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Increasing the amount of Vram available in the mac mini

Hi there everyone.

I have noticed that the mac mini only has 64meg of vram available for graphics when running OSX.

The other day I decided to have a go and instal XP via Bootcamp. To my suprise I found out that I had 256 meg of vram available from the 2 gig I have installed in my system

can anyone please tell me if there any way to increase the amount of vram available in OSX.

It seems like it would be a good idea to have more available if you have more system memory


Mac Mini Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Mac Mini Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Posted on Apr 11, 2006 6:04 AM

Reply
5 replies

Apr 12, 2006 10:02 PM in response to Janice Funk

Most Macintosh computers have dedicated video RAM. The iBook G4 has 32MB of of VRAM, for example, that's soldered in to the logic board. This can't be changed. The new Intel-based Mac mini is different. It shares the system RAM with the integrated Intel video system. So, by default it actually takes 80MB of system RAM and assigns it to the video system. However, just like Mac OS X can assign system RAM to your application as it's needed, it can assign video RAM as it's needed in the Intel-based Mac mini. Check out the Mac mini Technical Specifications.

What, exactly, do you "need more than 64 mg of VRAM" for? Chances are, if you have a specific program that requires more than 64MB of VRAM, it will also have specific requirements for the video system. The Intel GMA950 video system included with the Mac mini may not meet the minimum requirements of your application, even if it can share more than 64MB of system RAM for video.

-Doug

Apr 13, 2006 5:18 AM in response to Douglas McLaughlin

Most Macintosh computers have dedicated video RAM.
The iBook G4 has 32MB of of VRAM, for example, that's
soldered in to the logic board. This can't be
changed. The new Intel-based Mac mini is different.
It shares the system RAM with the integrated Intel
video system. So, by default it actually takes 80MB
of system RAM and assigns it to the video system.
However, just like Mac OS X can assign system RAM to
your application as it's needed, it can assign video
RAM as it's needed in the Intel-based Mac mini. Check
out the
Mac
mini Technical Specifications
.

What, exactly, do you "need more than 64 mg of VRAM"
for? Chances are, if you have a specific program that
requires more than 64MB of VRAM, it will also have
specific requirements for the video system. The Intel
GMA950 video system included with the Mac mini may
not meet the minimum requirements of your
application, even if it can share more than 64MB of
system RAM for video.

-Doug


The reason I am asking is because the specs dont make it clear as to what is actually available. Apples specification on one hand say 64mb of shared memory and on the other hand say a minimum of 80mb

Recentley I downloaded the Motion 2 compatibility checker from apple. The result stated Motion 2 would instal on my computer, which it did but application quit after the initial screens. The GMA950 graphics chip is suppossed to be CI & QE so the only reason I could come up with was the limited graphics memory.

I don't expect wonders from my mac mini but it would be nice to know that its got some future proofing other than just running the ilfe suit.





Mac Mini Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Mac Mini Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Increasing the amount of Vram available in the mac mini

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