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Increase HD graphics dedicated memory for Skylake
Hey :). I'm coming from a Lenovo machine (which I returned due to build defects).
In the Lenovo BIOS, one could increase the dedicated graphics memory. XPS 13 stays at 128, with more available as "shared". Will this affect performance? How can one increase the dedicated memory on XPS 13? For Lenovo it was possible and it was also Skylake.
ejn63
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August 4th, 2016 04:00
There is no way -- the 128 M is the Z-buffer - not the dedicated video memory (there in fact NO dedicated video memory - it's all system RAM). The driver will allocate as much system RAM as needed up to the maximum allowed by the total RAM in the system - there is no way to manually allocate it.
ejn63
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August 3rd, 2016 15:00
It depends on your applications -- for anything the Intel GPU is capable of doing (i.e., anything BUT gaming), no - it's just fine.
If you have Intel HD graphics only (no AMD or nVidia hybrid) you won't be doing gaming anyway.
Axonn
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August 4th, 2016 01:00
I *will* be doing gaming :). Intel 520 actually runs Civilization 5 just fine at medium-low settings and a TON of other games at good settings, especially older games that I am just fine with playing. You know, "gaming" doesn't only mean the latest Call of Duty or whatever it is people play now-a-days at max settings. Gaming is a lot of things. Anyway, do you have any idea if I can actually increase the dedicated memory?
Axonn
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August 4th, 2016 05:00
I haven't heard this called z-buffer before. But yeah, I get what you're saying. And yes, I know the CPU doesn't have any memory other than the cache, and there's no dedicated video memory, it's all taken from the RAM. But I thought the amount of reserved memory could somehow increase performance since the OS would know not to touch it. But I guess this is not a big deal anyway. Thanks for the answer! :). And trust me, the 520 can do more gaming than you think. I was quite surprised :D.
I was close to buying the i7 with Iris graphics but that would have hurt the battery more and I read a review of the XPS 13 with i7 and Dell did a very poor job on the particular unit that was reviewed (too much thermal paste on the CPU meant that the heat was improperly transferred therefore the CPU would throttle down too much). So then I accepted the fact that for now I'll keep doing all my serious gaming on the desktop and leave the laptop for work (which was the intended purpose of the purchase anyway).