Patent ID: 8854680

Claim:
A method performed by a processing unit for determining an optimal size for memory allocation blocks allocated from a memory pool in response to a memory allocation request for a pixmap, wherein the memory pool comprises frame buffer memory and display list memory, the method comprising: determining, by the processing unit, a first amount and a second amount of unutilized memory associated with storing the pixmap using a memory allocation block of a first size and a second size respectively, wherein: the first size and the second size are each a different integral multiple of a size of a base memory allocation block, and the base memory allocation block is a contiguous unit of memory holding one or more scanlines of the pixmap; comparing the first amount of unutilized memory with at least the second amount of unutilized memory; and selecting a memory allocation block size from a plurality of memory allocation block sizes based on at least the comparison between the first amount and the second amount of unutilized memory.