Windows 10 Windows 10 Pro RAM under-utilization and Shared GPU Memory Setting

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CAP_PA

I have a Razer Blade Pro 4k (2017) with 32 GB of RAM and a GTX 1080 8 GB Graphics Card running Windows 10 Pro.


I use this computer to do 3D CAD work. My CAD software (Sketchup Pro 2020) is more more CPU and RAM intensive than GPU intensive.


When working with large files, my CAD software begins to lag heavily as I approach 16 GB of used RAM with 16 GB free. If I close down other programs to free up some of the used RAM, it starts behaving faster.


At first I thought my second set of 16 GB of RAM must not be working, but I ran a memory test and it showed no errors. I also ran a severe load test, and as I opened many programs with large files, the 1st 16 GB of RAM would be quickly utilized, while the second seemed extremely hesitant to be utilized. It almost felt like a logarithmic scale was being applied, where If I opened one large file in a program it would use X amount of RAM, but then opening a 2nd large file would use only X/2, when opening a 3rd large file it would be like X/3 and so on. Of course as I'm doing this the computer begins to lag, but with still plenty of free RAM available. Eventually after opening up an insane number of programs the 2nd set of 16 GB allows itself to be used up.


The overall behavior feels as though Windows is trying to leave the 2nd set of RAM as free as possible even at the cost of slowing the overall system down. In this computer which has hardwired RAM and on another desktop computer where I can change how much RAM is installed, I noticed that Windows sets the "Shared GPU Memory" to half the available memory and it does this whether or not a discrete graphics card is installed. And although I've read that this should not effect performance with Windows giving priority to the CPU for the available RAM, it seems the exact opposite is true.


It seems Windows prioritizes keeping the second half of your RAM as free as possible so that it is available for the GPU if needed. So in the end if you want X GB of usable RAM, it seems you need to install 2X GB.


Can anyone that has a lot of RAM and runs apps that use a good portion of that RAM let me know if you are experiencing something similar?


As far as I can tell there does not seem to be a user-accessible way to change the Shared GPU Memory Setting. If anyone can enlighten me please do. Otherwise, I'd like to request Microsoft add the ability to turn that off when a discrete graphics card is installed and let users get the most out of their RAM.


Thanks

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