shared video memory - technical definition

Using part of main memory for the display system's frame buffers, which temporarily hold the rendered content being sent to the screen. Shared memory is typically used in PCs with "integrated graphics," which means the display circuits are on the motherboard rather than housed in a separate, more costly display adapter card.

Sharing main memory with the display function reduces the amount of memory available to applications, and main memory is not as fast as the specialized video memory on stand-alone cards (see video RAM). See integrated graphics and display adapter.