How do I know what games I can run on my laptop?

[sahands]

I started playing Halo 2 as an example, my specs:

i5-3317U @1.7GHz

RAM 6GB

Intel HD Graphics 4000 

Video RAM 32MB

Do not meet the minimum requirments, yet the game runs smoothly on it's highest graphic settings, so how do I really know what games I can play on my laptop?

Halo 2 System Requirements (minimum)

• CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 960T / Intel Core i3-550
• CPU SPEED: Info
• RAM: 8 GB
• OS: Windows 7
• VIDEO CARD: AMD Radeon HD 6850 ; NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
• PIXEL SHADERS: 5.0
• VERTEX SHADERS: 5.0
• 3D: Yes
• SOUND CARD: Yes
• CD-ROM: Yes
• DVD-ROM: Yes
• FREE DISK SPACE: 20 GB
• DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 512 MB
• TOTAL VIDEO RAM: 128 MB

Halo 2 Recommended Requirements

• CPU: AMD FX-4100 / Intel Core i7-870
• CPU SPEED: Info
• RAM: 8 GB
• OS: WIndows 10
• VIDEO CARD: AMD Radeon R7 360 ; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 TI
• PIXEL SHADERS: 5.0
• VERTEX SHADERS: 5.0
• 3D: Yes
• HARDWARE T&L: Yes
• SOUND CARD: Yes
• CD-ROM: Yes
• DVD-ROM: Yes
• FREE DISK SPACE: 20 GB
• DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 1536 MB
• TOTAL VIDEO RAM: 256 MB

[oscarraven]

You have a pretty weak laptop, you probably can only run low graphic indie games. Before downloading the games just check if your specifications meet the recommended or at least the minimum requirements of the game. 

[gpixel]

@sahands

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-4000.69168.0.html

*scroll down to see results

this should give you a good reference on what you can expect to play and what frame rates you can achieve

also take into account they may have used a more powerful processor when benchmarking

you should be fine. just make sure your laptop is lifted up so air can pass through or if you have a cooler, even better. it's also probably a good time to clean up the fans etc since you have an "oldy" 

if you want to squeeze out a few more fps you can force your processor to always use its maximum frequency. there are a few power settings you can tweak in windows and you can also download a program called throttle stop. I use this if I ever play intensive games, which is never lately...

[Korth]

Processor-embedded iGPUs are not really intended for gaming. They can do basic 3D well enough. They can do streaming video (at common HD and even 4K rates) well enough. They eat main RAM (which thrashes the "virtual memory" drives) and make the whole processor run hot (which throttles performance on the main CPU cores) if they're used for substantial or sustained graphical loads.

Halo 2 is an old game running a revamped old 3D engine. Just try it out - it's free download and free trial - if it works you're okay and if it doesn't seem playable then you can decide how to proceed.

[bluejaywpg]

All you can do is compare your specs vs. what the game's manufacturer says, or just try it & see what happens. In your case, you may be able to upgrade the RAM to 8 GB or even 16 GB. 

A common shortcoming is the video card. Intel video cards are usually on the basic side. I bought a gaming laptop just to ensure I have a solid system for just about anything, even though I don't do much gaming on my laptop. I also wanted a laptop with an Nvidia graphics card because Nvidia is generally considered among the best cards.

But Halo 2 is from 2004 so I imagine almost anything from the last 5 years should run it fine.

[Korth]

logicalincrements.com

You can hover over any item or description on the site for more details, you can click on any of the details to get linked to more comprehensive details. It's intended to be a price-checking and vendor/brand conparison site but it's still very useful even if you're not shopping for more hardware.

Halo 2 was from 2004, but system reqs for it suggest it uses more RAM and VRAM (for textures, etc) than your laptop can provide. I think it will run, though you'll likely need to reduce graphic quality settings (or play at a lower resolution) to prevent your GPU (with iGPU built into it) from running too hot.

[sahands]

I am happy playing pre-2010 games, so as long as my CPU can handle the minimum requirements, I can ignore other things, specifically the video card memory requirements?

[B12]

Hey, when it comes to games you generally want a 4 core processor (and can get away with 2 cores with older games, say from before 2010) and video ram via your video card is crucial to gaming.

Your amount of VRAM is not good, at all, sorry to say. To play even the most basic looking games it's best to have at least 512mb of video ram.

If your game works for you with what you got, that's great although I'd play it with some caution as I too have played games before with Intel HD Graphics and eventually (it doesn't take long) the video ram does run out and in my experience nothing really fixes it except a reformat.

I seriously suggest buying a computer made for gaming. I'm not saying to buy something that's $1,000, just something that will get you by. I know for sure that a Geforce GT 730 video card will play most games at 720p low/med settings because this was my first video card I'd ever bought. I could play GTA IV (at 30-45fps) with everything except textures on low. I played The Punisher at 720p with everything maxed out except anti-aliasing (this can tax a video card immensely), and I've played other games like Max Payne 1 and 2 to name just a few more.

You could EASILY buy an old office computer with a 4th gen 4 core processor off of ebay or amazon for $100-$300, add a video card to it, such as the GT 730, and play your games to your heart's desire.

[BearFBI]

@sahands Just download the game and run it. If it works it works. If it has low fps gameplay and it's garbage then you cant run it. You can go below minimum requirements on some games and it will still run fine. It all depends on the game and PC.