Close Menu
Technology Mag

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    What's Hot

    Apple just added more frost to its Liquid Glass design

    July 7, 2025

    The next Switch 2 restock kicks off at 7PM ET online at Walmart

    July 7, 2025

    Tesla’s real struggles have only just begun

    July 7, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Subscribe
    Technology Mag
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    • Home
    • News
    • Business
    • Games
    • Gear
    • Reviews
    • Science
    • Security
    • Trending
    • Press Release
    Technology Mag
    Home » AMD’s new Variable Graphics Memory lets laptop users reassign their RAM to gaming
    News

    AMD’s new Variable Graphics Memory lets laptop users reassign their RAM to gaming

    News RoomBy News RoomSeptember 11, 20243 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp Email

    Many laptops and gaming handhelds share a single pool of memory between the CPU and GPU — and sometimes, you might want that RAM boosting your graphics instead. Now, AMD won’t make you dive into a BIOS to reroute that power. The company’s new Variable Graphics Memory lets you turn up to 75 percent of your system memory into dedicated video RAM, just by tapping a button in AMD’s desktop Adrenalin app.

    It’s only currently available for AMD AI 300 “Strix Point” laptops, and how much RAM you’ll be able to divert depends on your system’s total — AMD explains that the “medium” setting will turn a 32GB laptop which came with 512MB of video memory into a 24GB one with 8GB of dedicated VRAM.

    You might be wondering: does that extra video memory actually make a difference? Well, it depends on the game. Some games, like Alan Wake II, require as many as 6GB of VRAM and will throw errors at launch if you’re short — Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go buyers have been tweaking their VRAM settings for some time to take games to the threshold of playability.

    But in early testing with the Asus Zenbook S 16, a Strix Point laptop that’s already shipped with this feature, my colleague Joanna Nelius saw that turning it on isn’t a silver bullet for every game. With 8GB of VRAM, the laptop played Control notably faster (65fps vs. 54fps), but some titles had smaller boosts, no boost, or even slight framerate decreases.

    Your mileage will vary — but I’m eager to find out if it’s a big boost in particular games!

    There, AMD says you can get substantial boosts combined with VGM, assuming you’ve got at least 50 fps to work with before you apply the frame generating technique — though AMD doesn’t say whether you’re getting any more frames with AFMF 2 than you did with the original version of the tech.

    The company does claim, though, that if your laptop can already manage 39 fps in, say, Horizon Zero Dawn, you can now play it at a (theoretically) smooth 66 fps on a 2880 x 1800 laptop screen if you combine AFMF2, VGM, and AMD’s FSR upscaling tech.

    In other AMD laptop gaming news, the company’s just announced the RX 7800M, a new up-to-180W chip that comes with 12GB of dedicated video memory. Tom’s Hardware calls it “essentially a stripped-down RX 7800 XT,” comparing it to the desktop GPU, but it’s also filling a huge hole in AMD’s lineup between the flagship RX 7900M and the RX 7600M XT, as you can see below.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleApple Must Pay $14.4 Billion to Ireland in Crackdown on ‘Sweetheart Deals’
    Next Article Here’s how the new Apple Watch Series 10 stacks up to other models

    Related Posts

    Apple just added more frost to its Liquid Glass design

    July 7, 2025

    The next Switch 2 restock kicks off at 7PM ET online at Walmart

    July 7, 2025

    Tesla’s real struggles have only just begun

    July 7, 2025

    Bluesky can really keep up with the news now that it has activity notifications

    July 7, 2025

    Epic reaches mystery settlement with Samsung days before new Galaxy phones

    July 7, 2025

    Apple’s latest AirPods are already on sale for $99 before Prime Day

    July 7, 2025
    Our Picks

    The next Switch 2 restock kicks off at 7PM ET online at Walmart

    July 7, 2025

    Tesla’s real struggles have only just begun

    July 7, 2025

    Bluesky can really keep up with the news now that it has activity notifications

    July 7, 2025

    Epic reaches mystery settlement with Samsung days before new Galaxy phones

    July 7, 2025
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Vimeo
    Don't Miss
    News

    Apple’s latest AirPods are already on sale for $99 before Prime Day

    By News RoomJuly 7, 2025

    Amazon Prime Day kicks off tomorrow, July 8th, but you don’t have to wait until…

    Is It Time to Stop Protecting the Grizzly Bear?

    July 7, 2025

    How SharkNinja took over the home, with CEO Mark Barrocas

    July 7, 2025

    Apple’s 5th Ave store spray-painted to protest ‘climate hypocrisy’

    July 7, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of use
    • Advertise
    • Contact
    © 2025 Technology Mag. All Rights Reserved.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.