Gaming on the Intel X3100 Video Card – Compatible Games Part I

As many computer savvy people already know, the intel video cards are not made for hardcome pc games like GTA IV or Crysis Warhead, especially when playing in HD Resolution (1280 x 720) or higher.  After purchasing an Acer Aspire 5920 in early 2007 from Wal-Mart, I discovered a few days later that it was not the same as the Acer Aspire 5920G with the dedicated ATI or Nvidia graphics card.   At first I thought that I had just wasted $599.00 on a computer that would not meet my expectations, however, the X3100 video can run quite a few good games at low to mid resolutions (640 x 480 – 1024 x 768).  For example, Street Fighter IV for the PC runs between 55 to 60 FPS during in-gameplay.  Most of the settings are on low or medium with the exception of the background quality which is set on high.  The frame rate is set to “fixed” of course, but the only problem is that some of the character’s fireballs & projectiles (Ryu, Ken, Dan, etc) are invisible unless the model quality is set on high.  The second problem is that the X3100 will greatly bottleneck the performance if the graphic settings for SF IV is set on high because the X3100 is not capable of running the game on high settings at a constant 55-60 FPS due to the fact that:


1) It has only 128MB of video RAM, up to 358MB of shared system memory.  Only 128MB is actually dedicated.
2) The game requires a minimum of 256MB of Video Ram (“dedicated” graphics of course).
3) As a result, the game will decrease from an average of 58 FPS to about an average of 30-40 FPS; it is still playable although quite sluggish and about 33%-50% slower than normal.

Overall, having the Intel X3100 Video Card is not a complete nightmare though, especially if you have a dual core processor.  I prefer Intel Core 2 Duo Models, however, I prefer AMD Quad-Core models over Intel Quad and Core i models.  The following games I have tested below are playable on the X3100 Video Card…If you have a Core 2 Duo at 2.0GHz or better, you will be able to enjoy playing these games on your PC:

1. Street Fighter IV (Settings: off-low-medium; Background Quality = high; Frame Rate: “fixed” )
2. Area 51 (uncheck high detailed textures)
3. Grand Theft Auto III (default settings)
4. GTA San Andreas (up to 1280 x 720, graphics quality = low)
5. GTA Vice City (default settings)
6. Hitman Blood Money (Turn settings down to the lowest)
7. Max Payne 2 The Fall of Max Payne (up to 1280 x 720 with no problem; Textures = Medium)
8. Need For Speed Most Wanted (640 x 480 OR 800 x 600 Resolution)
9. Need For Speed Underground 1 (1024 x 768 – Medium Settings)
10. Sonic Adventure DX (default settings)

All of these games I’ve tested on my computer and as long as you have a Core 2 Duo @ 2.0GHz and the X3100 video card or something better hopefully, you should be fine with these 10 games.
Thanks for reading!! All feedback is appreciated.  There will be more to come