Help with dv8000t video options

Hello. I'm a new poster to the boards and in March bought a dv8000t with 1GB system memory and the Geforce Go7400/128MB. When I check with various benchmark and utility programs, it's showing 512MB video memory. Now, I realize that it's probably sharing, but I don't have any options with managing the sharing allocation. I'd like to reduce or even turn off the sharing and just run with the dedicated, but I have no option in the BIOS (F.08A) or in the nvidia (8.3.2.0A) settings.
I talked to HP support a few times and have been told various things, ranging from:
1) I have 512 MB dedicated video memory, supported by the fact that when viewing System Properties from My Comp it shows all of my system ram (1GB), whereas if there was memory shared it the system ram would be reduced by the shared amount (is this true?)
to
2) I need an "expansion card" in the expansion slot in order to have dedicated video memory, without it all of the memory is shared.
I know #2 can't be right, but I wonder about #1.


Some of the benchmark info I'm seeing seems very strange:
the bus width = 256-bit (can't be right)
the 2D core and memory frequencies are lower than the 3D core/mem freqs (don't recall exact numbers, laptop not here)
total vid mem shows 512M, texture mem ~369M

Can anybody explain this, at least better than HP?

for the record I'm using :
PC Wizard 2006 v1.68
3DMark05 score = 1998
HP Pavilion dv8000t CTO NB
XP Home SP2
CoreDuo processor T2400 (1.83 GHz)
17.0" WXGA+ BrightView (1440x900)
128MB GeForce Go 7400
1.0GB DDR2 SDRAM (2x512MB)
80 GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive
DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network w/Bluetooth

Hey baltimoredsmguy, have you run any benchmark or utilities on you video setup? Just wondering if you're getting similarly strange numbers, like the very low memory frequency and bandwidth. Here's what PCWizard2006 says about mine:
General Information :
Manufacturer : Nvidia Corp (Hewlett-Packard Company)
Bus Type : PCI-Express
Total Memory : 512 MB
Texture Memory : 369 MB
Processor : GeForce Go 7400
Converter : Integrated RAMDAC
Refresh Rate (min/max) : 59/60 Hz

Number of GPU : 1
Codename : NV46
Revision : A3
Bus : 256-bit
Memory Type : SDRAM
GPU Frequency : 1350 MHz - [initial : 450 MHz]
Memory Frequency GPU : 22.65 MHz - [initial : 700 MHz]
Memory Bandwidth : 725 MB/s
2D Core : 100 MHz
2D Memory : 270 MHz
3D Performance Core : 450 MHz
3D Performance Memory : 700 MHz
3D Reduced Power Core : 200 MHz
3D Reduced Power Memory : 400 MHz
Anti Aliasing Mode : OFF
Frames Buffered : 3
ForceWare Version : 6.14.10.8320
Video Bios Information :
Date : 12/06/05
Version : Version 5.72.22.31.04
ID : Version 5.72.22.31.04

In DirectX configuration in PC Wiz
Driver Information :
Model : NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400
Driver : nv4_disp.dll
WHQL Level : Yes
Version : 6.14.10.8320
Revision : 161
Type : 2
Vertex Shader Version : 1.1
Pixel Shader Version : 1.4
Memory Information :
Video Memory : 385 MB free on 387 MB
Local Video Memory : 385 MB free on 387 MB
AGP Video Memory : 0 MB free on 0 MB
Texture Memory : 385 MB free on 387 MB

Yep, just did that the other day before seeing your post. The new BIOS is F.13A (released late May), replacing F.09A from April. Now my benchmarking/diagnostic utilities (PCWizard and DxDiag) show 256MB video memory - down from 512- but now show 500MB texture memory - up from 369MB. The reported memory frequency and throughput still seem wrong, though. Don't you think "Memory Frequency GPU :22.65 MHz
Memory Bandwidth :725 MB/s" is awfully low? Despite the BIOS update, my video benchmarks have been unaffected, since I'm still getting about 2000 in 3DMark05.
Also, there's still no option in the BIOS to turn of sharing, which makes me wonder what we've actually got under the hood. Did they just give us 256MB dedicated, or did they leave out the option of turning off sharing?

Chris

Drew, I don't have Sandra installed. Downloading it now to try later. The numbers zdj and I are seeing are being reported by the PCWizard utility. It's possible the software is just mis-interpreting the hardware since it is after all fairly new (but I am running the most recent version of PCW). Note that it's also reporting a bus width of 256 bits, which is way off since the 7400 is supposed to be 64. I'm thinking 64bits x 4 pixel pipes = 256 is what's going on, but I don't think this is the way it's supposed to be reported.

Chris

Installed Sandra07 and it says I have 254MB video and 248MB shared, with 502MB texture. I don't see where Sandra reports on the memory bandwidth, though. Drew, did you get a diagostic on your bandwidth and, if so, from what utility? Or is the number you quoted a spec from somewhere?
When I updated the BIOS from F.08 to F.09, I didn't see any changes with the reported diagnostic values in PCWiz and DxDiag, but I did after installing F.13 and the new NVIDIA drivers. I have to go back and check the results files I saved because I've used both PCWiz06 1.66 (early on) and 1.68 (later), and I don't exactly remember when I switched and what affect the change had on the results. I think the funny "initial" numbers in my previous post
GPU Frequency : 1350 MHz - [initial : 450 MHz]
Memory Frequency GPU : 22.65 MHz - [initial : 700 MHz]
went away when I updated PCW, but the MemFreq and bandwidth have always shown up low.

Chris

Drew, I suspect you are using an differnt, older BIOS (F.08 or F.09) than I am (F.13) - in your pic below your video BIOS is 5.72.22.31.04, wheras mine is reported as 5.72.22.41.61.
Before updating to F.13, PCWiz 1.68 told be I had:
Total Memory :512 MB
Texture Memory : 369 MB
whereas after BIOS updating (and also the NVIDIA drivers from 8.3.2.0A to 8.4.5.4A), I now see:
Total Memory :256 MB
Texture Memory : 497 MB
Also, are you running Sandra07? It could be that an older version might not properly identify newer hardware.
BTW, I didn't have Sandra installed when I had the older BIOSs installed, so I tell you what it reported. What versions of the BIOS and NVIDIA drivers are you running?

Chris

Drew, I'm also using Sandra Lite (2007 version). I think there's something screwy with the early BIOSs. I say that based on the changes I've seen in what PCWiz reports with the different BIOSs I've used. Now that I'm at F.13, Sandra reports to me, quote:
Total Memory: 256MB (254MBVideo) (248MB System)
I'm assuming that the "Video" means the dedicated RAM and the System refers to the shared memory. I'm also guessing that the texture memory is, by default anyway, completely in shared memory, which could explain why the value being reported is always changing. Today, Sandra reports my texture memory as 502MB, whereas yesterday it was 497MB.

Anybody out there know how the texture memory relates to the physical graphics memory?

Different question for you Drew. How much are you OCing you Go card and how much performance difference does it make? Is it stable? I found some info on the Coolbits hak you are talking about, but it seems like it's been around a long time, which makes me a bit leery about trying it (on newer hardware).

Chris