• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

question about integrated video

D

dep9000

Junior Member
I am in the market to buy a new computer, and I was thinking about building one. But I've come to the conclusion that buying a Dell would be a lot cheaper.

The cheap Dells come with integrated video, and I was wondering if that would allow me to play the newest and greatest games coming out. Some of the Dells don't even come with an AGP slot so if the integrated video isn't good enough to play those games then I would be very disappointed. How does integrated video stack up?
 
Welcome to Anandtech. The integrated graphics Dell uses is with an Intel graphics chip that has quite poor performance. While you may be able to play todays games with the detail turned down all the way, future games really will need a video card to even be playable. Some people will jump in and say even todays games are unplayable - but they are if you are willing to put up with low details and occasional lag.

I highly suggest avoiding Intel integrated graphics for gaming. Go with the Dell 4600 series - you'll be much happier. Also if you get a Dell do a google search for "Dell coupon codes", or search for "Dell" in the Hot Deals Forum here, or search the Dell website to sign up for email coupons. That way you can often save yourself a bundle (and maybe will be able to afford a computer that isn't the bottom of the Dell barrel). Great Dell deals come and go - and they often only stay for a day or two. But if you are a bit patient, you'll find a great computer for far less than the price of the parts alone.
 
Thanks for your help. I will look into the 4600 series, and hopefully I can find a cheap video card that can play Half-Life 2 🙂
 
I would say the best integrated video is available with some nForce2 chipsets... however, it's about equal to a GeForce2 MX400 at best, but you can't get that through dell since they don't carry AMD based systems. If all you're doing is 2D then integrated is fine... but for $50-75 you could get a card at least twice as fast as any integrated video.
 
yeah the Dell 2350 isn't good for much of anythign but email and Word. went thru this with them a few weeks ago whilst buying a system. problem is, they wont put anything lower than i think a 2.4ghz or maybe 2.6 in a 4600. i just needed a nice little 2.0 with an agp port. Dell couldn't help me. depending on what kind of budget you're on, take a look at HP/Compaq. they put agp slots/video cards in even some of their lower-end models....
 
The Intel Extreme Integrated Graphics are worthless... I had it on my $400 eMachines a few years ago and it struggled with Unreal Tournament and Quake3 at 640x480 with all details minimum (wait, maybe it didn't even support OpenGL, lol). You will not be able to play any modern 3D games with >30fps with that setup. The nVidia nForce2 integrated graphics are far better with GeForce4 MX level performance.

If you are serious about playing the "newest and greatest" games coming out, you're probably much better off building yourself... the only Dell's that will do that for you are the top-of-the-line models with the 9800's that run you well over $1000. Running HL2 or Doom3 on integrated graphics is a joke (we're talking less than 10fps if they even load), and if I remember correctly even the mid-level Dell's come with GeForce4 MX cards, still not sufficient. You'll want a GeForce4 Ti4200 or Radeon 9500 minimum, GeForceFX or Radeon 9700/9800 would be optimal. It would be a shame to waste all the power of a blazing fast Pentium4 and PC3200 dual-channel RAM with a crappy video subsystem.

The thing about Dell/HP/etc. is that they're aimed at the everyday Joe and use marketing hype to sell their products... since CPU speed is the main selling point, they'll stick a 3GHz P4 in the system and it'll be the "top-of-the-line" model that sells for big bucks, but then they'll turn around and bottleneck it like hell with a 5400RPM HDD and cheapo graphics card.
 
I think for current games, CPU speed is a tad over rated... I mean, who cares if you get 400 frames per second instead of 350? Seriously. A good video card that will allow you to run higher resolutions with AA and AF is far more beneficial in my opinion. (notice my XP3200 and GeForce4 Ti4200 @ 325/650... still don't get good frame rates in recent games with 4AA and 8AF) As long as you can get 85-100 FPS in a game, that should be good enough, and most CPU's are perfectly capable of that with the right video card.
 
Originally posted by: dep9000
Thanks for your help. I will look into the 4600 series, and hopefully I can find a cheap video card that can play Half-Life 2 🙂
Click to expand...

i think the cheapest video card that will run HL2 fairly decently is the 9600 pro.
 
I actually think CPU speed is underrated in graphics performance.

Example #1 Star Wars Galaxies

SWG is one of the most demanding graphical programs available atm. But one look at the graphics and animation and you know why. I played this game on a 1.3GHZ processor with 512MB ram and a Ti4200. The graphics were a slideshow. I upgraded to a 2.8GHZ and kept the same video card and not only did I run at a higher resolution, 1280x1024 instead of 1024x768, everything was silky smooth and the graphics and animation were very nice. This is on the same video card!!

My 1.3GHZ with a ti4200 got around 6800 in 3d2001, the same card paired with a 2.8GHZ gets close to 13000 in 3d2001
 
my friend has the 2350 with integrated graphics and he can play counter-strike and warcraft 3 with good settings and no lag thats also with 56k
 
Originally posted by: JuneBug17
my friend has the 2350 with integrated graphics and he can play counter-strike and warcraft 3 with good settings and no lag thats also with 56k
Click to expand...
Yeah, and I could play Quake 2 beautifully on a Voodoo 3.

Counterstrike is a very old game as far as graphics go.
Warcraft is a strategy game, not an FPS. So it's not very demanding.

If you want to play any current games, integrated will not make you happy. Even if you don't buy a top of the line system, make sure you have an AGP slot so you can buy a decent video card.


 
FPS games are more video card demanding.

RTS and games like Simcity 4 are more CPU demanding.

I'm sure there wouldn't be much difference playing simcity 4 with a Geforce 2 and a Geforce FX5900. The same goes to WC3. But i'm sure with both games there would be a huge difference going from 1GHZ CPU --> 3GHZ CPU.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top