ATI Radeon HD 3200

[yesssir]

I am about to purchase an HP laptop and just wondering how well the ATI Radeon HD 3200 video card can handle World of Warcraft and will I be able to play it comfortably? Specs of the laptop are below.

HP dv5z

? Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit)
? AMD Athlon(TM) X2 Dual-Core Processor for Notebook PCs QL-60 (1.9GHz)
? 15.4" diagonal WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1680 x 1050)
? FREE Upgrade to 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 1GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)!!
? ATI Radeon(TM) HD 3200 Graphics
? HP Imprint Finish (Mesh) + Microphone + Webcam
? 802.11b/g WLAN
? No High speed 56K modem port
? FREE Upgrade to 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive from 120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
? SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
? No TV Tuner w/remote control
? 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

 

[BassBomb]

Not really

Expect to lower the graphics

 

[yesssir]

I don't need it to be amazing, just average.

 

[BassBomb]

Originally posted by: yesssir
I don't need it to be amazing, just average.

What is average when graphics cards keep getting better?

 

[Jax Omen]

It should run WoW just fine. Nothing newer, though.

 

[yesssir]

Should I go ahead and get the 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3450 for $100 incase I want to play other games in the near future?

 

[bunnyfubbles]

I wouldn't consider going from the integrated 3200 to a 3450 worth $100. The desktop version of the 3450 can be had for ~$25 and is far from being considered a gaming card. The 3200 looks almost identical to the 3450 on paper, other than a slightly slower clock speed (500MHz vs. 600MHz), and because it shared system memory (which should be slower, although in a superior 128bit dual channel interface, at least I'm assuming as they only offer options to have 2 dimms), it shouldn't be handicapped by memory bandwidth considering the 3450 only comes with a rather humble DDR2/64bit interface...

 

[mrmrmrkevin]

The integrated 3200 is designed to run in parallel with add-in cards(AMD calls it "Hybrid Graphics"). If you upgrade to the 3450, I understand the performance boost is much more than the 20% that the difference in clock speed suggests.

As far as actual results- I saw some artificial benchmarks (3dMark) of before and after adding the 3450, and with the 3450 added on, the performance is near double.
As for the difference in real game performance... I don't know.

I would assume the performance gained is comparable to any of the dual-video card configs popular in desktop gaming rigs.

Keep in mind the 3200 can only run at 500MHz. I think the 3450 lowers it's clock speed to match that when it's running in parallel with the 3200.


If it were me (and it kind of is... I'm buying the same laptop today) I'd add in the card. This laptop in particular is still very cheap with the 3450 added. I think it's a good deal...

There's my 2 cents.

 

[daveybrat]

Should be more than sufficient to play WoW. My friend has the new Toshiba laptop with the same integrated graphics and he can play COD4 at 800x600 and lower details with no problems. Granted his has the new Turion X2 Ultra 2.1GHz cpu which is much faster than the older Athlon X2 mobile cpu.

 

[Sylvanas]

Should be fine with WoW. A 3450 would be better however...expect about 800x600 res.

 

[spittledip]

I would go with the 3450 now to make it a bit more useful and enjoyable for you.

 

[waldojim]

The Hp laptop in question
1. Does NOT support the hybrid crossfire mentioned so no the 3450 will NOT increase performance 20%
2. the 3200 is actually a very powerful IGP (as it is a 2400 with a few addons) and thus will handle WoW quite nicely (yes even at the native resolutions)
3. The 3200 (as it is a seperate kinda sorta dedicated card) IS also overclockabel - and yes it will hit the same 600Mhz the 3450 does, thus making it JUST AS FAST... even faster if your laptop is running dual channel and thus doubling the memmory bus width.
4. for those who have never used this product - why post? WoW is not that demanding of a game anymore... hell this thing will run HL2 @ native resolutions and all the options turned on (except AA - I never use AA) and holds a nice 40FPS...Dungeon Runners, and Guildwars both use similar engines and are both running max quality at native resolutions on here w/o the OC... I am experimenting with OCing the Video Card just for the sake of getting UT3 on here.

 

[SunnyD]

The HD3200 IGP is the same exact GPU as a 3450, except embedded in the chipset rather than a discreet card.

That said, with WoW at 1680x1050, you should get half way decent frame rates except likely in the battlegrounds or where there's a ton of stuff going on where it will dip down a bit.

 

[nerp]

3200 is great. I bought my GF a Puma laptop recently and it rips through her games. It might have trouble with high settings on new games, but medium settings should be more than playable.