Video card question

smashguy37 wrote on 10/25/2007, 10:54 AM
Back last January I had to buy a new computer and I was a little more uninformed back then. I wanted a video card to simply to take memory usage off of the RAM, but later realized the guy sold me a card which combines it's own memory with local memory -- Nvidia 6200TC. It's 128 megs of local memory I think.

I finally located it running in my task manager and got rid of it and something else related in the startup menu, but I can't get rid of it (it comes back after restart/shutdown). The internet suggests I need it because it's the driver, but another site says I don't need it. I don't want it to use any local memory, just it's own and I don't need any fancy features. I probably can't shut it off, but what do you guys think? It's the "nvsvc32.exe" file.

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 10/25/2007, 12:42 PM
That most likely isn't using any of your system RAM for the video display. The driver probably needs a tiny bit of RAM to run in, but i'm sure it's a negligible amount. I wouldn't worry about it.

I've never heard of a video card making use of both system RAM and onboard RAM for the video display. Generally a separate video card will use only it's own RAM, and a video display built into the motherboard may use either part of system RAM, or have its own. There wouldn't be any benefit to making use of both.
Maverick wrote on 10/25/2007, 1:18 PM
I have the nVidia GeForce 7300GS card which has 256MB of onboard memory and can use upto 256 of RAM as well (TurboCash technology)

I never wish to use the 256MB of RAM but, according to nVidia, this option cannot be turned off.

HTH.
rmack350 wrote on 10/25/2007, 6:13 PM
Current Vista drivers often use both card and system memory. The solution in Vista is probably to turn off all the whiz-bang interface enhancements.

There were also some lower end cards that would do this in XP, but as far as I know all cards do this in Vista.

Rob Mack
smashguy37 wrote on 10/25/2007, 7:05 PM
Using system and card memory is part of the whole "TC" (Turbo Cache) thing with this card. It's supposed to improve whatever...I don't know. I can end task it in task manager and nothing out of the ordinary happens...

I think it uses somewhere in the 3000 K range. I don't suppose that that is much?
TheHappyFriar wrote on 10/25/2007, 8:11 PM
unless you're using something that takes up all the video memory (IE a modern game) there's nothing to worry about. most of the time the 2d part is separate from the 3d part.

you're panicking over nothing here. Drink some fresh hot tea & it'll be good. :D
smashguy37 wrote on 10/26/2007, 6:08 AM
Haha, okay. I never gave it much thought but then wondered when I saw that because I was going through and cleaning up my startup list and such.
TheHappyFriar wrote on 10/26/2007, 11:00 AM
i don't know about Nvidia but ATI lets you just install the driver, minus all the extras. If nvidia does that it might not be a bad idea if you don't need anything else.
smashguy37 wrote on 10/26/2007, 12:21 PM
I don't think it lets me do that. Anyway, it probably takes up nothing while running I guess, but it appears to be close to the same size as, for example, my "Spy Sweeper" program, running in the background. But you're probably right.