PC Graphic Card - Help Appreciated

[scootie12]

I recently purchased a Windows 8 laptop 64-bit / 8GB Ram / i7 Core / SSD..........

I currently have a PS3 sub, but also purchased a Windows sub so I can play the game when I'm on the road.

Anyway, while the computer has beautiful HD resolution and runs fast, the built-in graphics card is not made for gaming. It works fine for other purposes, such as day-to-day stuff.

What is a decent graphics card I can purchase that won't break the bank? I'm thinking something that costs me $200 to $250 will probably suffice, but I'm not well-versed in graphic cards.

The current graphic card is a standard Intel(R) 4000 HD

Any help or leads are appreciated

[Aethaeryn]

If it's a laptop, you might not be able to upgrade the video card anyway. Would need more details (model etc.).

[scootie12]

If it's a laptop, you might not be able to upgrade the video card anyway. Would need more details (model etc.).

What do you mean? Here's are the specs from my FF info:

SYSTEM_OS Windows 8 64-bit (6.2, Build 9200) (9200.win8_gdr.130531-1504)
SYSTEM_CPU Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3537U CPU @ 2.00GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
SYSTEM_CORE_NUM SYSTEM_CORE_LOGIC 4 SYSTEM_CORE_PHYSICS 2
SYSTEM_BIOS R0200DA
SYSTEM_MEMORY 8070.797MB
SYSTEM_VIRTUAL_MEMORY 2047.875MB
SYSTEM_PAGE_FILE 12678.797MB
SYSTEM_STORAGE C:\ SYSTEM_HARDDISK_DRIVE SYSTEM_TOTALDISC_SPACE 900.229GB SYSTEM_FREEDISC_SPACE 843.317GB
SYSTEM_DIRECTX_VERSION DirectX 11
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_DEVICE \\.\DISPLAY1
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_CHIP Intel(R) HD Graphics Family
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_MAKER Intel Corporation
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_VRAM 32.000 MB
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_SHARED_VRAM 1760.000 MB

[Aethaeryn]

What do you mean? Here's are the specs from my FF info:

I mean the brand and model number of the laptop, so I can look online to see if it even has upgrade capacity and what kind of hardware backing it. Laptops are usually not very good for upgrades beyond memory/harddrive, and if you buy one that didn't already come with a gaming card, chances are that it's not built for gaming even beyond just the lack of a dedicated graphics card. Cooling generally ends up being a huge bottleneck for laptops with gaming even when graphics aren't.

[scootie12]

I mean the brand and model number of the laptop, so I can look online to see if it even has upgrade capacity and what kind of hardware backing it. Laptops are usually not very good for upgrades beyond memory/harddrive, and if you buy one that didn't already come with a gaming card, chances are that it's not built for gaming even beyond just the lack of a dedicated graphics card. Cooling generally ends up being a huge bottleneck for laptops with gaming even when graphics aren't.

ah, gotcha. It's a Sony Vaio:
SVF15A16CXS

I bought it primarily for work, but figured it could support the game too ha. Another idea I got was to put windows on my iMac, which has more than enough capacity to support the game.

[Cigaran]

Another idea I got was to put windows on my iMac, which has more than enough capacity to support the game.

Depending on what the graphics card in the iMac is like, that is an option. I have no trouble playing off of my MacBook Pro's Bootcamp installation.

[MurakumoMillennium]

The graphics with windows of 8 card makes for do issue with game. If you can make for get window of 7 then you'd be very much well off. Also not for very sure of SSD, as they're typical more slow due to being solid (the electric takes longer to pass through it).

[scootie12]

That's what I've heard about Windows 8 so far :-/

The windows 8 graphics card has a lot of issues with games unfortunately. If you can get a 7 then you'd be very well off. Also I'm not sure on the SSD, as they're typically slower due to being solid (the electric takes longer to pass through it).

[NeruMew]

The windows 8 graphics card has a lot of issues with games unfortunately. If you can get a 7 then you'd be very well off. Also I'm not sure on the SSD, as they're typically slower due to being solid (the electric takes longer to pass through it).

Wtf do you mean that SSD are slower because electricity takes longer?

I hope you don't mean their write/read speeds and transference bandwidth.

edit: Regardless, they are always faster, usually somewhere between 20 to 30% on sequential reading/writting, and between 10 to 20 times faster on random data reading. So you have an idea. (it really depends on the brands and models you're comparing, some SSD are faster than others and same goes for HDDs, some HDDs are actually quite fast. Could be even faster for sequential reading if I'm not wrong)

And yes! I sorta pulled the numbers outta my ass! Thought I've done previous comparison so I know what I'm talking about :P But yeah, not anything substantial, but rather to just give an idea.

[Aethaeryn]

Wtf do you mean that SSD are slower because electricity takes longer?

I hope you don't mean their write/read speeds and transference bandwidth.

I purposely didn't reply to her post because I figured she was trolling.

And I don't think that model is upgradeable at all, OP. :/ Sony Vaio isn't exactly known for gaming friendliness with laptops... they're more for streaming movies and general office stuff on the go really. Even laptops that are built specifically for gaming generally cannot be upgraded. Even if it did have a PCIe slot or two, the processor would be a huge bottleneck on gaming, and I really doubt the cooling would handle it very well either. That being said, have you tried running it on the lowest settings anyway?

In the future if you're in the market for a gaming laptop, you want to look for ones that are built specifically with gaming in mind and already including a dedicated card. Then do LOTS of research and google around about benchmarks on that specific model for gaming before you make a purchase. They're pretty pricey usually, but you can probably find a decent one for the same $1100 your current model runs... Touch screens laptops are pretty expensive.