Ati Mobility X1400 - Disable HyperMemory ?

[Djarnis]

Is it possible to disable the HyperMemory on my Thinkpad T60 with ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 ?

[perry_78]

As far as I know, no.

[wallybear]

The HyperMemory function is hard-wired into the chipset. The ATI GPU is always allowed to "take" RAM from main system RAM if needed for 3D graphics rendering.

Most of the time (in 2D use and light 3D use) the 128MB of RAM on the GPU board is more than adequate for rendering needs. So, no system RAM is used (that is, not available for other programs).

I have a question for you: Why do you want to disable it?

[perry_78]

It put strains on the memory subsystem, which in turn affects performance.

[own6volvos]

It put strains on the memory subsystem, which in turn affects performance.

Strains in what way? For example, benchmarking memory bandwidth on a 945G chipset (GMA950 video) or a 945P (no onboard video, separate video card), the benchmarks were within 1-3% of eachother going back and forth depending on what was running in the background.

Where would a comp user even notice this?

[perry_78]

I come from a hardware background, and every time I was running Turbocache cards, or onboard cards, they simply ate too much bandwith, not to mention ram space.

I would be very much surprised if running HM did not affect performance at all. 3dMark01 is a proven cpu + memory subsystem benchmark, where any performance difference is quickly registered.

[wallybear]

If this is a deal breaker, you could sell your T60 and buy a T60p for a lot more money. Or, you could do what I did and put some money into an Advanced Dock and a PCI-Express video card. When docked, your T60 won't be "hobbled" by the HyperMemory.