Talk:Dual-ported video RAM

Article name

This article was created at VRAM, moved to Video RAM, and then merged into Dynamic random access memory. I have relocated the content to its original location, VRAM. The DRAM article is too long as it is, and "VRAM" passes the usage test in MOS:ABBR, that is, references to this technology primarily appear in its fully abbreviated form. There is also some ambiguity with respect to Video RAM and Video memory, while "VRAM" is distinctly about this particular implementation of the technology. Ham Pastrami (talk) 06:33, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

The article should be called "Dual-ported VRAM" or something like "Special type of VRAM", but it should be really-really not called "VRAM".

VRAM, Video RAM, or Video Memory is just referring to memory that contains video data - which might be SRAM, DRAM, or (rarely) the special dual-ported stuff that's currently described as "VRAM".

Just look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/VRAM - there are lots of articles referring to "VRAM", and I would assume that most of them are referring to general VRAM, not to dual-ported VRAM. For example, hardware from the 80ties and early 90ties is almost certainly not using using dual-ported VRAM, I am quite familar with schematics from that era, and I've never seen dual-ported chips being used in that schematics. For newer hardware: The Sony Playstation and PSone consoles are usually using normal DRAM as video memory (except very early Playstation models with PU-7 mainboards: These were actually using dual-ported DRAM, but Sony dropped using that technology on later mainboard revisions).

Concerning the official name(s) for dual-ported VRAM, I've checked some sources,

• http://www.google.com/patents/US4541075 - the patent is just calling it A semiconductor random access memory is provided having a second asynchronous input/output port. The patent doesn't use the terms "VRAM" or "Video" at all. Instead, it's using the term "display" in several places - but "display" is just an example application (explicitely stated in the sentence: Although the apparatus has been described with respect to mapped raster scan display devices, it is clear that the utility provided by the second I/O port may be used for other connected peripheral devices to enhance data flow to and from the memory.)
• http://pdf.datasheetarchive.com/indexerfiles/Datasheet-048/DSA0080861.pdf - this NEC datasheet is using the name Dual Port Graphics Buffer. It doesn't use the terms "VRAM" or "Video" at all.
• http://pdf.datasheetarchive.com/datasheetsmain/Datasheets-110/DSAP002477.pdf - this Samsung datasheet is equivalent (pin-compatible) to above NEC datasheet. Samsung is actually referring to their chip as a Video RAM chip, but I am sure that they are just meaning that their chip is intended or optimized for being used as Video RAM - they can't be possibly claiming that all past and future computers with video memory are having to use that special type of dual-ported RAM.

Concerning an artice with name "VRAM" - that should describe video memory in general (giving a quick run-down on terms like bitmap, framebuffer, tiles, bg maps, palettes, textures, color depths, etc, and mentioning normal DRAM and SRAM commonly being used as normal video memory, and dual-ported RAM being mentioned only as a special variant). I am surprised that wikipedia doesn't seem to have any such article yet - at least I can't find it anywhere - Video RAM, and Video memory are all redirected to VRAM (which is fine, aside from the big issue that VRAM should be described as general video memory, not as dual-ported memory). And Display memory is redirected to Framebuffer (which is rather nonsense since Display Memory isn't neccessarily referring to bitmaps).

2OO.3OO.2OO.3OO (talk) 16:18, 5 January 2016 (UTC)

Image?

The article need a image. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.196.172.14 (talk) 02:51, 23 July 2010 (UTC)

The article is exaggregated

While it is true that VRAM dramatically increased the available bandwidth for displaying video data in the 1980s, it is untrue that Microsoft Windows or other GUIs would have been impossible. It also is untrue that VRAM was exclusively used in the beginning of the 1990s. Indeed, it was used on high-performance graphics cards those days, but not on consumer-grade hardware. On the low-end scale, the IBM PS/2 Model 30 MCGA graphics adapter indeed does use VRAM (at 8 bits bus width), but the very popular EGA and VGA graphics cards use classic DRAM (with 32 bits bus width). Most consumer-grade SVGA card controllers (like the OAK OTI-077, the Tseng Labs ET4000, Trident TVGA TVGA8900/TVGA9000 and Cirrus-Logic GD520/522x chips) also use DRAM. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.113.121.203 (talk) 12:16, 11 June 2011 (UTC)

Merger Proposal

I propose this merger because the dual ported ram article is barely a stub, and this, the vram article actually describes what dual ported ram is and what it does.TeeTylerToe (talk) 03:54, 2 July 2013 (UTC)

Oppose – VRAM is a special kind of dual-ported RAM but the applications are/were quite different (dual-ported RAM is usually used in complex interfacing). Zac67 (talk) 17:35, 2 July 2013 (UTC)

Oppose. I disagree with the merger. Dual-ported RAM is more general concept which may be used for various purposes (e.g. in network cards, for interprocessor communication); VRAM is just one of its uses (although perhaps the most widespread one). Kolarp (talk) 11:06, 6 July 2013 (UTC)

Oppose - VRAM is a kind of dual port RAM, BUT dual port RAMs are used in other systems too, specially with some embedded systems, NIC, in some FPGA designs, etc. So merge "dual port" RAM into VRAM may induced some confusion. Dilshan (talk) 04:05, 29 August 2013 (UTC)