Question dwm.exe is using over 1GB of VRAM ?

[YouFilthyHippo]

Is there a way to offload that VRAM usage into system memory to free up VRAM for gaming??

 

[Ralston18]

dwm.exe - Desktop Window Manager

I am not sure about the stated requirement.

How was it determined that dwm.exe was using 1GB?

What specific problems, if any, are occurring? What game(s)?

What performance improvements are expected?

Update your post to include full system hardware specs. Windows 11 OS noted - edition?

GPU, RAM, disk drive(s) etc...

Moving dwm.exe (if even possible) may have effects opposite from what you expect.

FYI:

https://www.howtogeek.com/1119/what...tes windows in Windows,it is ended or crashes.

For the most part allowing Windows to manage such things is likely to be the recommended solution.

More information needed.

 

[YouFilthyHippo]

OS: Windows 11 Pro,
CPU: Ryzen 3900X
GPU: 4070 Ti
RAM: 64GB
SSD: Corsair MP600 1TB

It's using about 1.2GB. I dont know if there are performance impacts because I dont have anything to compare it to because its always using 1GB or more. Its was determined by the details tab in task manager. I'm not incuring issues. I just don't know why this is happening even when I'm not even doing anything, just sitting there idle. I just want to know why we need to idle with 1GB of data in VRAM?

 

[ubuysa]

I just want to know why we need to idle with 1GB of data in VRAM?

Nobody can answer that because the inner workings of the DWM are proprietary to Microsoft and they don't document it. I can tell you that it's not idle VRAM. The DWM is maintaining each display you have even when you're not doing anything. In addition, like all Windows components it's designed to maximise its use of VRAM in order to offer the best display possible with that graphics card, whilst ensuring that if additional processes need VRAM it's able to free non-essential VRAM quickly.

I can tell you too that you'll drive yourself insane by trying to second-guess the way Windows manages RAM and VRAM. You can tell nothing by looking at how much is being used at any time because you have no idea what the memory manager is doing. And the Windows memory managers are infinitely more effective at managing memory than you are.

As an example, you'd probably be horrified if your RAM and VRAM was being 100% used. Right?

Wrong. If any resource is being used to 100% then that's what you want. Isn't it? You are then getting the most use out of an expensive resource. 100% used is perfect. What's a problem is if RAM/VRAM is being 100% used and another process wants to use some RAM/VRAM. Then you have a problem.

This is why the Windows memory managers are so good at what they do. They use as much RAM/VRAM as they can to offer the best performance/response/visuals/etc. (even if that means using 100%), but they are also smart enough and responsive enough to immediately make RAM/VRAM being used for non-essential purposes available to that new process. You thus get the best of both worls, maximum use of an expensive resource with instant availability for new processes. What more could you want?

Bottom line: Looking at RAM/VRAM used is a mug's game. It's pointless. It tells you nothing. Because a mechanism far smarter and much more responsive than you (the memory managers) are in control.

 

[YouFilthyHippo]

Nobody can answer that because the inner workings of the DWM are proprietary to Microsoft and they don't document it. I can tell you that it's not idle VRAM. The DWM is maintaining each display you have even when you're not doing anything. In addition, like all Windows components it's designed to maximise its use of VRAM in order to offer the best display possible with that graphics card, whilst ensuring that if additional processes need VRAM it's able to free non-essential VRAM quickly.

I can tell you too that you'll drive yourself insane by trying to second-guess the way Windows manages RAM and VRAM. You can tell nothing by looking at how much is being used at any time because you have no idea what the memory manager is doing. And the Windows memory managers are infinitely more effective at managing memory than you are.

As an example, you'd probably be horrified if your RAM and VRAM was being 100% used. Right?

Wrong. If any resource is being used to 100% then that's what you want. Isn't it? You are then getting the most use out of an expensive resource. 100% used is perfect. What's a problem is if RAM/VRAM is being 100% used and another process wants to use some RAM/VRAM. Then you have a problem.

This is why the Windows memory managers are so good at what they do. They use as much RAM/VRAM as they can to offer the best performance/response/visuals/etc. (even if that means using 100%), but they are also smart enough and responsive enough to immediately make RAM/VRAM being used for non-essential purposes available to that new process. You thus get the best of both worls, maximum use of an expensive resource with instant availability for new processes. What more could you want?

Bottom line: Looking at RAM/VRAM used is a mug's game. It's pointless. It tells you nothing. Because a mechanism far smarter and much more responsive than you (the memory managers) are in control.

Ok, the only thing that I was worried about was that I would be playing a game that requires 12GB of VRAM. My GPU is 12GB, That would be enough as long as dwm would clear out to make room for the 12GB needed. I don't want to have a VRAM overload because some background task can't leave things alone

 

[ubuysa]

That's not how things work. You need to stop second-guessing Windows, especially with statements like 'some background task can't leave things alone'. You have no idea how Windows works internally and so you cannot make statements like this. Just because you think the PC is idle does not mean that it's doing nothing. There are thousands of necessary background tasks running all the time.

It's always possible that your hardware is not powerful enough to run specific games, the solution is a hardware upgrade, not trying to do Windows' job better than Windows does.

 

[YouFilthyHippo]

That's not how things work. You need to stop second-guessing Windows, especially with statements like 'some background task can't leave things alone'. You have no idea how Windows works internally and so you cannot make statements like this. Just because you think the PC is idle does not mean that it's doing nothing. There are thousands of necessary background tasks running all the time.

It's always possible that your hardware is not powerful enough to run specific games, the solution is a hardware upgrade, not trying to do Windows' job better than Windows does.

My hardware runs games just fine. If it didnt, I would upgrade. That's not the issue here. DWM is using 1GB of GPU. I have a laptop that only has 256MB RAM allocated to the iGPU and it runs windows 11 just fine. The math ain't mathing.

 

[Ralston18]

This:

"My hardware runs games just fine. If it didnt, I would upgrade."

If there was a problem then the games would probably not "run fine".

Ignore the VRAM being used by DWM.

Tinkering with it all may not make any noticeable improvements to game play and could end up making things worse.

Classification: "If it ain't broke then don't fix it."

Just my thoughts on the matter.

 

[YouFilthyHippo]

This:

"My hardware runs games just fine. If it didnt, I would upgrade."

If there was a problem then the games would probably not "run fine".

Ignore the VRAM being used by DWM.

Tinkering with it all may not make any noticeable improvements to game play and could end up making things worse.

Classification: "If it ain't broke then don't fix it."

Just my thoughts on the matter.

Well I'm not gonna mess with it. Im not gonna try and change it at all. I just wanna know why it's happening

 

[rgd1101]

because MS think it know better on how to use available hardware