how to decrease the shared GPU RAM

punchbuttowski · 05-01-2021, 02:40 AM

Hello Guys!
I have 8GB ram and 5.8GB usable. According to my internet search it is because of my integrated GPU is sharing with my ram. Is there a way where I can decrease/reduce it to 1GB so my RAM would 7gb? There's a solution that I can change that in the bios but my bios doesn't have the option to change the VRAM.

Laptop model and specs:
Laptop: Lenovo Ideapad V-15-ADA-82C7
OS: Peppermint 10
Kernel: 5.4.0-72-generic
CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3250U with Radeon Graphics (4) @ 2.600GHz
GPU: AMD ATI Picasso
RAM: 8GB(5.8GB) Usable.

obobskivich · 05-01-2021, 08:20 AM

Your 'internet searching' may or may not be correct, so consider that at the outset.

To the specific question: this would be a BIOS setting, but if the manufacturer does not deem you worthy of changing it, there isn't much you can do. I've not seen a Radeon IGP that (by default) allocates >1GB though, and the few I've played around with usually will render systems with 8GB with around 7-7.25GB usable (but who knows, maybe they do that now). What's the output of free -h? (Remember, linux reports in GiB not GB) What is the BIOS setting if you have such an option?

Command in code tags

Code:

free -h

Are you sure all of your system's memory modules are working and properly detected? What is the output of

Code:

sudo dmidecode --type 17

and does it match your expectations of the installed hardware?

punchbuttowski · 05-01-2021, 08:37 AM

Hi obobskivich,
Thank you for the reply.
I am doing just an office/coding work so I don't really need much of the integrated gpu ram size(If this is the reason why it is 5.8GB usable).
Here's the free -h

Code:

              total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:           5.7G        1.3G        3.4G         81M        1.0G        4.2G
Swap:          2.0G          0B        2.0G

Here's the sudo dmidecode --type 17 (both of the memory devices are 4096 MB I think they're good)

Code:

# dmidecode 3.1
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 3.1.1 present.

Handle 0x0008, DMI type 17, 40 bytes
Memory Device
	Array Handle: 0x0001
	Error Information Handle: 0x0007
	Total Width: 64 bits
	Data Width: 64 bits
	Size: 4096 MB
	Form Factor: Row Of Chips
	Set: None
	Locator: DIMM 0
	Bank Locator: P0 CHANNEL A
	Type: DDR4
	Type Detail: Synchronous Unbuffered (Unregistered)
	Speed: 2400 MT/s
	Manufacturer: Micron Technology
	Serial Number: 2A21EC52
	Asset Tag: Not Specified
	Part Number: 4ATF51264HZ-3G2J1   
	Rank: 1
	Configured Clock Speed: 2400 MT/s
	Minimum Voltage: 1.2 V
	Maximum Voltage: 1.2 V
	Configured Voltage: 1.2 V

Handle 0x000B, DMI type 17, 40 bytes
Memory Device
	Array Handle: 0x0001
	Error Information Handle: 0x000A
	Total Width: 64 bits
	Data Width: 64 bits
	Size: 4096 MB
	Form Factor: SODIMM
	Set: None
	Locator: DIMM 0
	Bank Locator: P0 CHANNEL B
	Type: DDR4
	Type Detail: Synchronous Unbuffered (Unregistered)
	Speed: 2400 MT/s
	Manufacturer: Hynix
	Serial Number: 00000000
	Asset Tag: Not Specified
	Part Number: HMA851S6CJR6N-VK    
	Rank: 1
	Configured Clock Speed: 2400 MT/s
	Minimum Voltage: 1.2 V
	Maximum Voltage: 1.2 V
	Configured Voltage: 1.2 V

obobskivich · 05-01-2021, 09:06 AM

So it looks like everything is "working as it should" - my fear (hope?) was a memory module 'dropped out' and we'd see it in dmidecode's output not matching up to your expectations of the hardware (this is where my 'your searching may not be right' idea originated from too - just wanted to be certain we aren't chasing our tails if/when there's a hardware problem). The next question is to query the GPU and see how much RAM it reports having, try:

Code:

glxinfo -B

Specifically look at the "dedicated video memory" and "total available memory" - if it adds up to around 2048MB there is your 'missing RAM' and the computer really is allocating quite a lot to the IGP. This still doesn't mean you can change that value (as in, you can't send some command to glxgears or lshw or similar to change it) - that'd be in the system BIOS and you'd need to poke around and find the IGP setting(s) if they're exposed, and set it to something more sensible like 512MB or 768MB. From a bit of googling, I found a youtube video of a (hopefully) similar Ryzen-based Ideapad, and it appears the setting may be called "UMA Frame Buffer Size." (source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAsnPWSQtLw)

punchbuttowski · 05-01-2021, 09:22 AM

Yep it looks like the integrated graphics is taking the ram

Code:

name of display: :0.0
display: :0  screen: 0
direct rendering: Yes
Extended renderer info (GLX_MESA_query_renderer):
    Vendor: X.Org (0x1002)
    Device: AMD RAVEN2 (DRM 3.35.0, 5.4.0-72-generic, LLVM 10.0.0) (0x15d8)
    Version: 20.0.8
    Accelerated: yes
    Video memory: 2048MB
    Unified memory: no
    Preferred profile: core (0x1)
    Max core profile version: 4.6
    Max compat profile version: 4.6
    Max GLES1 profile version: 1.1
    Max GLES[23] profile version: 3.2
Memory info (GL_ATI_meminfo):
    VBO free memory - total: 1878 MB, largest block: 1878 MB
    VBO free aux. memory - total: 3030 MB, largest block: 3030 MB
    Texture free memory - total: 1878 MB, largest block: 1878 MB
    Texture free aux. memory - total: 3030 MB, largest block: 3030 MB
    Renderbuffer free memory - total: 1878 MB, largest block: 1878 MB
    Renderbuffer free aux. memory - total: 3030 MB, largest block: 3030 MB
Memory info (GL_NVX_gpu_memory_info):
    Dedicated video memory: 2048 MB
    Total available memory: 5120 MB
    Currently available dedicated video memory: 1878 MB
OpenGL vendor string: X.Org
OpenGL renderer string: AMD RAVEN2 (DRM 3.35.0, 5.4.0-72-generic, LLVM 10.0.0)
OpenGL core profile version string: 4.6 (Core Profile) Mesa 20.0.8
OpenGL core profile shading language version string: 4.60
OpenGL core profile context flags: (none)
OpenGL core profile profile mask: core profile

OpenGL version string: 4.6 (Compatibility Profile) Mesa 20.0.8
OpenGL shading language version string: 4.60
OpenGL context flags: (none)
OpenGL profile mask: compatibility profile

OpenGL ES profile version string: OpenGL ES 3.2 Mesa 20.0.8
OpenGL ES profile shading language version string: OpenGL ES GLSL ES 3.20

And one more thing unlike to other lenovo bios. My bios doesn't seem to have a "UMA Frame Buffer Size.".
It doesn't have any configurations for the chipset. The bios is so simple it doesn't have advanced tab and any other complex configurations you can poke around.

obobskivich · 05-01-2021, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by punchbuttowski

Yep it looks like the integrated graphics is taking the ram

Well, crud.

Quote:

And one more thing unlike to other lenovo bios. My bios doesn't seem to have a "UMA Frame Buffer Size.".
It doesn't have any configurations for the chipset. The bios is so simple it doesn't have advanced tab and any other complex configurations you can poke around.

Crud x2.

Can you at least open the machine and add in more RAM? (It probably only has the two modules so you'd have to pull out the existing 2x4096MB and replace with something larger, like 2x8192MB)

Emerson · 05-01-2021, 09:44 AM

Before adding any RAM, do you need it? Is it doing extensive swapping during normal usage?

ondoho · 05-01-2021, 11:31 AM

One more thing: there is a difference between "GB" (which hardware manufacturers and Windows are using) and - erm, "GiB" I think - which Linux usually uses - shortly: 8GB of RAM actually only shows up as 7.45G in Linux ('free -h').
I realise that the difference you are seeing is larger, but I think this is a contributing factor.

punchbuttowski · 05-01-2021, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emerson

Before adding any RAM, do you need it? Is it doing extensive swapping during normal usage?

Yes. Most of the time I work in multitasking(multiple Web browsers with a lot of tabs) IDE's, inkscape etc...

Emerson · 05-01-2021, 02:56 PM

Amazing. I read such reports and wonder why. I run bloated browsers, Chromium and Firefox both running concurrently with multiple tabs open, two virtual machines are running and my RAM usage is under 4 GiB, even under 3 GiB most of the time. It is almost like my Linux is not the same Linux what some other users are running.

computersavvy · 05-02-2021, 12:11 AM

The system reports 5.7 GB (read that as GiB) which would be correct for a system having 8 GB and allocating 2GB to the video which leaves 6 GB or 5.7 GiB for the system to use (6 GB actually converts to 5.59 GiB). AFAICT there is nothing missing or lost, just reported in different units so it seems strange.