If you're having trouble running graphics-intensive games on your PC, you may need more video RAM ( VRAM ). And while you can't increase your VRAM yourself, it's good to understand your options.
What is dedicated video RAM (VRAM)?
Video RAM (or VRAM, pronounced "VEE-ram") is a special type of RAM that works with your computer's graphics processing unit, or GPU. The GPU is a chip on your computer's graphics card (also called a video card) that displays images on your monitor.
Note : Although technically incorrect, the terms GPU and graphics card are often used interchangeably.
Your video RAM holds the information your GPU needs, including game textures and lighting effects. This allows the GPU to quickly access information and output smooth video to the screen. Older or simpler games don't require as much VRAM. Conversely, running games at 4K resolution and/or high frame rates, with fancy visual effects, will require more VRAM.
Even if you don't care about gaming, other popular software requires a decent amount of VRAM. 3D design software like AutoCAD , especially intensive editing in Photoshop , and high-quality video editing will all suffer if you don't have enough video RAM.
Using video RAM for these tasks is much faster than using main system RAM, because the video RAM is located right next to the GPU in the graphics card. The VRAM is built for this high-intensity purpose, and that's why it's called "dedicated."
How to Check VRAM in Windows
You can easily see how much video RAM you have in Windows 11 by following these steps:
On Windows 10, the same menu is accessible under Settings > System > Display > Advanced display settings > Display adapter properties .
Under Adapter Type , you’ll see the name of your Nvidia or AMD graphics card, depending on what you have. If you see Intel HD Graphics or something other than your graphics card name, you’re probably using integrated graphics instead of dedicated graphics. This can have a big impact on your VRAM usage.
Dedicated VRAM vs Integrated Graphics
If you have a dedicated graphics card (commonly found in custom-built desktops and gaming laptops ), the amount of VRAM on the card is set; you can't increase it without buying a new card. Graphics card listings note how much VRAM the card has; we'll discuss how to figure out what you need later.
Cheap desktops and most off-the-shelf laptops don’t have graphics cards – they use integrated graphics instead. Integrated graphics means the GPU is on the same die as the CPU and shares your regular system RAM instead of having dedicated VRAM. It’s a cost-effective solution and allows the laptop to output basic graphics without the need for a space- and power-hungry graphics card.
However, integrated graphics are not suitable for gaming and other graphics-intensive tasks. While newer CPUs are an improvement over older models, integrated graphics struggle with anything other than simple games at low settings.
Tricks to "increase" VRAM in Windows
As mentioned, the best way to increase your video RAM is to buy a new, better graphics card. Upgrading from integrated graphics to a dedicated card (even a cheap model) will do wonders for your video output.
While adding more RAM to your computer (which is often difficult or impossible on laptops) can improve performance slightly with integrated graphics, it's usually not enough to make a difference. You should also make sure you reduce your RAM usage as much as possible, but these small tweaks don't fix the core problems with integrated graphics.
If you're desperate, there are a few things you can try to trick your computer into "increasing" the VRAM value.
How to increase VRAM value in BIOS
The first method is to adjust the VRAM allocation in your computer's UEFI or BIOS . Go into the BIOS and look for an option in the menu called Advanced Features , Advanced Chipset Features , or something similar. Inside, look for a sub-category called Graphics Settings , Video Settings , or VGA Share Memory Size .
These entries will contain options to adjust the amount of memory you allocate to your GPU. The default is usually 128MB; try increasing it to 256MB or 512MB if you have enough memory to spare.
However, not all CPUs or BIOSes have this option. If you can't change it, there is a workaround that may help.
Increase fake VRAM in Windows
Most integrated graphics settings automatically adjust to use the amount of system RAM needed, so the details reported in the Adapter Properties window we discussed above don't really matter for integrated graphics. The amount of Dedicated Video Memory is a dummy value provided so games see something when they check how much VRAM you have.
You can modify a registry value to change the amount of VRAM your system reports to games. This doesn't actually increase the VRAM; it just adjusts that fake value. If a game refuses to launch because you "don't have enough VRAM," increasing this value might fix it.
Warning : Remember that you can damage your system if you modify the wrong registry values, so be careful when editing the registry.
Open the Registry Editor window by typing regedit into the Start menu. Then, go to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\IntelRight-click the Intel folder in the left panel and select New > Key . Name this key GMM . Once created, select the new GMM folder on the left and right-click inside it on the right.
Select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value . Name this DedicatedSegmentSize and enter a value, making sure to select the Decimal option . In megabytes, the minimum value is 0 (which disables the entry) and the maximum value is 512. Set this value, restart your computer, and see if it makes the game run better. If not, try a higher value and repeat.
How much VRAM do you need?
There's no perfect amount of VRAM for everyone. If you've decided it's time to upgrade, here are some basic guidelines for how much VRAM your next graphics card should have:
So a cheap $100 graphics card will have a proportionally low amount of VRAM, while an $800 graphics card will have a lot more. If a weak GPU that isn't powerful enough to render video needs 16GB of VRAM to store, then having that much VRAM on the card is a waste.
VRAM isn’t a huge issue. You don’t need a $1,000 top-of-the-line card with 20GB of VRAM to play 2D indie platformers. You only really need to worry about how much VRAM you need to buy if the card you want has multiple VRAM configurations. VRAM isn’t the only factor to consider when choosing a GPU.
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