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August 12, 2005
Dear CNET members,
Happy Friday, folks! It's back to school for many of us, and the computer buying season is upon us once again. With so many of us taking advantage of deals that retailers have to offer on computers, it was a great opportunity to present this question by Sandra about shared memory for video. Many thanks for all the great member submissions this week; I received explanations from the very basic to the more complex. And somewhere in between, I found Gary's winning answer to start off the Q&A. While Gary does a wonderful job of explaining it, not all of you will find it digestible, so please check out the honorable mentions and other explanations by our members. Hopefully, you'll find a clarification that will suit you best. And if you are still unclear about this topic, join us in this week's discussion and ask away. Our community contributors are standing by. Have a great weekend, everyone!
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Member Question of the Week
I'm in the market for a new PC, and what I've come across
with most off-the-shelf systems is a specification of shared
memory for video. When they refer to memory, what do they mean?
Is that a good or bad thing, and should I be concerned?
I will be primarily using my computer for Web surfing, e-mail
reading, and photo editing. However, I plan to expand my
usage to watching movies, playing games, and maybe even
editing some video. Since these are all video related, I'm a
bit worried that somehow the shared memory for video may
prevent me from doing these things. Any explanation and
recommendations are appreciated. I really don't want to
regret this big purchase.
Submitted by:
Sandra W.
Both shared and dedicated memory have their advantages and drawbacks. You need to decide which one is best for you.
To understand shared memory, you first need to know what memory is. Memory usually refers to Random Access Memory, or RAM. When you run programs or applications on your computer, the code of those applications is loaded into the RAM, from where it is executed. The information stored in the RAM can be accessed in any random order (as opposed to a sequential access), hence the code in the RAM can be executed quickly and when required, making RAM perfect for this task...
Submitted by:
Gary P. of Atlanta, Georgia
For
Gary's
efforts, we're sending him his choice of any
Help.com Learning CD.
Community Buzz
 Each week we take a look at topics discussed in the forums.
Best regards and enjoy!
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Check out next week's question:
Help, please! I did a clean install of Windows XP home (an upgrade from Windows 98) about four months ago, and up until now, my PC has been problem free. But I recently found that it is impossible to boot into Safe Mode even though I select Safe Mode and hit Enter. After I hit Enter, it goes through the normal boot display but then goes to the option screen once more. Where has Safe Mode gone, and how do I get it back? Thanks.
--Submitted by:
Peter A.
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