Virtual Address Space Usage in Windows Game Development

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Virtual Address Space Usage in Windows Game Development

WDDM_VA.doc

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Updated: Aug 2, 2007

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Windows Vista significantly improved the way in which the operating system handles the graphic processing unit (GPU). The Windows Vista Display Driver Model (WDDM) enables better sharing of GPU resources among multiple graphics applications. The video memory manager component of WDDM virtualizes the available video memory resources for applications to use. This enables the new Windows Aero experience to run alongside other applications, such as video playback, which also use the GPU.

However, the virtualization of video memory increases the amount of virtual address space that applications use. Consequently, some applications may exhaust virtual address space when running on 32-bit Windows Vista. This paper describes the types of applications that might encounter such problems and the steps that Microsoft is taking to reduce virtual address space pressure for games running under WDDM.

This information applies for the Windows Vista operating system.

Included in this paper:

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