Choice of the lower-end graphics department

Ok so I'm not a heavy gamer, but I do play some games(the Sims 2, Guild Wars and Warcraft 3 mostly) so obviously I was thinking I should get some kind of decent GPU for a laptop lol >.>

Now, most of the things I play aren't very graphics demanding(at least, I don't think they are >.>) so I figured the lower end market of GPUs was something suitable for my needs.

The question is, what would be the most adequate 'performance vs price' GPUs in the lower end department?

I've heard that integrated cards such as the Intel Graphics 950 or the GMA X3100 aren't that well for any games(haven't heard much of the new X4500 though).

On the other hand, I've heard the ATI HD 3200 performed quite well for an IGP.

But the HD 3200 is integrated and I always assumed that dedicated was better for gaming, but in the lower end department, I'd have something along the lines of a 8400M GS or the like(for a somewhat similar/comparable price to the IGPs mentioned above), which I've also heard has similar performance to the HD 3200.

So what would be your suggestions of a lower end GPU including my needs? Doesn't have to be one of those I mentioned, but I'm not a pro in that department so I'd like some advice.

 

I would go for at the least, a low end dedicated. an 8400 sounds about right.

 

you'd be amazed how good the hd 3200 is, amd really took their last gen dedicated hd2400, striped away its dedicated memory and made it intergrated. the performance is on par with a 8400m gs. and it can even be considered over kill given your list of games lol. though I would suggest a mid range card, you never know if you would want to play newer games. (I regreted getting the 8400m gs instead of a 8600m gt last year when I was buying)

 

Well I have a desktop with a 9600GT for actual gaming .

The laptop I would plan to game only for recreational purposes every now and then. The actual, more serious gaming I'd do on my desktop lol

So really, I would just want something to run those well and smoothly >.>

If a mid-class GPU could do that, would there be any specific model that'd run well for a lower price?

 

agreed with the mid range suggestion. you never know what may come out next, but you don't need overkill.

 

8600M GT is your card. They are cheap now and will scale a couple years into the future for lower end games, while with intel graphics, you can't guarantee that.

 

I've heard there are issues with the 8600M GT and I haven't heard any official conclusion about it(other than some BIOS adjustements) so would t be recommended to get it?

As I've said before, I have a desktop for the actual "gaming" I'll be doing . My laptop is really just every once in a while(maybe twice a week max on the lappy) so I don't plan on running anything more recent or heavy than those I listed. If I do intend on gaming anything else heavier, I'll be doing it on my desktop .

I'm kind of on a budget so I'd rather not overkill my price for something I won't be using to it's fullest lol XD

 

If you're scared of the Nvidia problems, go for something like an ATI 3650. It's not as powerful as the 8600M GT but relatively close.

 

Well I'm not really scared, moreso wondering. Is the ATI 3650 any cheaper than th 8600M GT(in machines that is)? Like I said, I'm on a budget so if I can get the cheapest for my needs then that's great! ^_^

 

Honestly, the HD 3200 would be fine for your purposes. That thing is a monster of an IGP. People are trying to sell you on the 8600M or 3650, but they're overshooting. The games you listed would all be quite happy on an HD 3200.

 

Agreed with Pulp. The HD 3200 should handle what you want well. If the computer you're considering doesn't offer the HD 3200, some other similar options are the GeForce 8400 GS, GeForce 9300 GS, and ATI HD 2400. The HD 3200 will probably be the best deal of those, but it's not offered on that many systems, so you may have to go with one of the others depending on your preferences elsewhere.

Intel and nVIDIA integrated graphics, as well as ATI's older ones, are still significantly behind the HD 3200, so you probably do want to avoid those.

 

I would go with the integrated ATI card, which is about on par with an 8400GS (which isn't too great, but at least it'll half play most things). The lack of heat & increase in battery life resulting from the integrated choice are also big pluses, not to mention avoiding any nVidia soldering issues specific to most 8xxx and some 9xxx cards.

 

Given that I play the same things as you do (mostly recreational / entertainment games) and having been using the ATI 3200 for quite awhile, I'd really suggest you get a notebook with it. It is already too much for the games I play and handles some new games pretty good. I play most of my games on max everything and disabling shadows greatly helps.