2
Score
Chris Green
17.2k
Asked
Is There a Way to Increase The V-RAM Above 256MB
Hi, I have had my mac mini for about 5 months, and in that time have also maxed out the ram (4GB). I was wondering if there is a way to force the amount of Video-RAM above 256MB. Is there any thing i can change in system preferences?
4
Score
mayer
148.7k
Answered
Accepted Answer
This model uses a GeForce 9400M that shares memory with the system. I have not found where that could be upgraded, but:
Officially, this model is capable of supporting 4 GB of RAM, but as first reported by MacminiColo, this model unofficially can use 8 GB of RAM after applying EFI Firmware Update 1.2. You might try that route.
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benbro nz
13
Answered
The Late 2012 mid-range Mini (2.3 i7) ships with 4Gb RAM and the Intel HD 4000 chipset, and allocates 256Mb to graphics I believe.
I have just upgraded the RAM to 16Gb (thanks OWC) and the System Report shows that currently 768Mb is allocated to graphics.
So adding physical VRAM, no; the machine allocating more RAM to graphics, yes, by adding system RAM.
Hope this helps. Will add an SSD to the second slot in the next week or so and the little mini should be purring along nicely.
Ben
0
Score
AussieMac
351
Answered
The video ram is a fixed amount that is a separate piece of ram from the main RAM. It comes with the video card/chip and cannot be upgraded unless you buy a new video card. I cant really understand what you mean by ‘maxing out the RAM’ please explain further
0
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lemerise
17.3k
Answered
0
Score
ToddR
1
Answered
'mayer' is fairly correct. When the using a mac with the GeForce 9400M GPU installed according to Apple:
"The NVIDIA GeForce 9400M allocates a base amount of 256 MB for video and boot processes at startup. For example, a MacBook Air (Late 2008) with 2 GB of RAM installed has 1.7 GB of memory available to Mac OS X and applications (2048-256=1792). Mac mini (Early 2009) computers with 1GB of memory share 128MB of main memory with the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M."
We have an A1283 (Mac Mini Early 2009) with 2GB of RAM installed. The video portion in the Graphics/Displa
see "About integrated video on Intel-based Macs" at:
ADDITION: Just upgraded from 2GB to 4GB on the Mac Mini (macmini3,1). Took out the original 2x1GB Chips and replaced with 2x2GB DDR3 Chips. Now there is a total of 4GB RAM with VRAM still at 256MB and now the available RAM for system is 3.75 GB. It does speed it up somewhat. Next upgrade: replace Fujitsu 160GB 5300RPM HDD with 8MB Cache to 160GB 2.5" Western Digital Scorpio Black 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 9.5mm Notebook Drive with 16MB Cache. We'll see if it makes a significant difference.
