4 Ways to Increase Dedicated Video Memory (VRAM) in Windows 10/11

Quick Tips

• Consider upgrading to a dedicated graphics card if integrated VRAM isn’t sufficient for your needs.
• Access your BIOS/UEFI settings during startup to increase VRAM allocation if your system supports it.
• Modify VRAM settings through the Windows Registry Editor for a potential increase.

Method 1: Upgrade to a Dedicated GPU

The best way to increase the dedicated Video RAM (VRAM) on your Windows is by upgrading the Graphics card in your PC. As new graphics cards come with better VRAM with more memory capacity. However, if that’s too expensive or if you own an un-upgradable laptop, see the next few sections to increase the VRAM on your Windows PC.

Method 2: Get More Video Memory (VRAM) Using BIOS

To increase the dedicated Video RAM in Windows 10 or 11 systems, you need to first enter into BIOS/UEFI. Next, follow the below steps.

Note: The steps mentioned here are for Windows 10 and 11 PCs that come with the old BIOS UI. Even in that, there might be some difference in the option names. We have tested the following steps on a Lenovo laptop that comes with the old BIOS UI.

Step 1: Once you enter the BIOS menu, go to the Configuration tab.

Tip: You can use arrow keys to navigate in BIOS.

Step 2: Go to UMA Frame buffer size at the bottom and hit Enter.

Step 3: Now, choose the size of your choice and hit Enter.

Step 4: Once you make the necessary changes, hit F10.

Step 5: Choose Yes to confirm the changes and boot back to Windows.

If you can’t see the same menu options in your Windows system, then it might be because your manufacturer shipped the system with a new recovery UI. In that case, we would suggest you check with the brand support or forum to know the right menu names.

Method 3: Modify Value in Registry Editor

You can make many changes in your system and increase the allocated VRAM memory. However, it doesn’t increase the Video RAM. Instead, it just modifies a dummy value with which you can fool the games that require a specific amount of VRAM to run.

Note: Since the VRAM value is not actually changed, it might put some pressure on your system if you run applications that consume the maximum Video RAM.

Step 1: Open Run by using the key combination Windows key + R.

Step 2: Type regedit and hit Enter.

Step 3: Paste the following path and hit Enter.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Intel

Note: You can paste this step even if you have an AMD-powered Windows machine.

Step 4: Right-click the Intel folder and navigate to New > Key.

Note: If you have multiple user IDs on your Windows PC, you should perform these steps on your admin user.

Step 5: Name the new Key as GMM.

Step 6: Choose the GMM folder and right-click on the right side.

Step 7: Select New and hit DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Step 8: Name it DedicatedSegmentSize.

Step 9: Right-click and choose Modify.

Step 10: In the pop-up that appears, type any value between 0 and 512, choose Decimal, and hit OK.

Step 11: Restart your system and see if you notice any difference.

Tip: You can increase the value if you aren’t able to notice any difference.

Method 4: Upgrade System RAM

If there’s no dedicated video memory, your PC will utilize the system RAM for graphic-intensive tasks by default. Increasing the value by following the steps mentioned above will take up more RAM and might affect the general performance.

You can free up RAM on your Windows system or upgrade the default RAM so that it can be allocated for such tasks.

FAQs on Increasing Dedicated Windows VRAM

Sometimes, despite increasing the dedicated VRAM, you will face performance issues if the GPU is not powerful enough to handle the tasks you throw at it.