WELCOME TO THE INTEL X3100 GAMING INFO BLOG

Hello everyone.

I set up this blog since I've come across countless posts from different forums about whether a certain game works on a laptop with an integrated graphics solution such as the Intel X3100.

While this blog will cover the X3100, which I have, you can also find a link to the blog about the GMA950 integrated solution (which is maintained by ElbertZai), and as such will prove that integrated graphics solutions are not to be brushed aside.

Welcome to the unique world of mobile gaming.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Basic tips

First off, check to see what version you're using and then compare it with the versions found on the X3100 drivers thread, linked to on the sidebar.

Some drivers work fine, others don't, you can check out the drivers thread further if there are certain issues on certain drivers for certain games. ex.: driver version x.xx doesn't work properly for game x, but shows improvements for game y.

Note that latest is not always best, though there are some additions and bug-fixes you will find on the latest drivers.

If you're unsure of whether a new driver will make an improvement, make a system restore point first before doing any driver updating - that way you can always return to the previous drivers that worked well should the update turn for the worse.

The latest drivers have added support for Open GL 2.0 as well as DirectX 10 so that means you'll be able to play more of the latest games, so long as you have ample memory.

Rigorous testing has shown that with win XP, you'll need at least 1.5 times the minimum memory requirement of the game. i.e. A game with a 512MB minimum would run acceptably if you have 768MB ram. With Vista Home Basic, on the other hand, we found out that it would be best if you had at least 2x the required RAM, if you're using Vista Home premium, you'd better up the ante to at least 3x required RAM. Vista plain sucks in a lot of RAM which is why you need more to game acceptably.

Edit: I have to add that you have to set your Driver Memory Footprint to 'High' in order to allow your x3100 to be alloted the maximum memory the system can share to it.

Processor also plays a big part. If you have a Celeron, you may find that few, if any at all, of the listed games will run. That's because the CPU plays a big part in the graphics processing when it comes to integrated graphics. Dual cores no less than 1.5Ghz are fine, though.

A rough guide would be: take your dual core processor's speed in GHz and double it, if it is more than the minimum processor speed requirement of the game, that counts toward it being playable.

Take note to put your power option to High Performance first before attempting to play any game on your laptop. Doing so will disable the down-throttling and power saving features of your laptop and unleash its maximum processor speed as well as gpu clock.

When you do get the game running, try to run it at the lowest settings on the first time -don't be tempted to go for eye candy right away. You'd want to make sure you can run the game with a degree of stability. Try out the campaign missions (if any), skirmishes, or single player game with one AI opponent for the time being. (AI draws on the processor too, fyi.)

If you find the lowest setings to be okay, try moving an option one notch higher, one at a time. Take note of the settings which you find to be still acceptable then save these.

That's all there is to setting up your X3100 system for a game.

I'd love to hear about your results with these tips.

3 comments:

d_fly79 said...

You are right. Latest driver sometimes did compensate your FPS performance with the feature. e.g, i run on my red alert3 with the latest (supported Dx10 i believe) which decrease my FPS ~5FPS. Althouh the new driver did fix the shader detail (if only u turn the shader detail to higher), but the FPS drop to <5FPS which is useless in this case. That is why i reverted back to the older driver(6.14.10.4860). Please let me know if there is better driver outthere. Thx.

Mukul said...

"Some drivers work fine, others don't, you can check out the drivers thread further if there are certain issues on certain drivers for certain games. ex.: driver version x.xx doesn't work properly for game x, but shows improvements for game y."

Actually I have a similar problem, i would be pleased if you cud suggest smthng, other than changing the drivers according to d needs :)

My laptop cannot play Fifa 08 smoothly with the latest drivers (dec 08), whereas if I use the drivers dated back in april '07 (ya, '07), then it runs very smooth. Also, when i run NFS Most Wanted using the drivers dated april 07, it stutters a lot, when I use the latest drivers, it runs smooth but with a 'harmonic pumping' effect. It is like when an amateur starts a car, and the car moves and stops (jerks) again and again. I hope you get it. I have to use drivers dated smtime in august 08 to get the best performance. I'l mention my lappie's specs below:
Acer Aspire 4715z
Dual Core T2370 1.73GHz
3 GB (2X1 + 1X1) RAM
120GB Hard Disk
Intel 965 Express (X3100)

I asked the Intel support but they say that they dont support Fifa.

is it possible to force a game to use a particular version of driver or directx, i cud experiment wid that if that were possible...

I would be pleased if u helped me. Thnx.

Mukul said...

"I have to add that you have to set your Driver Memory Footprint to 'High' in order to allow your x3100 to be alloted the maximum memory the system can share to it."

How do we do this?

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