Providing 512MB of video RAM with VirtualBox

up vote
2
down vote

favorite

I'm attempting to use VirtualBox to play a game on a Windows guest machine, running under an OSX Mavericks host with 512MB of video RAM. The game requires 512MB of video RAM (although it doesn't do anything particularly intensive, graphics-wise).

The slider in the configuration screen only goes up to 256MB.

I tried

VBoxManage modifyvm "Name of VM" --vram 512

but that did not work:

VBoxManage: error: Invalid VRAM size: 512 MB (must be in range [1, 256] MB)

VBoxManage: error: Details: code NS_ERROR_INVALID_ARG (0x80070057), component SessionMachine, interface IMachine, callee nsISupports

VBoxManage: error: Context: "COMSETTER(VRAMSize)(ValueUnion.u32)" at line 570 of file VBoxManageModifyVM.cpp

As I understand it, video RAM is emulated using regular host RAM, so I don't see any reason for such a limit. Is there a way to increase guest video RAM past 256MB?

edited Aug 4 '17 at 1:18

asked Jul 10 '15 at 16:47

intuited

1,94141731

add a comment |

up vote
2
down vote

favorite

The slider in the configuration screen only goes up to 256MB.

I tried

VBoxManage modifyvm "Name of VM" --vram 512

but that did not work:

VBoxManage: error: Invalid VRAM size: 512 MB (must be in range [1, 256] MB)

VBoxManage: error: Details: code NS_ERROR_INVALID_ARG (0x80070057), component SessionMachine, interface IMachine, callee nsISupports

VBoxManage: error: Context: "COMSETTER(VRAMSize)(ValueUnion.u32)" at line 570 of file VBoxManageModifyVM.cpp

As I understand it, video RAM is emulated using regular host RAM, so I don't see any reason for such a limit. Is there a way to increase guest video RAM past 256MB?

edited Aug 4 '17 at 1:18

asked Jul 10 '15 at 16:47

intuited

1,94141731

add a comment |

up vote
2
down vote

favorite

The slider in the configuration screen only goes up to 256MB.

I tried

VBoxManage modifyvm "Name of VM" --vram 512

but that did not work:

VBoxManage: error: Invalid VRAM size: 512 MB (must be in range [1, 256] MB)

VBoxManage: error: Details: code NS_ERROR_INVALID_ARG (0x80070057), component SessionMachine, interface IMachine, callee nsISupports

VBoxManage: error: Context: "COMSETTER(VRAMSize)(ValueUnion.u32)" at line 570 of file VBoxManageModifyVM.cpp

As I understand it, video RAM is emulated using regular host RAM, so I don't see any reason for such a limit. Is there a way to increase guest video RAM past 256MB?

edited Aug 4 '17 at 1:18

asked Jul 10 '15 at 16:47

intuited

1,94141731

The slider in the configuration screen only goes up to 256MB.

I tried

VBoxManage modifyvm "Name of VM" --vram 512

but that did not work:

VBoxManage: error: Invalid VRAM size: 512 MB (must be in range [1, 256] MB)

VBoxManage: error: Details: code NS_ERROR_INVALID_ARG (0x80070057), component SessionMachine, interface IMachine, callee nsISupports

VBoxManage: error: Context: "COMSETTER(VRAMSize)(ValueUnion.u32)" at line 570 of file VBoxManageModifyVM.cpp

As I understand it, video RAM is emulated using regular host RAM, so I don't see any reason for such a limit. Is there a way to increase guest video RAM past 256MB?

virtualbox virtualization

edited Aug 4 '17 at 1:18

asked Jul 10 '15 at 16:47

intuited

1,94141731

edited Aug 4 '17 at 1:18

asked Jul 10 '15 at 16:47

intuited

1,94141731

edited Aug 4 '17 at 1:18

asked Jul 10 '15 at 16:47

intuited

1,94141731

asked Jul 10 '15 at 16:47

intuited

1,94141731

asked Jul 10 '15 at 16:47

intuited

1,94141731

add a comment |

3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

up vote
0
down vote

This is apparently a hard limit built in to VirtualBox. Haven't tried this myself but someone on this thread reports having raised the video ram above 256MB by editing the VM configuration file and having been met with an error message and failure to start up the VM.

That same thread ventures into some speculation as to why this limit exists. It seems a reasonable question, given that modern CPUs are likely capable of handling GPU emulation for older programs that needed >256MB of video ram. Also, given that 3D support passes much of the work to the actual video card, it may well be possible to run newer programs requiring >256MB of VRAM under VirtualBox.

Some commenters on that thread thought that there was a significant amount of complexity involved in coding this change (enough to scare off those looking to hack the changes themselves) and that missing features in the emulated video card would prevent many such programs from running even given a larger amount of emulated VRAM.

answered Oct 23 at 20:02

intuited

1,94141731

add a comment |

up vote
-1
down vote

This is due to available system resources and it can't go above the hardware capabilities.

I'm running Yosemite on my MacBook Pro. I created a new VB Virtual Machine and my max video memory available is 128MB.

answered Jul 10 '15 at 16:59

Bradly

Video RAM on the Mac is 512MB.
– intuited
Jul 10 '15 at 20:52

2

my linux-based machine has 3GB of VRAM. I can't use more than 256MB.
– Wyatt8740
Sep 13 '15 at 21:04

My machine has 4GB video ram, but I can also only used 256MB in virtualbox. :(
– axel22
Apr 1 '17 at 13:53

add a comment |

up vote
-3
down vote

Easy.. Do the maths..
In HD: 1920x1080=2073600 or 2.1Mb.
VirtualBox uses your system RAM to makeup vRAM and vRAM straight.
A GPU does much more with its memory than just display images. Especially in Games, it has to process the images way deeper...
Eg: OSX Sierra uses 4Mb vRAM, it is therefore useless to give it 256Mb, right??
Do not mix GPU RAM and system vRAM...
I hope I have been clear enough..
Cheers..!!

answered Jul 27 '17 at 2:15

EmJay.Au

add a comment |

Your Answer

StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "3"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});

function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
convertImagesToLinks: true,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: 10,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});

}
});

draft saved

draft discarded

Sign up or log in

StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});

Post as a guest

Name

Required, but never shown

StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fsuperuser.com%2fquestions%2f939025%2fproviding-512mb-of-video-ram-with-virtualbox%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest

Name

Required, but never shown

3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

up vote
0
down vote

answered Oct 23 at 20:02

intuited

1,94141731

add a comment |

up vote
0
down vote

answered Oct 23 at 20:02

intuited

1,94141731

add a comment |

up vote
0
down vote

answered Oct 23 at 20:02

intuited

1,94141731

answered Oct 23 at 20:02

intuited

1,94141731

answered Oct 23 at 20:02

intuited

1,94141731

answered Oct 23 at 20:02

intuited

1,94141731

answered Oct 23 at 20:02

intuited

1,94141731

add a comment |

up vote
-1
down vote

This is due to available system resources and it can't go above the hardware capabilities.

I'm running Yosemite on my MacBook Pro. I created a new VB Virtual Machine and my max video memory available is 128MB.

answered Jul 10 '15 at 16:59

Bradly

Video RAM on the Mac is 512MB.
– intuited
Jul 10 '15 at 20:52

2

my linux-based machine has 3GB of VRAM. I can't use more than 256MB.
– Wyatt8740
Sep 13 '15 at 21:04

My machine has 4GB video ram, but I can also only used 256MB in virtualbox. :(
– axel22
Apr 1 '17 at 13:53

add a comment |

up vote
-1
down vote

This is due to available system resources and it can't go above the hardware capabilities.

I'm running Yosemite on my MacBook Pro. I created a new VB Virtual Machine and my max video memory available is 128MB.

answered Jul 10 '15 at 16:59

Bradly

Video RAM on the Mac is 512MB.
– intuited
Jul 10 '15 at 20:52

2

my linux-based machine has 3GB of VRAM. I can't use more than 256MB.
– Wyatt8740
Sep 13 '15 at 21:04

My machine has 4GB video ram, but I can also only used 256MB in virtualbox. :(
– axel22
Apr 1 '17 at 13:53

add a comment |

up vote
-1
down vote

This is due to available system resources and it can't go above the hardware capabilities.

I'm running Yosemite on my MacBook Pro. I created a new VB Virtual Machine and my max video memory available is 128MB.

answered Jul 10 '15 at 16:59

Bradly

This is due to available system resources and it can't go above the hardware capabilities.

I'm running Yosemite on my MacBook Pro. I created a new VB Virtual Machine and my max video memory available is 128MB.

answered Jul 10 '15 at 16:59

Bradly

answered Jul 10 '15 at 16:59

Bradly

answered Jul 10 '15 at 16:59

Bradly

answered Jul 10 '15 at 16:59

Bradly

Video RAM on the Mac is 512MB.
– intuited
Jul 10 '15 at 20:52

2

my linux-based machine has 3GB of VRAM. I can't use more than 256MB.
– Wyatt8740
Sep 13 '15 at 21:04

My machine has 4GB video ram, but I can also only used 256MB in virtualbox. :(
– axel22
Apr 1 '17 at 13:53

add a comment |

Video RAM on the Mac is 512MB.
– intuited
Jul 10 '15 at 20:52

2

my linux-based machine has 3GB of VRAM. I can't use more than 256MB.
– Wyatt8740
Sep 13 '15 at 21:04

My machine has 4GB video ram, but I can also only used 256MB in virtualbox. :(
– axel22
Apr 1 '17 at 13:53

Video RAM on the Mac is 512MB.
– intuited
Jul 10 '15 at 20:52

my linux-based machine has 3GB of VRAM. I can't use more than 256MB.
– Wyatt8740
Sep 13 '15 at 21:04

My machine has 4GB video ram, but I can also only used 256MB in virtualbox. :(
– axel22
Apr 1 '17 at 13:53

add a comment |

up vote
-3
down vote

answered Jul 27 '17 at 2:15

EmJay.Au

add a comment |

up vote
-3
down vote

answered Jul 27 '17 at 2:15

EmJay.Au

add a comment |

up vote
-3
down vote

answered Jul 27 '17 at 2:15

EmJay.Au

answered Jul 27 '17 at 2:15

EmJay.Au

answered Jul 27 '17 at 2:15

EmJay.Au

answered Jul 27 '17 at 2:15

EmJay.Au

answered Jul 27 '17 at 2:15

EmJay.Au

add a comment |

draft saved

draft discarded

Thanks for contributing an answer to Super User!

Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

But avoid …

Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.

To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.

Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.

Please pay close attention to the following guidance:

Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

But avoid …

Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.

To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.

draft saved

draft discarded

Sign up or log in

StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});

Post as a guest

Name

Required, but never shown

Post as a guest

Name

Required, but never shown

Sign up or log in

StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});

Post as a guest

Name

Required, but never shown

Sign up or log in

StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});

Post as a guest

Name

Required, but never shown

Sign up or log in

StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});

Post as a guest

Name

Required, but never shown

Name

Required, but never shown

Name

Required, but never shown

This page is only for reference, If you need detailed information, please check here

搜尋此網誌

Csdrhrt