Windows assigning 4GB of shared Video Memory to my dedicated GPU

Question

I was wondering if there was a way to change the amount of Shared Video Memory automatically allocated to my GPU.

ASUS Prime H310M-A

Intel i5-8400 @ 2.80 GHz

R9 380X @ stock settings

8GB Corsair DDR4 2400MHz Memory

Windows 10 Professional

It's currently allocating 4GB of Shared Video Memory.

This is problematic for me as I only have a single stick of 8GB Memory, and I need System RAM over Graphics Memory.

Due to this automatic 4GB allocation of video memory (total 8GB), it causes some applications to run into the paging file making them slower.

I've looked in the BIOS and I can't find any setting which could tweak this. Does anybody know how to change the amount of allocated shared video memory?

Solution

In Some cases Windows 10 Uses 50% system RAM as shared Graphics memory.(if u use 16 GB RAM then there will be 8 GB of shared Graphics memory allocated. Its used only when required by applications. This RAM will work as Normal system RAM if u dont use any graphics applications).

Nothing to worry about it. It will not cause your PC to slow down.

Make sure your system was not given to any hardware repair shop, they could have changed Graphics hardware physical property by changing the firmware settings.

PC repair shops can do it.

Comments

[Ramhound]

A page file will be used regardless if you disable shared memory function. You typically can do that within the firmware settings of the motherboard.

[Mokubai]

Shared memory is not necessarily allocated memory. It might be used if you run a particularly demanding game or GPGPU task, but chances are the memory is not used at all. You almost certainly have not been using the full 4GB. Where are you seeing this value for shared memory?

[hjpotter92]

Having the same issue: superuser.com/q/1496663/123710 but could not find the registry key: HKLM\Software\Intel\GMM

[Ξένη Γήινος]

Your answer is false, shared graphics memory can only be used by integrated graphics card and is shown as hardware reserved in resmon, it is reserved specifically for iGPU and can't be used normally for any purpose other than storing graphical data, it can't be used as normal RAM and will definitely cause the computer to slow down if too much memory is reserved.

[Ξένη Γήινος]

View this for proof: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_graphics_memory

[Soroush Falahati]

this is the case for me; I have 16Gb ram shared with iGPU out of my 32gb ram which is in total currently 13.2GB used; If I had 16GB reserved (instead of shared) with iGPU; I could not physically have more than 16GB free but I have. You guys are confused about shared and reserved, I have 200MB reserved for iGPU but 16GB shared with it; this answer is right in that regard, +