how can i tell if my vid card,or any card, has its own ram? i currently have a geforce mx420 card. i'll switch it out if it doesn't have its own ram. i don't do any gaming at all.
vid card memory...
- Thread starter daves66nova
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tmorris1, I believe you're correct. I'm not aware that video cards ever come without their own ram. If the video is built into the motherboard then it typically shares the ram with the rest of the system but if your video card is a separate board then it should have its own ram. obbop of course has verified this for your specific video card by doing a search.
Also, video can also be integrated into the motherboard and have its own RAM; this is done where the video will never have to be upgraded and space is an issue; servers for example....
Look at your motherboard DIMM modules or whatever you have. Look at the individual centipede sized chips on them.
Then look at your video card for similar chips. Might even have something-something-MB printed on 'em. They still might have a wierd 4x8MB system that equals 32 MB for example.
I built my dad a computer that on Power on self test had a video BIOS memory test before main memory test. Look for that.
Right click on "my computer" and look at the memory available. If it's an even multiple of 64 MB your video memory is on the video card. If you're cheated out of 4 or 8 MB, more or less, you're sharing.
As said above, if you have a seperate card you very likely have seperate RAM too.
Then look at your video card for similar chips. Might even have something-something-MB printed on 'em. They still might have a wierd 4x8MB system that equals 32 MB for example.
I built my dad a computer that on Power on self test had a video BIOS memory test before main memory test. Look for that.
Right click on "my computer" and look at the memory available. If it's an even multiple of 64 MB your video memory is on the video card. If you're cheated out of 4 or 8 MB, more or less, you're sharing.
As said above, if you have a seperate card you very likely have seperate RAM too.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the new HyperMemory stuff from ATI is motherboard-based shared RAM and not video-card based RAM.
It's just more confusing for the customer IMO.
It's just more confusing for the customer IMO.
The ATI stuff (and Nvidia I believe) have a dedicated amount of memory on the card (usually 128) and then can also share memory with the system, letting them advertise That card as a higher memory than it really is.
If you don't notice any display issues, then don't worry about it.
If you don't notice any display issues, then don't worry about it.
Built in(integrated) graphics cards usually steal main memory. Some even can use memory card that plugs into AGP slot.
If you have a PCI or AGP card, it'll have some amount of its own ram.
Rightclick on your desktop, display properties, settings, advanced, adapter....... should give you your graphics card brand and memory type.
Since you said you have an MX420 'CARD', it has its own memory. Whether its enough for anything but office and websurfing is for you to decide.
If you have a PCI or AGP card, it'll have some amount of its own ram.
Rightclick on your desktop, display properties, settings, advanced, adapter....... should give you your graphics card brand and memory type.
Since you said you have an MX420 'CARD', it has its own memory. Whether its enough for anything but office and websurfing is for you to decide.
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