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Intel GMA 4500 and GMA HD basic tips and troubleshooting

idata
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In this thread I will post a bit about what's needed to get the Intel GMA 4500 and GMA HD graphics working and a few tips on popular issues.

Which desktop motherboard supports the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD(also known as HD graphics/GMA HD) that comes integrated with the latest 32nm, dual core, Core i3/Core i5 processors?

You need a motherboard that uses one of the following chipsets: Q57/H55/H57

If you are using a motherboard that uses the P55 or X58 chipsets, you will need a seperate add-on graphics card to get graphics functionality. The motherboards that have video out needed to hook up to a monitor is only supported for models that use Q57/H55, and H57 chipsets.

Here are some examples:

Gigabyte GA-H55M-D2H http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3572# ov http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3572# ov

Asus /product.aspx?P_ID=XSm0g8qR5qb7UN30&templete=2 P7Q57M DO http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=XSm0g8qR5qb7UN30&templete=2 http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=XSm0g8qR5qb7UN30&templete=2

Intel DH57JG: http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/motherboards/DH57JG/DH57JG-overview.htm http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/motherboards/DH57JG/DH57JG-overview.htm

Help! My game is running slow, and while my computer specifications tell me my graphics card can use 1.7GB of memory it only uses 50MB to run my game. How can I increase the amount of video memory?

Intel's latest graphics solutions can use up to 1.7GB of memory depending on the amount of system memory installed. The amount of video memory used isn't controllable by the user, its allocated dynamically. That's the reason its named DVMT, or Dynamic Video Memory Technology. The technology allows Intel graphics to only used what's needed by the application to ensure optimal system performance.

Although more video memory is generally better, there's a limit to how much a game can use. A simpler game will use less video memory than complex, high resolution games. For example, Crysis, which is arguably one of the most demanding games out there, uses roughly 500MB of video memory with all details at High.

What can I do to further improve graphics performance?

Though you'll need add-on graphics to run the latest games smoothly with high settings, there are some solutions that can work to speed up performance. Get the latest video drivers and using the Intel Graphics Control Panel, go to the tab named 3D, then select "Enable Software Processing" from the Vertex Processing menu.

Older Intel GPUs like the GMA 4500 series might run faster with software vertex processing than hardware. Of course you can choose what you want to run on.

How do I change hardware/software vertex processing settings?

You can just use the latest Intel Graphics Control Panel to easily select between vertex processing settings. The newer HD Graphics used in Core i3/i5 CPUs are fast enough that hardware vertex processing is always faster than software, but older generations like GMA 4500(that includes GMA 4500/X4500/GMA 4500MHD) might benefit depending on the game.

From the graphics control panel, go to 3D-->Vertex Processing, then select what you want. Default=chooses between software and hardware, Enable Software Processing=forces software vertex processing for all applications, Application Settings=forces hardware vertex processing

How can I install the latest Intel drivers when the laptop tells me I need a custom driver?

Though not guaranteed, you can use what I call the "INF installation" method from this thread: http://software.intel.com/en-us/forums/showthread.php?t=71710&o=d&s=lr http://software.intel.com/en-us/forums/showthread.php?t=71710&o=d&s=lr

Post # 4 details what users need to do to install on systems that asks for custom drivers. Choose the graphics driver for your Operating System here: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/SearchResult.aspx?lang=eng&ProductFamily=Graphics&ProductLine=Laptop+graphics+controllers&ProductProduct=Intel%c2%ae+HD+Graphics http://downloadcenter.intel.com/SearchResult.aspx?lang=eng&ProductFamily=Graphics&ProductLine=Laptop+graphics+controllers&ProductProduct=Intel%c2%ae+HD+Graphics

then do the method I outlined on the other thread.

***Warning: This method might not work and mess up your system. Back up your files before you choose to progress***

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