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    Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by laptop129, Aug 21, 2009.

  1. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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    I know this is not for gaming but I'm buying a laptop soon and it seems every laptop at Best Buy in my price range comes with this damned graphics card so I'm asking if this graphics card had 4GB of Ram and a decent CPU could it run games like Warcraft 3, World of Warcraft, or similar based games?
     
  2. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    warcraft 3 and WOW will work.
     
  3. lokster

    lokster Notebook Deity

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    yeah it will work. both those games and warcraft 3 on max.

    Team fortress 2 will work on low and battlefield heroes too.

    games like monkey island also
     
  4. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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    The more details the better.
     
  5. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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  6. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    Take it with one of these:

    [​IMG]

    The games the OP mentions will run fine on the 4500MHD. No it's not a powerhouse, but it gets the job done. However, what price range are you looking at? Folks here might be able to find you something better with a little better horsepower for a similar or slightly more cost.
     
  7. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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    That link says it is basically garbage... Why do all the budget laptops come with bad graphics cards, my old laptop had an ATI Mobility Radeon 2600HD...
     
  8. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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    My budget is $700 max, it is mainly for school but I don't want to close my doors to some pc games like the ones I mentioned...
     
  9. Patrick

    Patrick Formerly beat spamers with stiks

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    Possibly since they are budget laptops?
     
  10. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    Why not head over to newegg.com and at least price shop a few notebooks there. You can get one with a 130m GPU for $750, or with a 9500m GS for $650. Not sure of your other requirements, but those would be much better options at that cost.

    Or even check out a Dell Studio 15 with HD 4570, Thinkpad SL500 with a 9300m GS, Ideapad Y550 with GT 130m. All under $750 well equipped.

    Go to the " What notebook should I buy" section here and post there. There's tons of very knowledgeable people there that will find you something much better equipped for $700 than an Intel GMA 4500MHD.
     
  11. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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    I have store credit to Best Buy, cannot buy a laptop anywhere else...
     
  12. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    That sucks, but I do see this Dell with nVidia 9400m or this Toshiba Satellite with HD 3200 for $699. Although I don't know that the HD 3200 is a whole lot better than the 4500MHD, but I know the 9400m definitely is.
     
  13. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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  14. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    Link didn't work. Bottom line is that if it has 4500MHD it doesn't really matter what your other system specs are (other than system RAM) that will improve it much if at all.
     
  15. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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  16. Serg

    Serg Nowhere - Everywhere

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    I think I gave you a link to a current combo on the 14z with and external drive and Home and Student Office 2007 and VHP64+W7 Free Upgrade everything for 700.
     
  17. Serg

    Serg Nowhere - Everywhere

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    The 9400M G in the 14z is better than the 3200HD than that on the Gateway.
     
  18. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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    Yeah it was nice but I don't like the separate cd drive...
     
  19. Serg

    Serg Nowhere - Everywhere

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    How about an Inspiron 14 with ATi 4330HD?
     
  20. KING19

    KING19 Notebook Deity

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  21. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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  22. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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  23. Serg

    Serg Nowhere - Everywhere

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    The limiting factor there is the GPU or IGP in this case. the 3100HD is very good, dont get me wrong, but it would be better to get something dedicated or higher for gaming.
     
  24. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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    But this isn't for gaming, it is gonna be 70% school work and some side gaming like Warcraft 3, maybe World of Warcraft (doubtful), and similar level games.
     
  25. Serg

    Serg Nowhere - Everywhere

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    Then the 3100HD and 3200HD are quite good. They used to be the best IGPs available until the 9400M G came out...

    You might want to get a thin and light laptop if you are going to walk around with this a lot, unless you dont care about the weight/bulk of a larger one...
     
  26. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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    So the ATI 3100 and 3200 are better than the X4500? I've never bought a computer with an AMD processor can you tell me a bit about them?
     
  27. lokster

    lokster Notebook Deity

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    the MHD 4500 is perfect for school and WOW and Warcraft 3

    its perfect for small addictive games too like diner dash and build a lot, peggle, bejeweled and way more.

    older games will work.

    go to www.gog.com

    evil genius works perfect on max settings :) expand on what you CAN play instead of spending way more than u need too, with school u dont have time to play deep games anyway. enjoy ur new laptop :D and dont listen to these guys push u and waste more money on something ur not gona use

    edit. Intel chips save on battery and run way cooler than AMD processors, thats what i can tell you, so Intel is a practical way to go

    asides from wow what would be ur preference for gaming? shooter? adventure? indy games like braid or trine??
     
  28. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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    Both the AMD laptops come with the better graphics card also I've heard that the 4500 graphics card doesn't run with a lot of games...

    To answer your game preference, I normally do my gaming on my 360.
     
  29. lokster

    lokster Notebook Deity

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    there u go!!! keep your laptop for school work and ur gaming for your xbox 360, save your money as much as you can and spend it on something better. :) thats the most practical way to go imo.

    btw ATI is a great company for graphics, ive always depended on them for my desktop gaming computer.

    and AMD will run hotter and last shorter than intel its been proven
    found here
    http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3617
     
  30. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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    Yep but I love me some Warcraft 3 and Age of Empires, not so much WoW that was just an example (been there done that wasted a year of my life haha).

    So which would be the better deal:

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9370441&type=product&id=1218093004316 $500

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9371477&type=product&id=1218093383615 $640 but comes with a 26" HDTV

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9353353&type=product&id=1218090329155 $630
     
  31. sean473

    sean473 Notebook Prophet

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    you could get a refurbished G50 for around 850 with a NVDIA 9800M GS which would be really a overkill. It will be 15 inch laptop though. And somemore 9800M GS will allow you to play any game...unlike the other IGP
     
  32. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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    I don't buy used or refurbished electronics. I've limited my options down to 4 (but I'm still open for suggestions).

    Here they are:

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218093383615
    *NOTE* For $650 I can get a 26" HDTV with it, it's a college bundle.

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218092151896

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218093004316

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218090329155

    What's the verdict on these, PLEASE keep in mind that it will be used for 70% college 30% casual gaming like Warcraft 3, Age of Empires, WoW, etc.
     
  33. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    all of the links show "page not found".
     
  34. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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  35. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    I vote for the gateway.
    It has the best graphics and an LED backlight screen.

    It has better battery life than the toshiba.
     
  36. Deks

    Deks Notebook Prophet

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    The Dell with nVidia 9400m is a much better option (more powerful) compared to Intel 4500 or HD3200.

    Also ... that Dell with 9400m comes with a Core2Duo cpu ... cooler and more powerful cpu compared to the AMD options.
    RAM is at 3GB, but it will be more than enough for either Vista or Win7
    It's within your $700 range.
    So, I'd rather grab that one compared to others as it seems a far better option in terms of it's capabilities and gpu.
     
  37. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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    That Dell is missing a cd drive, I'd have to get one which kinda defeats the compact laptop feel.
     
  38. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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    The 3 issues standing in the way of the Gateway are 1)I've had problems with Gateway's before. 2)The keyboard has a very awkward feeling. 3)It has an older AMD CPU.
     
  39. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    the dell is a bit more expensive but the X4500mhd will play all the games you want (but with low settings).
    Intel does make drivers that support a lot of games, the only problem is that the GPU is weak.

    I really think the X4500mhd is good enough.
     
  40. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    I think you are best to try to come up with another $100 or so and invest in a laptop with a decent dedicated GPU if you are considering gaming. The 4500MHD is adequate for those older games you suggest for sure, but just considering in a year or so...
     
  41. usapatriot

    usapatriot Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    I'd highly suggest that you avoid a laptop with the X4500MHD if you plan on playing any kind of games on your notebook, even WoW or WC3. Try to get a dedicated card at least, if you will make experience much more enjoyable and problem free.
     
  42. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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    So one of the laptops with the ATI cards?
     
  43. sean473

    sean473 Notebook Prophet

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    all the laptop u gave have integrated graphics= crap
    So all of them are crap. So look at other choices and increase ur budget.
     
  44. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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    Not very helpful, I cannot afford anything more expensive.
     
  45. Serg

    Serg Nowhere - Everywhere

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    IGP is the best way here. It is cheaper and capable.
    Since you said 70% college/school work then a dedicated GPU is not that necessary. But still I support the 3200HD in the Toshiba, and possibly replace the CPU with a Turion later on.
     
  46. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    If you know that WC3 and AoE 2 are all you're going to play, and possibly SC2, then 4500MHD is adequate. You could probably even play Source games with reduced detail. I could play Half-Life 2 with DX7 mode on my netbook with GMA950.
     
  47. laptop129

    laptop129 Notebook Consultant

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    *UPDATE*

    I didn't choose any of the laptops I listed. Luckily for me 2 of my college textbooks are not needed this semester so I return them for a full refund and put that towards a better laptop.

    I ended up getting the Toshiba A505-S6965.
    -Intel Core 2 Duo P7350
    -4GB of RAM
    -500GB HDD
    -ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 512mb

    Can't wait to open it up!!!