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I'm fairly computer savvy, but I've never understood how to compare requirements for Video/Graphics Cards.
Basically I'm buying a new laptop that I will use for gaming:
Toshiba - Satellite Laptop with Intel® Core™ i3 Processor - Quantum Black - A505-S6005 (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+-+Satellite+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%2 3153%3B+i3+Processor+-+Quantum+Black/9703393.p?id=1218153394199&skuId=9703393#tabbed-customerreviews - broken link)
It says it has:
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD
With 32-1696MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory for lush images. HDMI-CEC port for connection to an HDTV. Built-in Harman/Kardon stereo speakers with Dolby Sound Room support.
Now the games I'll play have the following requirements:
1. 128 MB NVidia GeForce 6600 GT/ATI Radeon 9800 PRO video card
2. Minimum - 3D graphics processor with Hardware Transform and Lighting with 32 MB VRAM (such as an ATI Radeon 7200 or NVIDIA GeForce 2 class card or better) — Recommended - 3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability with 128 MB VRAM (such as an ATI Radeon X1600 or NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT class card or better)
Will the Laptop I'm looking at be ok for these game requirements? Will I be able to run the graphics settings on high?
It looks like its pretty decent for shared graphics.
I'd say that it would be fine for those requirements but I don't know about running games on High.
And I could be wrong but the 'graphics chip' is the i3 processor itself!
If you want to go a lot of gaming, or want to play newer games, your best bet is to buy a computer with a separate Nvidia or ATI chip, as the second link shows.
Generally you won't find anyone that will recommend an Intel graphics chipset for gaming, they just usually aren't up to the task. The issue I see is that the laptop has no dedicated graphics RAM (VRAM), this may be an issue for some games. Looking on Intel's website (Graphics — Support for hardware transform and lighting (T&L))they list which chipsets support hardware T&L, and that one seems to be there.
Its not a very good video card for gaming to be honest. Normally a video card will say how much memory it runs for instance your post of
"128 MB NVidia GeForce 6600 GT/ATI Radeon 9800 PRO video card"
That would be a 128mb video card but your video card ont he other hand is a shared memory card.
To be honest you are posting in the wrong forum. You should post in science technology/computer forums and ask about laptops, give your price range, and you will get better responses.
Anyways its unlikely you will be able to run the games you want on high settings. If you want a laptop for gaming you will need a dedicated graphics card.
To be honest you are posting in the wrong forum. You should post in science technology/computer forums and ask about laptops, give your price range, and you will get better responses.
The wrong forum? Just because you don't know what your talking about doesn't mean the rest of us don't I've been gaming and building my own gaming boxes since the mid 90's, there are others on here that have been doing it longer, I think we're qualified to answer the OP.
The wrong forum? Just because you don't know what your talking about doesn't mean the rest of us don't I've been gaming and building my own gaming boxes since the mid 90's, there are others on here that have been doing it longer, I think we're qualified to answer the OP.
He posted in video game forums originally. I was telling him to post in the computer forums so please mind your own business, thanks.
As a general rule, shared memory graphics cards are terrible for games. You are going to have a memory bottleneck (system ram is slower than video memory) as well as constantly having your graphics card competing with available memory for video.
These cards are ok for basic use that has no graphic intensive functions (games, video editing, etc...), but were not designed for gaming application (even if they say they are).
As some have suggested, you need to pick something that has a dedicated graphics accelerator with its own memory. To be safe, pick a newer game out and look under recommended graphics accelerators to get an idea of what you may need.
He posted in video game forums originally. I was telling him to post in the computer forums so please mind your own business, thanks.
Any thread that I'm involved in is my business, and the video games forum is pretty relevant to the OP's question, so it would be just as at home there as it is here. Are you a self appointed mod or something?
Dave, not going to argue with you. I only suggested he post in a different forum. Sorry you feel the need to take something that had nothing to do with you personally. Hopefully you work out your issues.
Cdubs if you want to post your budget and what you are looking for in a laptop I'm sure someone would be happy to help you further.
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I've been gaming and building my own gaming boxes since the mid 90's, there are others on here that have been doing it longer, I think we're qualified to answer the OP.
