Illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllln
US006947051B2
(12) United States Patent ao) Patent No.: us 6,947,051 B2
Gossalia et al. (45) Date of Patent: Sep. 20,2005
(54) VIDEO MEMORY MANAGEMENT
(75) Inventors: Anuj B. Gossalia, Redmond, WA (US);
Steve Pronovost, Redmond, WA (US);
Bryan Langley, Duvall, WA (US)
(73) Assignee: Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA (US)
( * ) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term ol this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U.S.C. 154(b) by 4 days.
(21) Appl. No.: 10/748,362
(22) Filed: Dec. 30, 2003
(65) Prior Publication Data
US 2004/0160449 Al Aug. 19, 2004
Related U.S. Application Data
(60) Provisional application No. 60/448,399, filed on Feb. 18, 2003.
(51) Int. CI.7 G06F 12/02
(52) U.S. CI 345/543; 345/568; 711/202;
711/173; 719/323; 719/324
(58) Field of Search 345/541-544,
345/568, 566, 536-538, 501-506, 530-532; 711/170-173, 153, 147, 202-208; 719/321, 323, 324, 328
(56) References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
5,930,827 A * 7/1999 Sturges 711/170
6,222,564 Bl * 4/2001 Sturges 345/542
6,477,612 Bl * 11/2002 Wang 711/206
6,496,912 Bl 12/2002 Fields, Jr. et al 711/170
6,518,973 Bl 2/2003 Blythe 345/564
6,650,333 Bl * 11/2003 Baldwin 345/531
2003/0140179 Al * 7/2003 Wilt et al 709/321
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Kane, J. et al., "18 Graphics Cards Quick on the Draw",
BYTEINSTL Lab Report, Feb. 1996, 142-151.
Musiari, E, ",mpd7220 Graphic Display Controller 1° Parte",
Elettronica OGGI, 1982, 105-111.
Wong, W, "Optimizing Graphics Performance for Portable Computers", Wescon Conference Record, Anaheim Convention Center, Nov. 17-19, 1992, 121-123.
* cited by examiner
Primary Examiner—Kee M. Tung
(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Woodcock Washburn LLP (57) ABSTRACT
A video memory manager manages and virtualizes memory so that an application or multiple applications can utilize both system memory and local video memory in processing graphics. The video memory manager allocates memory in either the system memory or the local video memory as appropriate. The video memory manager may also manage the system memory accessible to the graphics processing unit via an aperture of the graphics processing unit. The video memory manager may evict memory from the local video memory as appropriate, thereby freeing a portion of local video memory use by other applications. In this manner, a graphics processing unit and its local video memory may be more readily shared by multiple applications.
102 Claims, 15 Drawing Sheets
