How much video memory do I need?

[phuile]

How much video memory do I need to drive *two* monitors running at a
resolution of 1680 x 1050?

Thanks!

 

[FKS]

How much video memory do I need to drive *two* monitors running at a
resolution of 1680 x 1050?

Thanks!

Not much. 128 is more than enough.

 

[Thomas Arns]

Not much. 128 is more than enough.

But what if u want to run Aero?

 

[Rich]

But what if u want to run Aero?

You don't need any extra memory just to run Aero. You just need a
fast enough card. 512 meg or 64 meg - if the cards slow then it'll
not work very well.

Rich

 

[deimos]

You don't need any extra memory just to run Aero. You just need a
fast enough card. 512 meg or 64 meg - if the cards slow then it'll
not work very well.

Rich

The requirements for aero are based on multiple factors that are then
calculated in an algorithm (which includes the video card's fillrate and
memory bandwidth) to determine whether it's suitable for use. To
fulfill this, the requirements are artificially inflated to both make
purchasing easier and allow for variances (like cut down versions of
mainstream GPU chipsets).

 

[Barry Watzman]

That's not entirely true. Aero has some very specific requirements, and
if they are not met it's a "no go" no matter what the overall
performance is.

Two of those are support for pixel shader 2 and 128MB of video memory
(it can be shared video memory, but if so there needs to be 512MB or
more of system memory plus the shared video memory). [For the beta
versions, there was a patch that would reduce the video memory
requirement to 64MB IF the display monitor resolution did not exceed a
certain number of pixels. I don't know if this still works in the
release version or not.]

 

[Mr.E Solved!]

That's not entirely true. Aero has some very specific requirements, and
if they are not met it's a "no go" no matter what the overall
performance is.

Two of those are support for pixel shader 2 and 128MB of video memory
(it can be shared video memory, but if so there needs to be 512MB or
more of system memory plus the shared video memory). [For the beta
versions, there was a patch that would reduce the video memory
requirement to 64MB IF the display monitor resolution did not exceed a
certain number of pixels. I don't know if this still works in the
release version or not.]

Rich wrote:

The requirements for aero are based on multiple factors that are then
calculated in an algorithm (which includes the video card's fillrate
and memory bandwidth) to determine whether it's suitable for use.

Oh noes! A "What are the requirements for Aero" discussion. Since you
are both very close to the actual requirements, you are each bestowed a
laurel wreath while I present to you, The Graphical Sub-System
Requirements for Desktop Compositioning affectionately known as 'Aero':


Desktop composition cannot run at all unless the following conditions
are met:

1. The system’s primary graphics adapter supports DirectX9.
2. The system’s primary graphics adapter supports pixel shader 2.0 in
hardware.
3. The system is running with a Windows Vista Display Driver Model
(WDDM) graphics driver.
4. The system is configured for a color depth of 32 bits per pixel.
5. The primary monitor refresh rate is greater than 10 Hz.
6. Composition is enabled by group policies (the default configuration).

If all of the above 6 conditions are met, a set of dynamic conditions
are tested, to further determine eligibility:

1. The system has more than 512 MB of system memory available to the
operating system.
2. There is enough graphics memory to support the current monitor
configuration (determined by internal table).
3. There is enough measured performance to support the current monitor
configuration (determined by internal table).

Please consult this link for further information or updates on this
important Vista issue:

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/display/aero_rules.mspx

 

[Vellu]

That looks detailed enough, I suppose. Allthough one must remember, that
even if the requirements are NOT met, Vista itself will run. The AERO
interface won't, your stuck with classic (which isn't necessarily a bad
thing).

In which case requirements for GPU (afaik) are just DX9 support and 32MB
of graphic memory.

If you're going for Vista Home Basic, this is all that's needed since it
doesn't have Aero anyway.