Is it possible to share graphics ram with system ram?

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  1. Posts : 51
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #1

    Is it possible to share graphics ram with system ram?


    As the title says is that possible? Because I need another GB of RAM. I have 4 GB (3,5 usable), and 1 GB is used by system and background programs. I have a 2 GB graphics card, when I play modded minecraft I need to allocate 3 GB because otherwise the game does crash soon after launched. So I was wondering if it could be possible to share graphics ram with system ram so I would have 4,5 GB available system RAM because I don't need 2 GB of graphics when playing a very low graphics game.
    Please don't confuse this sharing system ram with graphics card.
    I may have been unclear so feel free to ask.
    Thanks !
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  2. Posts : 6,879
    Win 7 Ultimate x64
       #2

    I could go into a long and drawn out explanation and provide links, but the short and simple answer is that no it is not possible.
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  3. Posts : 20,583
    Win-7-Pro64bit 7-H-Prem-64bit
       #3

    Hi,
    Why not use the Crucial utility tool to actually upgrade your ram :/
    Crucial.com - The Crucial difference - premium memory
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  4. Posts : 2,047
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64-BIT
       #4

    It's automatic. When your system needs more video memory, it will ask for a needed RAM to be converted to video ram
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  5. Posts : 51
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
    Thread Starter
       #5

    RoasterMen said:
    It's automatic. When your system needs more video memory, it will ask for a needed RAM to be converted to video ram
    I don't need more video memory, I need MORE RAM so I asked if video memory could be used as RAM when playing games that don't require much video memory but require more RAM memory.
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  6. Posts : 53
    Windows 7 pro 64bit
       #6

    No there isn't besides just upgrading your memory
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  7. Posts : 7
    Windows 8.1
       #7

    stormy13 said:
    I could go into a long and drawn out explanation and provide links, but the short and simple answer is that no it is not possible.
    Ya i agree i highly doubt it on a windows OS build, perhaps some custom os? and hax
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  8. Posts : 51
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
    Thread Starter
       #8

    Could there be a custom driver that does that? I heard that the problem isn't how to do it but the problem is the latency between VRAM and CPU. Nothing then, I'l leave the thread unsolved if anyone has an idea.
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  9. Posts : 2,497
    Windows 7 Pro 64 bit
       #9

    Using video RAM as system RAM sounds like a nice idea, until confronted by the harsh facts of reality. Many a "great" idea has failed at this point.

    The basic problem is that the video RAM is not directly accessible by the CPU. True, it could be accessed with a special driver. But that only solves a part of the problem, the easy part.

    You would have some extra fast storage for data. But the system memory manager wouldn't see it as RAM because for most practical purposes it isn't RAM. To use this storage in an efficient way would require major changes to the kernel. Microsoft could implement this if they believed it would significantly improve performance. As Microsoft has not done so it would seem they don't think so. For what it is worth, I agree. For a third party to do this legally would require a special licensing agreement with Microsoft.

    Nice idea, but not practical.

    What most people do is simply install more RAM.
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  10. Posts : 168
    7 Ultimate SP1 x64
       #10

    That would completely defeat the point of a dedicated card, even if it were possible. Save up and get an 8GB kit.

    In the meantime, utilize 'ReadyBoost’. That should, at the very least, prevent the system from devouring your HDD by caching to it instead of RAM modules. I would recommend at least a 4GB stick; NTFS. [Ideally, everybody on Win7 64Bit will have at least 8GB DDR3 RAM today, bare minimum. 4GB is just not enough to meet muster anymore, gaming or not - as an aside you can directly blame the ever bloating Flash requirements for that].

    ReadyBoost will NOT be as good as actual RAM, but it is good enough for its intended purpose (a band-aid).
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