Can my graphics card handle it?

[Bud1304]

I want to get Diablo III when it comes out in a couple days, but I want to make sure my graphics card can handle it. I would love to post this in their forums, but you need a registered in-game character to post on their forums.. ugh.
So, this is a Sony VAIO, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, bought about a year and a half ago. DirectX is saying my graphics card is as follows:
Chip Type: Intel(R) HD Graphics (Core i3)
Approx total memory: 1751 MB

I found a website (Can You RUN It | Can I run that game | Game system requirements) that diagnoses if you can handle certain games/programs. It came up with the following:

Minimum: NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT or ATI Radeon X1950 Pro or better You Have: Intel(R) HD Graphics

Features: Minimum attributes of your Video Card

Required You Have

Pixel Shader version 3.0 4.0

Vertex Shader version 3.0 4.0

Dedicated Video RAM 256 MB 128 MB
Is this accurate? Would the game run on this graphics card? The problem is that this is a laptop and I don't believe I can just get a new graphics card, and I also don't have the money right now to go out and buy a new computer just for this game. Is it worth me getting the game and take a gamble? Is there a way to raise the dedicated video ram? Sorry for the many questions/dumb questions, this goes beyond my computer knowledge..

 

[M1GU31]

Well your lucky if you can get it to run on low with lower resloutions using a integrated intel hd graphics. I think it would run but not very nicely with lower resolution and low settings most likely. I would go buy a video card to play it how its suppose to be played with nice fps ,resolution and high settings. Although doing this will most likely require you to buy a new psu also. Whats your budget for a new video card and this is a desktop pc right not a laptop because when I looked up sony VAIO the first link showed some laptops.Which would mean that you can't upgrade the graphics unfortunately or is yours a desktop because I also saw it mention desktops on the site.

 

[DustSailor]

No, it shouldn't work. You might get away with extra low settings, but it may not even be worth it

 

[Chalky Emultion]

hi,

probably yes, your graphics card can handle Diablo III, but at very low graphics settings.

Intel HD graphics is not a real GPU: it is an integrated graphics card, which is comparable with a low-end GPU.
It does not use dedicated video RAM: it uses system memory as graphics memory (this is called "shared video RAM")

For example, if you have a PC with 4GB of RAM and an Intel integrated graphics card, some of your 4GB are used by the Intel integrated graphics card as "video RAM". You can choose the amount of RAM to dedicate to the integrated graphics card from the BIOS.

 

[Bud1304]

Yep it's a laptop. Unfortunately I can't add a graphics card, as far as I know. Good thing I didn't buy it yet.. I might not now, thanks for the info.

 

[M1GU31]

Get a desktop you will be better off because you can upgrade your parts or get a gaming laptop with a decent built in gpu that can handle this gens games at decent resolutions.What's your budget and mention whether it is in usd,cad or euros to know from what currency to help you out

 

[Bud1304]

In USD, but I don't really have any money set aside for this kind of thing right now. My wife would probably kill me if I dropped a big chunk of change like that. What's basically the cheapest thing I could do?

 

[Trucidation]

Can't do much upgrading with a laptop, so if your heart is set on gaming you'll need to drop some money on a desktop. As you say, though, the missus will probably not take too kindly to that.

 

[Bud1304]

How does this one look? Its more my budget...
HP - 17.3" Pavilion Laptop - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive - Pewter - g7-1328dx - Best Buy

 

[Bud1304]

A laptop would fit my budget easier.. Dont have to buy desktop, monitor, keyboard... Also dont have a computer desk at this time

 

[M1GU31]

yeah that's a decent laptop saw a video on youtube of someone playing crysis at decent settings with little lag with that laptop, it will probably run diablo 3 better then the other laptop you suggested around 1280x720 with the built in quad core in the lappy along with the HD 6520G built in. Should be playable at medium-high with decent resolution at around 30fps is my best estimate. So yes you should be able to play diablo 3 with that laptop.

 

[Trucidation]

A laptop would fit my budget easier.. Dont have to buy desktop, monitor, keyboard... Also dont have a computer desk at this time

A desktop will always be cheaper than a laptop of equivalent performance, even if you include the accessories and computer desk

That's pretty cheap for a 17" laptop. Hmm, according to the regularly updated master graphics card list, it uses a really low end card. Like, tail end of class 3. A 15" screen laptop would be cheaper than that 17" one, and the price difference could go into a better graphics card. Are there any other models on offer where you're looking?