Anyone have any experience with Games using 945GM?

Scottish

Wonder if anyone has any opinions or experiences on using the 945GM Intel Chipset for games? What works well and what doesn't? Have looked at the list on Intel's site, seems ok, but have my doubts about what the performance might be like.

I have a Dell D420 Core Duo Processor 1.5gb memory.

Cheers.

TerrorFirmer

Their list is generally pretty good and fairly reliable.

Firstly, the games that work well - pretty much any Dx8 title. Will work without any major issues.

Dx9 games are a tricky one. It tends to be hit and miss, and trust me when I say do not take any particular games minimum requirements and compare them against the tech specifications of the 945 as a basis of the performance.

For example, some games, requiring 32mb of Vram, work poorly on the GMA950, such as Dawn of War for example. Other games, requiring 64mb of Vram, like Pariah, work quite well. Again, as stated, it's all hit and miss. Do not let the 224mb available fool you.

As long as you know your limits it's an ok card for light gaming. Half Life 2 works on Dx7 mode acceptably, Far Cry does not really work at an acceptable level on any settings, newer titles like Battlefield 2, Call of Duty 2 and Oblivion will not even start.

I have tested alot of games on the 945 such as Soldier of Fortune 2, Call of Duty, Unreal 2004, Command and Conquer Generals, Dawn of War, SWAT 4, Pariah, Return to Castle Wolfenstein.....all of them, bar Unreal 2004, were playable and some were playable at high detail levels, like the Dx8 titles such as RTCW and C&C.

Unreal 2004, although it works, gives a wildly inconsistant framerate, regardless of graphical settings, jumping randomly from 10-50fps on either high or low settings. This is also true for some other titles that technically 'work', like Half Life 2 on Dx9 mode, Doom 3 and Far Cry among others.

Good luck...

BostonB

Never occurred to me try I assumed they wouldn't. Might try a few old ones now.