Intel Iris XE - 128VRAM - Registry edit not working. HP UEFI setting ignored

[penguinpages]

I transitioned to a new laptop:

HP Zbook Firefly 15 G8 

32GB RAM

Windows 11

Driver  Iris Xe  5/13/2022 30.0.101.1994

I don't play super high rez games, but I would like to do some gaming on occasion.  

Issue: VRAM from DirectX displays 128MB RAM which the game company uses and so stops it from running properly.

I have tracked many forums on this thread... and I have made the registry change:

1) Create Key:   \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Intel\"GMM"  (folder)

2) Create Value: Type: 32bit DWORD, Name: "DedicagedSegmentSize"  Decimal Value "512"

I have also boot UEFI and changed value from 128 to 512 (max setting).

DirectX Diag still showing no change.   There are other conversations about tools that can adjust VRAM but they are not on sites I would trust.. and I think they are just doing above two steps.  

I have contacted the game vendor but they are pushing back this is a Intel driver issue... and yes... I posted that this was noted by Intel as NOT being there issue.. but not seeing that being redressed by vendor.

I don't want to or care to get into finger pointing between development teams, I just need a means to get this fixed.

Question

1) Why does the Intel Iris driver not reflect what is set within UEFI for allocated VRAM?  

2) Why does the registry key setting not effect the Iris driver

If there are debug tools to run or other data collection I can also run those.

[Jean_Intel]

Hello, penguinpages,

Thank you for posting on the Intel️® communities.  

To have a better understanding of your issue, please provide me with the following:

• What is the name of the game you are experiencing issues with?
• What is the issue exactly, does the game crash? Does it run but with low performance?
• When did the issue start? Does the game run properly before?
• Do you receive any error messages? If so, please provide me with a screenshot of it.
• Create a report using the Intel®️ System Support Utility (Intel®️ SSU)  
  • Download the Intel SSU (https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/18377/25293/intel-system-support-utility-for-windows.html)
  • Open the application and click on "Scan" to see the system and device information. By default, Intel®️ SSU will take you to the "Summary View." 
  • Click on the menu where it says: "Summary" to change it to "Detailed View." 
  • To save your scan: click on "Next"; then "Save." 

Best regards, 

Jean O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[penguinpages]

Thanks for response:

• What is the name of the game you are experiencing issues with?  -> Dungeons and dragons online Standing Stone engine that runs many games
• What is the issue exactly, does the game crash? Not directly. Splash screen loads and hangs. Support notes this as issue with video card not having suffient RAM (Stand Stone Support tickets 238891  and 248001) 
  •  Does it run but with low performance?  No.. never gets past loading first few splash screens.
• When did the issue start? New Intel Laptop. Old laptop Windows 11 ran fine HP ZBook 15u G6.  New  HP Zbook Firefly 15 G8 does not work
  • Does the game run properly before? Never on Intel Iris XE chipset
• Do you receive any error messages? If so, please provide me with a screenshot of it.  I can.. it would be just a still shot of game loading screen.. not much help.

Attached is run of SSU diagnostics.  PS: Someone needs to fix / review that tool. target URL for "Submit" post collection is servicerequestmgmt.intel.com  but that is no longer a valid URL.

Thanks for help

[Jean_Intel]

Hello penguinpages,

I appreciate the information provided.

There is no way to preset your VRAM to a specific value. You can only limit the maximum memory that it can take. The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) does not have a dedicated memory; it uses shared memory that will be allocated automatically depending on various factors. The option to adjust the maximum memory is usually available in the BIOS, but the setting may not be available for all systems.

If you want to confirm the amount of graphics memory your computer has, try the following:

• Switch to the Windows* Desktop
• Right-click on a blank area of the desktop and select Display settings
• Click Advanced display settings
• Click Display adapter properties.
• The total available graphics memory is listed on the Adapter tab under Adapter Information.

The actual maximum graphics memory limit reported by Windows can vary. The memory limit is dependent on non-Intel-controlled factors—for example, available system memory, BIOS, or system settings. For more detail on how Windows handles memory management, see Microsoft documentation for Graphics Memory Reporting through WDD.

Best regards, 

Jean O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[penguinpages]

I did make changes in UEFI (BIOS) and set it to 512GB (see below attached image) but the Chipset / driver is ignoring this.

[Adyextreme01]

hi don't bother to change settings in uefi it is pointless unless you are running dos 6.1 usually after an operating system has booted the UEFI just takes the settings are coming from the operalinsyste drivers and are passed to the hardware! 

Modern Operating systems are managing hardware themselves. and on Arm/ARM64 system they have even the firmware bundled in the bootloader that why it makes so difficult to replace the operating system other that tat it was shipped with.

another idea the setting in UEFI is not the max vram should reserve it is the minimum it should have but if you boot into windows starting to bring his own settings and even overwrite section in uefi entirely if it doesn't fit to windows specs.  IGP is not very powerful anyway.  if you want to have on a laptop workstation grade graphics just get an E-GPU you will see an 400% performance uplift 

windows assign to IGP the vram dynamically based on how much free ram you have, and y mean a section that is not reserved for cache or prefetch. 

for example, on my system y have 64GB ram so windows can assign 32GB to act as vram but this can change if programs claims that memory   since y have an HP EliteBook 850 G8 it also has 128 Dedicated ram so you will have a display with 3d acceleration regardless of shared memory but not all has that extra small ram that is bundled in the cpu

Look at the shared system Memory this is the amount windows can allocate in the moment you requested the settings query. 

[Jean_Intel]

Hello penguinpages,

I understand that you made changes to changes on the BIOS settings; however, keep in mind that it is a BIOS option that I am not entirely sure of what it does. That's why I recommend you check the amount of graphics memory your computer has using the steps provided in my previous post. 

Also, I want to confirm why you state that the Chipset/driver is ignoring your BIOS setting. Are you confirming that the video memory is not 512GB?

Best regards, 

Jean O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[penguinpages]

Are you confirming that the video memory is not 512GB? 

Correct:  Base system noted 128MB and so I bumped it to 512MB .. which is the maximum from memory options within UEFI.

Images of screenshot per your previous note. I just assumed dxdiag as well as SSU export made it clear the graphics allocated memory is 128MB.

[penguinpages]

Game vendor just replied and again closed ticket that this is issue with Intel graphics card  

##########

 (Standing Stone Games Help)

Jul 27, 2022, 9:33 AM PDT

Greetings,
 
Thank you for your reply. Your current graphics card does not have enough dedicated memory to run DDO. Unfortunately we are not able to provide further troubleshooting as your device does not meet the minimum requirements. If you have any further questions concerning your graphics card, then I would suggest to contact Intel directly.
 
Kind regards,

Customer Support
Standing Stone Game

[n_scott_pearson]

Let's clear this up once and for all.

1. Settings in BIOS are not transferred to runtime.
2. No runtime registry settings are available to change the minimum allocation.
3. Any game that will not work (especially because of an absolutely silly test like this) has a major bug in it. They need to fix it. Their game will not work with any Intel iGFX solution released in the past 4 years (i.e. 7th gen processors and release of DCH-architected GFX drivers).

My opinion is my own, not Intel's, but these are the facts.

...S

[Adyextreme01]

true but who programs graphics on IGP systems they just use well known APIs  why do you think even if you get the maxed specked graphic card but form not so popular vendor most software won't even accept is. 

ah sorry but the UEFI/bios has just the role to power the device on and perform a verry short self-check If even that not more.

and yes, even on 11th gen Intel you can only run software that is not hardware bonded. some can be tweaked in the configs to add your graphic card hardware descriptor like example PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_9A49&SUBSYS_8846103C&REV_01\3&11583659&0&10

then save the SQL database.XML or .ini file depending on the software the hardware will be whitelisted it will output.

some bights use a blacklist, so it needs to be removed.  

but if you don't want to hassle in the configs simply get an E-GPU  and you are not limited to 1 you can add as many as you have thunderbolt / usb gen3by2 full specked ok on USB you will be limited 128 HOSTS but imagine that gpu cluster you can run chatgpt locally lol 

[Jean_Intel]

Hello penguinpages,

I hope you are doing fine.

I have not heard back from you. So we will close this thread. If you need any additional information, submit a new question, as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Best regards.

Jean O. 

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[Jean_Intel]

Hello penguinpages,

As my last comment, Keep in mind that the Integrated GPU shares your normal system RAM instead of using its own dedicated VRAM, so maybe they can provide you with steps on how to increase the it, maybe a list of compatible RAM with higher capasity.

Best regards.

Jean O. 

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[Bernhardt]

Removed my reply after doing some digging on the topic.

[Adyextreme01]

ah some manufacturers have as small dedicated vram on the motherboard but those are usual enterprise grade devices that support opate, hot-ptplug  etc    

[penguinpages]

Thanks for the responses.  I really do appreciate the responses and candid details.  

I contacted Standing Stone and they are saying this is a hardware / driver issue. That DirectX reports the memory they address and so until I fix what DirectX diag reports, the game will not be able to function. 

It is just disappointing that a nice new shinny laptop... 3 x performance in CPU and RAM than old one.. can not run this kind of older game for when I want to just relax and play something.  Really wish there was a means to get directX to report back, even if false, what UEFI has set, or some random number that then gets past this error.  Even if it is a hack around software game code not properly using standards published for modern coding.

[Adyextreme01]

well you answered yourself the issue hardware is not backwards compatible! if your software is to old for the hardware it addresses calls that are not supported by the hardware ah y have a workaround that ands is simple a virtual machine every software will run in it   

VMware offers a very comprehensive selection of virtualization products, with Fusion for the Apple Mac and Workstation Player for the PC.

Despite the name difference, these two products offer effectively the same solution, though tailored to each host OS.

For the Mac that includes a neat ‘Unity Mode’ that enables Mac OS to launch Windows applications from the Dock and have them appear like they’re part of the host OS.

Workstation, as the version numbering suggests, is a more mature product and delivers one of the most sophisticated VM implementations seen so far.

Being one of the few hosts that supports DirectX 10 and OpenGL 3.3, it allows CAD and other GPU accelerated applications to work under virtualization.

Workstation Player for Windows or Linux is free for personal use, though Pro is required for business users, and those wanting to run restricted VMs created using Pro or Fusion Pro. 

so done