What is the Intel X3100 capable of?

I want to buy a new notebook but there are so many choices that I am confused. First off I will say that I am not looking for a gaming notebook and something $1000 or less. So far the notebooks that I have wanted all have the integrated X3100 Intel card. I am curious as to what this card can do. Please see my questions below. Thanks for any help.

1.) I want to get a laptop with the 1280x800 resolution. My main use of the laptop will be for surfing the web(a lot of reading), watching youtube, word processing, looking at pictures from my digital camara, basic editing of photos(ex: cropping, red eye reduction etc), and watching some DVD movies. Will there be any difference with having the X3100 and a discrete video card for these tasks?

2.) I might want to do some light gaming. My definition of light is using games like Starcraft, WarCraft III and such. Nothing like Doom 3, Fear, Crysis. First, will the games I mention work decent with the X3100? If they will, can I get the full 1280x800 resolution with the X3100?

 

The X3100 is perfect for those tasks.

It'll run Starcraft and Warcraft 3 at 1024x768 (because they dont support widescreen) just fine. Anything with lower requirements than HL2 should run fine.

 

So, from what you are saying, the X3100 can handle those tasks fine, but will I notice a difference with those tasks using a discrete graphics card?

 

No. Discrete cards are only really useful for gaming and 3d rendering programs and CAD. IGPs are more than capable of handling everything else.

 

Yeah, the GMA950 could even handle those games on max lol. You'll be fine with the X3100, but look into discrete if you even MIGHT want to play other games because once you get the X3100 you are stuck with it.

 

Deleted for cause of drunkiness

 

HAHA

but you shouldn't sabotage someone's post like that

 

He ll be banned now i think

 

I deleted what I wrote...

 

Thats cool. I know he was joking. Thanks for your help. From reviews I found online, it looks the X3100 can only play the most basic games. My main concern was if an IGP hurt DVD playback or photo quality, since that is what i would be using the laptop for the most.

 

Not to mention there's a bonus of longer battery life too

 

does it still have problem with second life?

 

Hi Firesnake,

I'm an experienced photograph and a web designer. For photo editing; you mainly have to care about how much RAM do you have and your CPU.

For DVD playback; you'll be fine! It even should be ok for High Defination.

http://www.tech.co.uk/computing/upg...a/graphics-cards/other/review/intel-gma-x3100

 

I have an X3100.

With the latest drivers, I get ~25 FPS in Warcraft III at low/medium detail settings, 640x480.

My system has 2GB of RAM, if that matters at all.

Truly pathetic performance.

 

Actually, it can run HL2 quite well, as seen from these screenshots:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=148045

Nevertheless, the X3100 isn't really designed for games considering its slow slow memory interface.

 

Thanks for your replys guys. How does the X3100 do with desktop effects like Vista Aero or Linux Compiz?

 

its handles Vista Aero great, however i havent used it on linux

 

Even the GMA950 can handle Aero, you should be fine. The X3100 works in every OS as long as you can get compatbile drivers for it somewhere.

 

I agree with u!

 

A lot of people are reporting problems with the X3100 when running Compiz; while it is powerful enough, its not a very cooperative card. At least, you can try it out.

 

i wish i found out my FPS, but with the specs in my sig, if i scroll to change the view to a more horizontal angle, it gets a tad laggy and it seems quality suffers a bit.

i've had absolutely no success with HL2 or CS:S

i think the only other way would be is to switch to XP, but i love vista!

 

I know that users report they can run Call of Duty 4 800x600 low similar as they run games like Civilization 4 and Need for Speed: Underground on similar settings. Maybe you haven't tried anything else?? X3100/X3000 is bottlenecked by something. I'd assume the drivers have yet to enable another hardware feature, or something is fundamentally wrong on the drivers.

 

Trying to play games on an IGP is just too painful to watch. My GMA950 can run really old games. Usually if you choose for an IGP you're not planning to run the latest and greatest games on it.
I choose an IGP for the batterylife boost and you don't need an GPU for running Word or OneNote. Unless of course you just have want to get over a 100 fps and use 2x AA in MS Office .

 

For $1000 though, you can get a PC with an 8400m GT or GS that can handle everything you are requesting. If you even want to game anything more than WC3, then you'd be wise in getting a discrete card like the 8400m. Not like a desktop where you can just throw in a new video card if you realize you need it.

 

There are also good laptops to be had with a low end GPU. Dunno if you need the portability.

 

I can run warcraft III on an x3100 very well. The secret: run it on your native resolution. WC3 is capabale of 1280x800 resolution