Playing with an Intel(R) HD Graphics

[rmjohnson144 42]

I have an i3-4340 (3.6GHz) with HD4600 iGPU, 16GB memory, and 1080p monitor.  With a 7-tile city and 125k pop and everything on default high AA/AF on, titl shift and film gain about half way.  I get around 7-8 fps according to the FPS mod for the game.

 

If I set everything to lowest settings (low or off) at 1080p I get 14-16 fps.

 

I think it's the memory.  My laptop has only 4 GB and lags out or crashes or just refuses to start.  Considering windows needs over 1GB to run, plus over 1GB for integrated graphics, leaves you very little for the game.  I'd say 8GB minimum ram for this game.

[thelazaftw 0]

Could this computer run it well? Please answer I am desperate!  Thanks so much: 

http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Product.aspx?id=K2E51EA&opt=ABU&sel=PCDT&jumpID=ps_xeuz482n9f/sf:_sku:K2E51EA&k_clickid=EMEA|_kenshoo_clickid_&kpid=K2E51EA&gclid=Cj0KEQjwoIitBRDTgeiZq93F2LQBEiQAMfXL0XsjN7D-P4gAc1MajqlUYcN7TvhF1AfOyIPQQnCOC-UaArtB8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CLmEwZbH1sYCFY6QwgodZH0JAA

Also specs are: 

Supported Operating Systems

Operating system

• Windows 8.1 64

 

Processor

Chipset

• Intel H87

 

Processor family

• Intel® Core™ i3 processor

 

Processor

• Intel® Core™ i3-4160 with Intel HD Graphics 4400 (3.6 GHz, 3 MB cache, 2 cores)

 

Memory

Memory, standard

• 8 GB DDR3 (1 x 8 GB)

 

Memory slots

• 2 DIMM

 

 

Graphic Subsystem

Graphics

• Intel HD Graphics

 

[Yawdie 0]

hey guys i am running this hardware on my MacBook Pro (13-inch Retina Late 2013)

Operating System macOS Sierra 10.12.1 (Build 16B2657)

Processor Intel Core i7-4558U @ 2.80 GHz 
1 processor, 2 cores, 4 threads

16G memory

intel Iris 1536 integrated Graphics

Will I be able to play Cities Skylines? 

[rsc204 21,836]

On 12/07/2015 at 11:56 PM, thelazaftw said:

Could this computer run it well? Please answer I am desperate!  Thanks so much:

I'd have to say no. A i3 isn't ideal, but with intergrated graphics you are going to get very poor performance indeed. You ideally need a computer with a dedicated GPU to play such a hardware-intensive game. You aren't likely to find it runs well on any laptop below $600-700$ minimum.

4 hours ago, Yawdie said:

Will I be able to play Cities Skylines? 

See my answer in the other thread.

I see a lot of people are desparate to play this game on low-end hardware. I'm sorry to tell you, it's just a non-starter, especially if just playing it isn't enough. If you want it to run well, you need a better system with a dedicated graphics card.

I still don't understand why everyone needs to have a laptop. I rarely use a computer on the go, I certainly don't need to have all the bells and whistles whilst I'm out and about. So unless you really need a laptop, use a Mobile Phone/Tablet for on the go, they are much better designed for the task. Then have a proper desktop PC for when you are home and want to play games. If you absolutely must have a laptop, you are going to pay more for less, especially if gaming is in your sights. Laptops are just not ideal for gaming, because laptops can't dissipate heat (no space to handle it). So the parts have to be reduced in terms of their capability, to stay both cool and power efficent. This is the opposite of what you want to play a game like skylines. You really need a proper PC that has space to handle the heat and big fans to effectively remove the heat from the system. A $/£/€ 150 GPU is sufficent for good performance. Pair that with 8GB (ideally at least 16GB) RAM and a half-decent processor (i5 ideally, but an i3 may be acceptable if the rest of the system is capable).

All this is before you start modding the game and pushing it though. This game will bring down some serious rigs if you push it hard enough.

[Surfle21 1]

*Full disclosure, I am not very knowledgeable about the interworkings of my refurbished (not by me) HP Compaq 8000 Elite. I seek advice on a new graphics card, or whether to upgrade at all.

I recently purchased a refurbished HP Compaq 8000 Elite with an Intel Core 2 Duo and 8.1GB of RAM. My current graphics card specs indicate an Intel Q45/43 Express Chipset. I also understand Cities: Skylines does not play well with Intel integrated graphics cards, and am looking to upgrade. However, I have a few questions I hope someone would be willing to answer.

First, am I able to upgraded my current graphics card in my computer? If so, are there limitations to the kinds of cards that will work with my HP Compaq? (ex. would the recommended nVIDIA GeForce GTX 660, 2 GB or AMD Radeon HD 7870, 2 GB be able to be installed in my computer at all?)

Second, considering my PC's specs and Cities minimum (nVIDIA GeForce GTX 260, 512 MB or ATI Radeon HD 5670, 512 MB), and recommended (nVIDIA GeForce GTX 660, 2 GB or AMD Radeon HD 7870, 2 GB) graphics cards, what would you recommend as a comparable in-between GPU? I'm finding the recommended GPUs to be a little out of my price range.  

 

Could use the help/advice!!

 

[rsc204 21,836]

Frankly if you are running on a core 2 system you simply aren't going to get a very good experiance playing. The CPU really isn't powerful enough, I think the minimum requirements state you need at least a 3Ghz chip, so you may be right on the minimum specs there. A modern internal GPU such as the Intel 4000 series is not good enough to run the game. By comparison a Q45 chipset GPU is going to be terrible, if it even runs at all. The older style internal GPUs are renowned for being terrible for anything but running the desktop. They were so bad for so long, even 5 years after those issues have been fixed, people still detest the idea of intergrated GPUs.

Can you update the graphics card? Yes and no. You can't replace the internal GPU, as it's part of the CPU/Mainboard. But you can override it with an additional installed card. There is a caveat though, you need to have an expansion socket on the motherboard to install the new card. Being a HP Compaq, you may be OK, but some budget machines didn't have one to save money. Given the generation, even if it has one, you may be looking at a PCI-E generation 1 socket, perhaps even something older. So you can't just buy a modern PCI-E 2/3 card, you must get one that matches the board.

IMO, given your CPU is at best going to be right on the limit of playing the game, if you can't at least put a PCI-Express card in the computer, I'd forget it. If you can get a modern graphics card, maybe it's worth trying, but even then, performance will not be great. Perhaps you may just need to hold off playing until your next machine. Obviously not what anyone that's just bought a machine wants to hear. But that's a pitfall of buying a 7-10 year old machine, you won't be able to use all modern software.

[Surfle21 1]

I really appreciate the advice. You've given me a lot to mull over. In the end, I'll most likely just accept that I will be unable to play Cities with my current set up. My brother tried to convince me to purchase Alienware. Unfortunately, the cost was a major issue. All is not lost. My other games are performing much better than they did on my previous MAC, and I can finally download the mods for SimCity4!!!!!!

 

Again, I appreciate the help.

[rsc204 21,836]

18 hours ago, Surfle21 said:

In the end, I'll most likely just accept that I will be unable to play Cities with my current set up. My brother tried to convince me to purchase Alienware. Unfortunately, the cost was a major issue. All is not lost. My other games are performing much better than they did on my previous MAC, and I can finally download the mods for SimCity4!!!!!!

With the exception of my current PC, I've always been in much the same boat. My hardware was never the latest or best stuff. So whenever I did get new hardware, I'd usually have some games waiting, which I could finally play properly. If you are patient to wait for games (afterall, they aren't going anywhere), this is certainly a lot cheaper than replacing half your PC every few years to play the latest games on it. In fact, even the games are so much cheaper if you don't have to have them on release day.