First of all I know they're not dedicated video cards, they're not even video cards. But I was just wondering, are these iGPU's any good? I was shopping around for a Christmas gift for my sister and I thought it would be perfect if I got her a new laptop since her old one is falling apart. So I had a choice between this Dell laptop and a Samsung one, both have almost the same price but the Dell one is a bit cheaper because it doesn't have a dedicated graphics card and instead just have an Intel HD 4400 graphics. Normally I'd go for this one but my sister plays some games on her laptop, not really a hardcore gamer but she's getting there. I was just wondering, would the Intel HD handle gaming well enough?
It should be enough but you want to make sure the RAM memory is above 4gb. You will be able to run much smoother with a laptop with about 8gb of RAM memory.
You can't really play games on these kind of integrated cards. They are only meant for general PC use, nothing more. So, "are they any good"? No. Not for any kind of gaming. I'm kind of curious as to why you are asking when you already know that they aren't proper GPUs, and thus they can't handle what proper GPUs would?
Intel HD Graphics will tackle basic games with no problem, but you're not going to get AAA titles running on such a machine. With Intel HD, you can run League of Legends and similar games without too many issues, assuming your CPU and RAM can handle the game. I'd suggest getting a dedicated graphics card rather than relying upon the stock Intel HD graphics. You're asking for trouble and disappointment if you stick with stock.
Depends hugely on what your sister would be using it for. If she's a casual gamer (basic games with no intensive 3D graphics like Hearthstone), an integrated card would be okay. Does she do photo/video editing? A graphics card would help in these areas too. Personally I'd go for the Samsung, also because I've found that they are much more durable than Dell laptops. If you can afford it, go for the Samsung! But I imagine she'd be happy either way. A free laptop is a free laptop.
I'm asking because I'm not really familiar with iGPU's. I know that integrated cards aren't really good for gaming but that was a long time ago (I got a laptop running SiStray but it was really old) and I have no personal experience with them (Intel HD) first hand and so far all I get are mixed opinions about it so I thought it would be great to ask people who have had actual experience with these things.
Well, as you said, they aren't really traditional graphic cards, so obviously, they are really bad for gaming. Yes, you may be able to run some games here and there, but definitely nothing even remotely recent.
They cannot handle the latest games. If your sister wants the newest games, then it will give you a scene of great frustration. You can dissect a movement in real time, frame by frame. You will only be disappointed. However, if the games are let's say, three or four years ago, then it can handle that. As long as you have a powerful processor on the laptop too. So no, Intel HD graphics are only good for the daily non gaming tasks.
The Intel ones? I don't think so as far as I know. I have an integrated HD4000 in my laptop and honestly it's no good for gaming. The only one I can really play is Minecraft. I use to get around 120FPS on it, now things have slowed down to where I'm getting ~40FPS. It can still play my favourites on high quality pretty well though. Civ V, Counter Strike Source and Gary's Mod all perform pretty well on my old 2012 5520R.
Yes, as she is not a hardcore gamer, Intel HD graphics should be enough. However, for the games to run smoothly, at least 8 GB of RAM will be needed. However, I recommend that you buy the laptop with the dedicated GPU as it will last much ;longer than the laptop with dedicated graphics. I believe that the laptop with Intel HD graphics 4400 is a little weak as Intel HD 4600 is the standard (even for gaming laptops).
For real stuff like gaming and graphics it's not going to put up much of a fight. I suggest you go for the real graphics cards. Intel HD's are only good for casual users who wan't more than just your average graphical capabilities. Yes they're good in a way but still, they're not graphics cards.
Having a Intel HD graphics is something you should only have on a PC or Laptop that you wouldn't even use for heavy task. It won't be able to handle any real sort of gaming and anything else that will eat up a lot of memory. If you can I would say you should spring for a better card that won't just get you by.
They are far from being any good. Believe me, you won't be able to play any kind of games with these inferior integrated Graphics Card. It's just pure waste. You need to buy a high end card like 560 and Titan to enjoy gaming on your PC.
