I noticed when I installed the WDDM driver for my nVidia GeForce Fx Go 5200
that the system allocates a very large amount of system memory for use as
video memory (presumably as needed). I noticed that a few games that I like
that can get 55 - 60 fps on XP get only around 7 or 8 FPS using this driver,
and get 55 - 60 fps when using an older XP driver with Vista. My suspicion is
that the game "thinks" it has lots of texture memory, and is trying to use it
- and so Vista has to swap system memory with video memory to make it work,
and everything gets slower. What I would like to do is tell vista to use less
of my system memory to back up video memory - or at least tell the game that
there is less.

Nope.
My 7300 GT uses 256Mb to add to the onboard 256Mb.
Even in XP cards like 6600 upwards with 125Mb up can use system ram, it's
just that it did not say.

"Brian C. Barnes" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:E00D79D5-3C3B-4DF5-8CCE-(E-Mail Removed)...
>I noticed when I installed the WDDM driver for my nVidia GeForce Fx Go 5200
> that the system allocates a very large amount of system memory for use as
> video memory (presumably as needed). I noticed that a few games that I
> like
> that can get 55 - 60 fps on XP get only around 7 or 8 FPS using this
> driver,
> and get 55 - 60 fps when using an older XP driver with Vista. My suspicion
> is
> that the game "thinks" it has lots of texture memory, and is trying to use
> it
> - and so Vista has to swap system memory with video memory to make it
> work,
> and everything gets slower. What I would like to do is tell vista to use
> less
> of my system memory to back up video memory - or at least tell the game
> that
> there is less.
>
>

Also nVidia card beta drivers for Vista(only drivers at the min)are capping
the max system ram the card can use.
It says so in the info for said beta drivers.
That will change when nVidia release non beta drivers.
In XP my 7300GT uses 125Mb of system ram.
"Brian C. Barnes" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:E00D79D5-3C3B-4DF5-8CCE-(E-Mail Removed)...
>I noticed when I installed the WDDM driver for my nVidia GeForce Fx Go 5200
> that the system allocates a very large amount of system memory for use as
> video memory (presumably as needed). I noticed that a few games that I
> like
> that can get 55 - 60 fps on XP get only around 7 or 8 FPS using this
> driver,
> and get 55 - 60 fps when using an older XP driver with Vista. My suspicion
> is
> that the game "thinks" it has lots of texture memory, and is trying to use
> it
> - and so Vista has to swap system memory with video memory to make it
> work,
> and everything gets slower. What I would like to do is tell vista to use
> less
> of my system memory to back up video memory - or at least tell the game
> that
> there is less.
>
>