I've got a 8600GT, it has 256MB memory dedicated to it. I've got 3 gigs of system memory.
 
I realize I should want it to have around 512 for good gaming. I want to give it 128MB of shared to add to the dedicated 256.
 
Instead it's decided to go into it's own little world and give it's self more than a GIGABYTE of my system RAM!
 
How can I change this?
 
Below is pasted from Vista's hardware overview when looking at my Vista Experience Rating. (5.3 BTW!)
 
Graphics
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Display adapter type NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
Total available graphics memory 1535 MB
Dedicated graphics memory 256 MB
Dedicated system memory 0 MB
Shared system memory 1279 MB
 
Thanks

You can't it's dynamic, and it's not taken, it's simply addressable, like AGP aperture size, although it is fasr better at load balancing.
 
Both nV's TurboCache and ATi's HyperMemory will favour system access to those resources, it's not tying them up for graphics. If you system needs all your memory then it will get it, it's not like the old shared memory.
 
BTW, Vista Experience Ratings don't mean much.

^+1. Well said.

So, there's basically nothing I can do about it?

 
Thanks, minus the typos of course.  

 
So why did you want to do something about it again?
 
Cleaner looking interface?
 
Prefer small numbers?
 
This may help you, very PR laden, but describes it well enough with nice pictures too;
http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_17361.html

are you guys serious? 8600gt with TC? never heard of it

They aren't "TurboCache" and "HyperMemory" models anymore, but the option is available to most nV and ATi cards.
 
Think of it like AGP GART memory control, only more effective/efficient.
 
This along with MS' WDDM memory reporting means the system sees everything it doesn't mean it's tying up those resources;
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devi [...] emory.mspx