Shifting Video Memory Usage?

thienz · Nov 22, 2009, 01:30 PM

Hi,

I'm very new about grafic cards. I'm playing a game with my notebook (Dual Core 2 2.00 GHz, 2 GB RAM, X1700 256 MB) and in the Game's Benchmarking I can see that the usages of:
CPU: 61%
Memory: 83%
Video Memory: 97%
with low graphic settings and 14 fps only.

I can see that the bottleneck is the Video Memory. Is it possible to shift the works to CPU or Memory so all three are equal loaded and the game is improved?

Thanks!

mkk · Nov 22, 2009, 01:49 PM

Running the game in a lower resolution or reducing the texture detail (if there is such a setting) are common ways to lower graphics memory usage.

thienz · Nov 22, 2009, 02:07 PM

I have lowered the resolution to 1024x600, all texture details to low or off (the lowest possible setting), I also installed the latest Catalyst Legacy Driver, but still the game is not really smooth.

I am using Win 7, is turning off Aero or other features can help?
Do you have other ideas to help the game?

mkk · Nov 22, 2009, 02:47 PM

Nah it's probably just too demanding for the system. If you write down the name of the game then someone might perhaps have a specific tip.

thienz · Nov 22, 2009, 02:50 PM

It's GTA IV...

IvanV · Nov 22, 2009, 04:01 PM

According to Wikipedia, minimum requirements for the game include 256 MB ATI X1900. That means that the amount of memory should be sufficient for the lowest texture settings, but the X1900 series cards are about three to four times as powerful as your card, so, unfortunately, that chip probably won't be able to offer smooth gameplay at any settings.

thienz · Nov 22, 2009, 05:28 PM

I found an interesting Program called Game Booster. It stops a lot of unnecessary windows services with one click to improve gaming. After finished with the game, you can turn on all the services back with another click.

Not bad, the fps went up a little bit from 13.9 to 14.8....

comp_ali · Nov 22, 2009, 09:17 PM

GTA IV is a system hog really , it will play good only on quad cores + 4 GB ram , I have a slightly better system than yours and the FPS still crap. This game isn't much GPU intensive it is more a CPU and memory intensive.
yeah , you card is lower than minimum but even in case you upgraded it , it is uselss without upgrading the CPU + Ram .

Play it on lowest setting to get maximum possible FPS like they said though , maybe this will make things better.

btw , welcome to DH

Edit : just for the record , I use to move the view distance and the other sliders to some position till the video memory usage was less than available by fair amount but it crashed also in the middle of gaming

, I dunno about the latest patches though , it was a while since I ran maybe since a couple of months ago.

thienz · Nov 22, 2009, 09:56 PM

Sigh, looks like I have to wait until I get another computer to play GTA IV ^^;;

Thank you for the inputs, I really appreciate the informations in this forum.

Nov 22, 2009, 01:30 PM	#1
thienz DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 7 Rep Power: 0	Shifting Video Memory Usage? Hi, I'm very new about grafic cards. I'm playing a game with my notebook (Dual Core 2 2.00 GHz, 2 GB RAM, X1700 256 MB) and in the Game's Benchmarking I can see that the usages of: CPU: 61% Memory: 83% Video Memory: 97% with low graphic settings and 14 fps only. I can see that the bottleneck is the Video Memory. Is it possible to shift the works to CPU or Memory so all three are equal loaded and the game is improved? Thanks!

Nov 22, 2009, 01:49 PM	#2
mkk Cthulhu/Dagon 2012 Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Gefle, Sweden Posts: 4,495 Rep Power: 132 System Specs	Re: Shifting Video Memory Usage? Running the game in a lower resolution or reducing the texture detail (if there is such a setting) are common ways to lower graphics memory usage.

Nov 22, 2009, 02:07 PM	Thread Starter #3
thienz DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 7 Rep Power: 0	Re: Shifting Video Memory Usage? I have lowered the resolution to 1024x600, all texture details to low or off (the lowest possible setting), I also installed the latest Catalyst Legacy Driver, but still the game is not really smooth. I am using Win 7, is turning off Aero or other features can help? Do you have other ideas to help the game?

Nov 22, 2009, 02:47 PM	#4
mkk Cthulhu/Dagon 2012 Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Gefle, Sweden Posts: 4,495 Rep Power: 132 System Specs	Re: Shifting Video Memory Usage? Nah it's probably just too demanding for the system. If you write down the name of the game then someone might perhaps have a specific tip.

Nov 22, 2009, 02:50 PM	Thread Starter #5
thienz DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 7 Rep Power: 0	Re: Shifting Video Memory Usage? It's GTA IV...

Nov 22, 2009, 04:01 PM	#6
IvanV HH Assassin Guild Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5,917 Rep Power: 336 System Specs	Re: Shifting Video Memory Usage? According to Wikipedia, minimum requirements for the game include 256 MB ATI X1900. That means that the amount of memory should be sufficient for the lowest texture settings, but the X1900 series cards are about three to four times as powerful as your card, so, unfortunately, that chip probably won't be able to offer smooth gameplay at any settings. __________________ If anyone has Portal 2 and hasn't played the co-op and wants to do me a favour, let me know (PM me or whatever).

Nov 22, 2009, 05:28 PM	Thread Starter #7
thienz DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 7 Rep Power: 0	Re: Shifting Video Memory Usage? I found an interesting Program called Game Booster. It stops a lot of unnecessary windows services with one click to improve gaming. After finished with the game, you can turn on all the services back with another click. Not bad, the fps went up a little bit from 13.9 to 14.8....

Nov 22, 2009, 09:17 PM	#8
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,469 Rep Power: 339 System Specs	Re: Shifting Video Memory Usage? GTA IV is a system hog really , it will play good only on quad cores + 4 GB ram , I have a slightly better system than yours and the FPS still crap. This game isn't much GPU intensive it is more a CPU and memory intensive. yeah , you card is lower than minimum but even in case you upgraded it , it is uselss without upgrading the CPU + Ram . Play it on lowest setting to get maximum possible FPS like they said though , maybe this will make things better. btw , welcome to DH Edit : just for the record , I use to move the view distance and the other sliders to some position till the video memory usage was less than available by fair amount but it crashed also in the middle of gaming , I dunno about the latest patches though , it was a while since I ran maybe since a couple of months ago. __________________ Last edited by comp_ali; Nov 22, 2009 at 10:09 PM.

Nov 22, 2009, 09:56 PM	Thread Starter #9
thienz DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 7 Rep Power: 0	Re: Shifting Video Memory Usage? Sigh, looks like I have to wait until I get another computer to play GTA IV ^^;; Thank you for the inputs, I really appreciate the informations in this forum.