How to Add 1GB VRAM to VMware Workstation

Shaina11 · Feb 6, 2016

I'm currently using Workstation 10, and I've been trying to figure out how to add more VRAM to the guest than the maximum 128MB default that VMware allows. I've read about other people successfully getting 1GB VRAM, and I've read the instructions on this page, however any of the resolutions I try do not divide evenly by 64 KB (65536 bytes.)

1280 x 720 x 4 = 3686400 / 65536 = 56.25
1600 x 900 x 4 = 5760000 / 65536 = 87.890625
1920 x 1080 x 4 = 8294400 / 65536 = 126.5625

How should I go about this to get any VRAM above 128 MB? And yes I know it doesn't use my video card's dedicated RAM, it's shared with the virtual RAM.

Is there another method to force VMware to reserve 1GB VRAM for the guest? Or am I doing something wrong? I haven't tried this yet as my resolutions do not divide evenly.

Any help will be appreciated, thank you.

P.S. If I could get at least 512MB VRAM, that would be great.

GhislainG · Feb 7, 2016

You have to set svga.vramSize to a value that can be divided by 65536; try increasing them to the correct value, e.g., 57 * 65536 = 3735552

Shaina11 · Feb 8, 2016

So if I were to set svga.vramSize to 1073741824 (divided by 65536 = 16384) then would it give the VM a virtual 1 GB VRAM? Or is there more to it then that?

GhislainG · Feb 8, 2016

It takes a few seconds to try; why not test it? Can you explain why you need to do that with Workstation 10? I don't on the systems where I use it and I can run VMs at 1920 x 1200 32 bit color quality without having to make such modifications.

Shaina11 · Feb 14, 2016

Does it not work with Windows XP? I've added the following lines to the cfg:

svga.autoDetect = "FALSE"
svga.vramSize = "1073741824"

Whenever I boot the VM and go to the adapter information, it only reports 128MB of RAM. Does it just not work with Windows XP?

GhislainG · Feb 14, 2016

Why are you trying to make it 1 GB in Windows XP? VMware SVGA II doesn't need more than 128 MB. In newer versions of Windows VMware SVGA 3D uses a lot more memory because of 3D support. As an example, one of my VMs uses 896 MB of dedicated video memory and 700 MB of shared memory for a total of 1.5 GB. What are you trying to achieve that requires more memory on XP?

Shaina11 · Feb 14, 2016

The main reason is for testing purposes, seeing how well the 3D performance is. And for some games such as Tomb Raider Underworld and TES Oblivion, they require at least 256 MB VRAM. I have tried to get 512MB as well but to no avail.

GhislainG · Feb 14, 2016

Windows 7 or newer will meet your requirements. What do see when you use dxdiag? My XP system runs both Test DirectDraw and Test Direct3D without issues. AGP Texture Acceleration is not available, but that's normal with XP.

Shaina11 · Feb 14, 2016

dxdiag always reports 128 MB of VRAM, and the tests pass successfully. (Although, is the spinning cube supposed to be going 100 miles an hour? Seems a bit fast.) I know I could use Windows 7, but I just really wish there was a way to get more VRAM in an XP VM. What can I say? I love old tech. Plus, Windows XP has better compatibility with older games.

GhislainG · Feb 14, 2016

A solution is to use ESXi or Hyper-V and pass through a compatible GPU. Using an old system with XP probably would be easier and everything would then be old tech

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