VRAM amount (1GB) plus the reserved RAM make a total video memory of 2740 MB.
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August 7, 2014 12:32:04 AM

FunSurfer said:
The OS reserves some of the system RAM for video-RAM purpose (if you will run out of VRAM), so your VRAM amount (1GB) plus the reserved RAM make a total video memory of 2740 MB.


So does it mean this helps me more when I am playing any game or that extra memory "activates" only when I am playing games that requires a lot more VRAM and my original VRAM is just not enough?

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Best solution

August 7, 2014 4:17:53 AM

axel1915 said:
FunSurfer said:
The OS reserves some of the system RAM for video-RAM purpose (if you will run out of VRAM), so your VRAM amount (1GB) plus the reserved RAM make a total video memory of 2740 MB.


So does it mean this helps me more when I am playing any game or that extra memory "activates" only when I am playing games that requires a lot more VRAM and my original VRAM is just not enough?


Yes that is what it supposed to do theoretically, but practically the system RAM (DDR3 usually) is much slower than the VRAM onboard your GFX (GDDR5 usually), even though you can still play when out of VRAM, the FPS will take a big hit and you will experience stuttering.
Even if your card has only GDDR3, this memory is still faster than DDR3 because it is special made for graphics cards.
On your specific case, the GT640 is not powerful enough to use all the 1GB VRAM effectively at acceptable settings with demanding games, and older games don't need 1GB VRAM so there is only a small chance you will ever use the reserved memory.
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