Adjusting graphics memory settings on Compaq Presario cq60-210us

[rmazzeo]

Hello,
I have been trying to find information on the internet & have had no luck. I am trying to adjust the video memory on my laptop (see title for model #), but can find no way to do so. The BIOS says it is set at 256Mb, but research shows that I can set it up to 895Mb. However, I can find no way to do this in the BIOS. Does anyone have any ideas or solutions? Thank you.

 

[Sunius]

It's done automatically when your video ram gets filled.

 

[rmazzeo]

Interesting - very odd way to do things. Thank you for the reply. On that note, how do I know when this happens? Or should I even worry about it? Thanks again!

 

[k1114]

Sunius is slightly incorrect. With your integrated graphics there's 2 different instances of how the vram is handled. The amount you see in the bios is the amount that is "stolen" from your ram (ram is used as the igpu's vram) and is unable to be used by anything else. Then there is shared memory that can be used by both, and is usually ~25% of total system ram. You can see the breakdown in your nvidia control panel>help>system information.

You never stated why you would need to increase it but even if you did increase it, it won't help. The integrated is just too weak for any amount of memory to help.

 

[rmazzeo]

Sunius is slightly incorrect. With your integrated graphics there's 2 different instances of how the vram is handled. The amount you see in the bios is the amount that is "stolen" from your ram (ram is used as the igpu's vram) and is unable to be used by anything else. Then there is shared memory that can be used by both, and is usually ~25% of total system ram. You can see the breakdown in your nvidia control panel>help>system information.

You never stated why you would need to increase it but even if you did increase it, it won't help. The integrated is just too weak for any amount of memory to help.

Thanks for the response -I appreciate the detail, & now I understand this better. The reason I asked the question is twofold. I noted that my BIOS showed 256 allocated, & I wanted to increase it to 512, but found no way to do so. Further, I could find nothing on this issue on the internet.

And now the question becomes, how did you find this information, & finally, why do you state that the integrated chip is "weak"? I know that integrated graphics are inherently weak anyway, & some of the items I came across while researching this issue stated that the laptop itself was "terrible" or "horrible". I have owned this laptop (originally with Vista) for over 2 years & have had absolutely no problems with it - as a matter of fact, it is my mobile PC for my business, & has always performed flawlessly, even with Vista. At one point I upgraded to 4Gb RAM, then installed Win 7 x64 - absolutely no problems. It runs Aero just fine, plays video, etc., etc., etc. I'm not a gamer, nor do I do any heavy video work, so I don't need a top-of-th-line machine anyway, although my desktop is a much more powerful machine. So there's a little light on my questions, but I would seriously like to know how you found that the VRAM is self-adjusting. It intrigues me. Thanks again.

 

[k1114]

Well I am just knowledgeable and experienced with computers, you tend to learn how things work. The shared graphics memory thing has been around for a long time for windows. I wouldn't say it's self adjusting, it's a set allocated amount so doesn't adjust (as long as hardware isn't changed). I would say it's dynamic, as it can be used by both the system and gpu. Shared memory questions as well as amount of vram questions pop up a lot, mostly everyone thinks more memory the faster/better it will be. But this is not always the case.

I am not saying the integrated is bad, it will work flawlessly as you have seen for everything except for graphic intensive workloads like games. I would still say it's weak and increasing vram won't help it. The only reason to increase vram is to try to alleviate any lag caused when using large resolutions. But for office stuff or even playing movies, 128mb can handle 1080p (yes 1080p movies too) if the gpu is strong enough.

Just an FYI, here's a hierarchy chart to put its performance in perspective. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html You'll see the 8200m is near the bottom and again I'm not saying it's bad and will actually handle mostly everything a normal person does. I actually have a laptop similar to yours (slightly weaker actually), 1.8ghz turion x2, ati x1270 128mb, 2gb ram, still on vista although tweaked. And it plays 1080p movies, facebook/flash games and even older games just fine.

But to try to see if you actually can change the amount; is your bios up to date? Otherwise you're stuck with what you have. Some laptops can, some can't; this goes for desktops with integrated as well. It depends if the OEM allows you to change the option as most OEMs will lock just about everything in the bios.

 

[rmazzeo]

Well I am just knowledgeable and experienced with computers, you tend to learn how things work. The shared graphics memory thing has been around for a long time for windows. I wouldn't say it's self adjusting, it's a set allocated amount so doesn't adjust (as long as hardware isn't changed). I would say it's dynamic, as it can be used by both the system and gpu. Shared memory questions as well as amount of vram questions pop up a lot, mostly everyone thinks more memory the faster/better it will be. But this is not always the case.

I am not saying the integrated is bad, it will work flawlessly as you have seen for everything except for graphic intensive workloads like games. I would still say it's weak and increasing vram won't help it. The only reason to increase vram is to try to alleviate any lag caused when using large resolutions. But for office stuff or even playing movies, 128mb can handle 1080p (yes 1080p movies too) if the gpu is strong enough.

Just an FYI, here's a hierarchy chart to put its performance in perspective. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html You'll see the 8200m is near the bottom and again I'm not saying it's bad and will actually handle mostly everything a normal person does. I actually have a laptop similar to yours (slightly weaker actually), 1.8ghz turion x2, ati x1270 128mb, 2gb ram, still on vista although tweaked. And it plays 1080p movies, facebook/flash games and even older games just fine.

But to try to see if you actually can change the amount; is your bios up to date? Otherwise you're stuck with what you have. Some laptops can, some can't; this goes for desktops with integrated as well. It depends if the OEM allows you to change the option as most OEMs will lock just about everything in the bios.

Hi,

Again,thanks for the detailed reply. I've been in IT for over 18 years, & thought I was pretty knowledgeable, but never either a) came across this issue, or b) had any reason to research it. That is, until I looked at my BIOS (it is the latest version), which offered no solution. And any desktop I ever came across with IG always had a way to adjust it, as have most laptops. I would just like to be able to set a certain amount of VRAM & let it do it's thing. Oh well, it actually runs better now that I have Win 7 on it, as opposed to Vista. I keep it clean & still I get pretty high temps using SpeedFan, but it appears better with Win 7. Again, thanks for the response, & have a Happy Easter!