"mdp" said:
Anyone know how to change the amount of memory used by the onboard video on
the Asus TUSL2 (not -C or other)? I don't see it anywhere in the BIOS and
it is currently allocating a meager 1MB. Tx,
mdp
If you download a copy of the 815 GMCH Northbridge datasheet from
Intel, there are a couple of control bits that select the size
of the frame buffer allocated in main memory. I think that is the
info you are seeing:
"Graphics Mode Select (GMS). This field is used to enable/disable
the Internal Graphics device and select the amount of main memory
that is ³Stolen² to support the internal graphics device in VGA
(non-linear) mode only. These 2 bits only have meaning if we are
not in AGP mode.
00 = Internal graphics device Disabled, No memory ³Stolen²
01 = Internal graphics device Enabled, No memory ³Stolen²
10 = Internal graphics device Enabled, 512 KB of memory ³Stolen²
for frame buffer.
11 = Internal graphics device Enabled, 1 MB of memory ³Stolen²
for frame buffer."
If you aren't using an AGP card, the internal graphics do all of
their stuff out of main memory. (If you actually own an AIMM
module, that plugs into the AGP slot, I think that device takes
the place of the frame buffer memory mentioned in the GMS definition
above.)
I'm not 100% certain, but the area reserved for 3D textures may
be this one, when using the internal graphics engine:
"Graphics Translation Window Size Select‹R/W. In GFX mode this
would be the size of the GTT (Graphics Translation Table).
Not a valid bit in AGP mode.
0 = 64 MB (default)
1 = 32 MB."
The same size options are available for the AGP Aperture (this
would be when an AGP card is installed):
"Graphics Aperture Size (GASIZE). Bit 3 operates on bit 25 of
the Aperture Base (APBASE) configuration register. When this
bit is 0, it forces bit 25 in APBASE to behave as ³hardwired²
to 0. When this bit is 1, it forces bit 25 in APBASE to be
read/write accessible. Only the following combinations are
allowed:
0 = 64 MB Aperture Size
1 = 32 MB Aperture Size"
So, the software you are using should be reporting 32M or 64M
as the setting, rather than the setting for the frame buffer.
(And even the frame buffer setting doesn't make sense, as
a graphics resolution of 1280x1024x24bits is supported...)
Unfortunately, many games will freak when they try to decode
the characteristics of built-in graphics engines. In some
cases, the game interprets a GMCH as not supporting AGP
textures, and then the game will abort on the spot. A
real PITA.
(Northbridge datasheets)
http://developer.intel.com/design/chipsets/datashts/index.htm?iid=PCG+devleftnav&
(The GMCH datasheet used for the excerpts above)
http://developer.intel.com/design/chipsets/datashts/290688.htm
If you are using the onboard graphics, perhaps a newer "81x
Chipset Family Graphics Driver" will make a difference.
Scroll to the bottom of this page and select a driver for
your OS:
http://www.asus.it/support/download/item.aspx?ModelName=TUSL2&Type=All
You might find more recent GMCH drivers here:
http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df/Product_Filter.asp?ProductID=797
HTH,
Paul
