What Is Shared GPU Memory? How Is It Different From Dedicated VRAM?

A graphics processor comes with Video Random Access Memory (VRAM) that acts the identical as RAM does for a CPU. VRAM hundreds textures, shaders, and different graphics information straight from the storage disks and passes them to the GPU for rendering the show.

However, GPUs have restricted capacities—if you happen to run duties that require more video reminiscence, the processor runs out of its out there VRAM. In such instances, it begins using some house (normally half) of the system RAM as digital video reminiscence, which is the Shared GPU Memory.

Why Does GPU Need Dedicated VRAM or Shared GPU Memory?

Unlike a CPU, which is a serial processor, a GPU must course of many graphics duties in parallel to render the graphics. A single render will want a number of textures, shaders, lighting components, in addition to post-processing options like filters. Processing all these components to correctly and rapidly render the show requires quite a few cores working in parallel.

And earlier than dealing with these components, it must get them from the storage disks the place they’re saved. That’s the place the VRAM comes into use. VRAM modules entry all these information in a short time from the storage device and create buffer-like pipelines to push them into the GPU.

And if the devoted VRAM modules aren’t free to carry out this job, the pc has to make use of components of the system RAM as digital VRAM as an alternative.

Most built-in GPUs (iGPUs) don’t have devoted VRAM or solely have a restricted VRAM capability. So, if you happen to solely have an iGPU in your laptop, your system will certainly be using the shared GPU reminiscence for many graphics processes.

Before this know-how was used, working intensive graphics duties incessantly prompted Blue Screen of Death errors (BSODs) as a result of inadequate video reminiscence.

How is Shared GPU Memory Different from Dedicated Video Memory?

The graphics processor’s VRAM is the quickest device in any laptop system (so long as you don’t use extraordinarily outdated GPUs). RAMs come next in line in the case of pace. So, the shared GPU reminiscence can by no means present nearly as good of a efficiency as devoted VRAM.

Apart from that, VRAM modules are components of the graphics processor and are carefully linked with the GPU cores whereas RAMs want to make use of the PCIe connection to ship information to the GPU. This additional impacts the efficiency of the shared GPU reminiscence.

Another factor is that every time your system wants to make use of the shared GPU reminiscence, it wants to chop off the utmost RAM capability. This can result in more efficiency hits or might even bottleneck different elements just like the CPU or the GPU itself from working with its most potential.

Should I Configure Shared GPU Memory?

A couple of units do embrace the choice to configure Shared GPU Memory settings of their BIOS. However, it’s not really useful to vary this setting no matter whether or not you might have enough devoted VRAM or not.

If you might have sufficient VRAM, your system won’t use the shared GPU reminiscence except wanted. And even using the reminiscence doesn’t reserve the entire half of the RAM, solely the part it makes use of. So, there’s no want to vary the setting.

And if we think about a graphics processor with inadequate VRAM, your laptop mechanically allocates the mandatory house from the RAM as Shared GPU Memory house. The components of this house will act because the digital VRAM when reserved by the GPU and because the RAM in any other case. 

The computerized allocation takes into consideration the stability between the required RAM in addition to the VRAM, so it’s best to not contact this setting in any respect. Otherwise, you might encounter crashes or lags whereas working graphics-intensive purposes.