Help with GMA 950

I was just wondering which games GMA supports with no problems, because i know it can't any new games like Doom or Fear or prey... So if i wanna play like Generals or like CS can the GMA handle it or should i get a dedicated graphic card??? Oh and i was wondering is it possible to buy GMA with my laptop and upgrade the GMA to a dedicated graphic later on?

 

I know you can't upgrade the gma later on, I made that mystake myself in buying my first notebook, anyways intel has I list of what games work and which games don't, I have found the GMA more then sufficient as all my games are 2003 and older, but I plan to play some new games so I ordered a new laptop. I will say gma will play GTA vice city pretty good.

 

You can play CS. However you should def. plan on getting a dedicated card if possible. Even a low-end card will make some gaming much easier to do. Also, when Vista comes out, if you want to run Aero, it will help to have a dedicated vid card. I know that the GMA950 is supposed to run Aero I have my doubts. What laptop are you looking into?

 

Lol, by any chance does anybody know the website with which Intel has the list of games that the GMA can play? I'm looking at the e1405 and the hp dv2000 laptops and the dv 6000 laptops... Is the a total big difference between Turion X2 and the Core 2 duo??? because i can get a turion X2 and a Geforce Go 6150...the core 2 duo version only comes with the GMA unless u're like buying a really expensive dv6000.

 

http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/intel945g/sb/CS-020666.htm

There is not a big difference in everyday applications when comparing the Turion X2 and the C2D. The C2D will benchmark higher, but unless you are doing heavy encoding or other CPU intensive tasks you will not notice a diff. The C2D will have a little better battery life than the X2. If you are in the market for a new computer, consider answering the FAQ in This forum.

The GO 6150 is still an considered an integrated graphics card and won't offer super performance.

cheers

 

The GMA950 should easily handle C+C Generals on high resolution/high settings since even my GMA900 does.

 

Huh? I thought the Go 6150 was dedicated...i thought that only the GMA was integrated...aren't all graphic cards made by ATI and nVidia dedicated?

 

no, they make integrated ones too, the 6100 and 6150, x200, and x1050 are all integrated, they are a bit better then the intel ones for gaming, but still really weak, no integrated gpu can play oblivion at playable settings and frame rates so if you want to game, you shouldn't even consider integrated (unless you want somthing really small, like 11 inches or under) you can get a nice dell e1505 with an x1400 that would be 100 times better at games for under a thousand if you know where to look.