is having shared video memory on laptops make the graphics for video games bad?
95565
It does not make the graphics "bad" but it will have a negative impact on the performance, speed-wise.  Generally on a lapop this should not matter; laptops are usually not used for heavy gaming, and using the system memory as opposed to video memory will help save battery life.
477403
Mmm, don't really have enough information to tell you exactly how big of a difference. For example: some of the geforce 7900 cards are 256mb, some are 512mb. Either way, you're likely at least doubling your video memory, and going from agp to pci-ex, correct? It would make a huge difference, but Oblivion is a resource hog. It would be much smoother, but it wouldn't be perfect.
987958
Typically, you can't and wouldn't want to.\n\nThe GPU (graphics processing unit) is using a portion of main memory.  This is less efficient than having its own of course.  However, there's nothing you can do for a laptop.  If you're low on system memory then just add more.
1027567
well incresing the memory space helps, but with the use of celeron D, it does not heavily support and is not good for games. its computing power is not enough to support heavy games. as a solution try using amd athlon 64 or and intel processor. increasing the ram also helps
37490
Sometimes because it is a shared memory with vga
649552
The memory you have is not sufficient if you have Win XP.\nIf you have integrated video on your computer and not a video card you have less than 200MB which is just sad. Memory is dirt cheap for 512MB do yourself a favor and get it.
735474
Make sure you have nothing else running in the background. If you don't have a high end laptop,  games that are heavy on graphics will run slow and/or freeze.
400626
The memory on your Video card has nothing to do with the memory that you put on the mother board. One is used by the video card and the other is used by the system to schedule processes and to load programs that you are running.
579150
Decayingmind is right. More than the processor speed, you need to find out what video card you have since most modern video card have their own hardware so they unburden the processor. Another big issue is the ram, you should have at least 1GB ram for most games. Lastly, it will depend on the game more than anything else. For example, FEAR is a game which I played but did not enjoyed fully due to its severe restrictions on compatibility. This happens for games that use the latest programming tools to make them look better. Unfortunately, FEAR's option for the people that did not have the specific hardware was having the game rendered in what looked like a Commodore 64 (very old graphics) computer. Doom on the other hand tried to get the best of using graphics but giving better options for the people that did not have all the hardware and hence it was very playable even without meeting its requirement. In any case, I would also recommend that you check out forum boards or support boards where people will usually complain about compatibility issues. Good Luck!
695167
Get a 64/128 graphics card. Have enough empty space in C drive. If you can have around 1GB of page file and still enough C drive space. Almost all your games would run fine.
771765
Shared graphics memory means that the computer has an integrated memory processor on the motherboard. The issue with shared memory systems is that many programs and CPU's share the memory to complete simple tasks, meaning its slower than dedicated and dynamic, so its not a good option if ur wanting to play recent games, older gaming should be alright, such as americas army n such. Dynamic memory is used by programs according to how large the program is in order for it to work, Dynamic memory allows programs to handle small, large, and huge amounts of data efficiently by only using the necessary resources to complete the job. And finally dedicated memory, thye are their own individual memory, separate from the motherboard, which have their own memory used to store the display image, textures, buffers and other elements. They also may support shared memory technologies (Ati’s HyperMemory or Nvidia’s TurboCache) which may "steal" part of the system memory only when it is necessary. Dedicated GPUs require higher power consumption and they produced more heat, but are alot faster than all the rest as they dont nick memory from other programs and CPU's like the shared/integrated memory. In simple terms, \n\nShared memory = Slow memory but fine for music playing, office work, \nDynamic= A Programs own memory\nDedicated= Independent memory, doesnt share, alot faster. \n\nHope this kinda helps =]
473983
It's not bad, but if you're a gamer looking for more frames/sec, you may want to consider a graphics card that supports SLI(scalable link interface, it allows you to hook up two graphics card to share the load).\n\nHowever, the motherboard will also need to support SLI.\n\nBut, otherwise, that video card should be just fine.
294122
Well maybe its because the video card is old or does not have enough memory on it. But sometimes its because of compatibility.
845536
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html\n\nThe above link is a visual representation comparing "video card" performance.
708680
Processor is OK\nRAM Memory is OK\nVideo - NO WAY - bye with at least 512 RAM to be sure it will run Vista/ good games\nSoftware included with is too old - Word 2002???\nMaybe it will be better to wait for Vista capable computer - which means Video card with 512 ram and support for DirectX 10 and at least 1 Gb Ram
1138417
It's ok but it all depends on what kind of games you are playing.  Your graphics card would be ok with 250mb but what does it connect to... ei. PCI, AGP or PCI express.  Also what's the clockspeed on your processor, and how powerful is you RAM.  You should be good to play games, but i don't think you'll be ok for High-end games, unless you turn down all the graphics settings on the game.\n\nHere's the specs on my crappy ass desktop\nCeleron Processor at 2.8ghz\n512mb Geforce 6200 (PCI)\n1GB RAM PC3200, 400mhz\n80 GB HDD\n\nand it's good for some games but not for high end games.  I try to play City of Villains on it and i gotta turn down all the graphics settings and it still sucks, my laptop has more ass to it than this piece of crap\nMy Laptop Specs\nAMD Athalon 64-bit 3400+\n1 GB RAM\nATI Mobility Radeon 9800\n80 GB HDD\n\nand i can play City of Villains without having to sacrifice graphics or performance\n\nMy veredict homeboy, is to upgrade your graphics card maybe get a better PC for high end games.
766707
I have seen this many times on here, here is the problem.  When it says compatible, it means that is the bare minimum it will take for the game to actually load up on the screen, they don't tell you that it means you will have to set it on the lowest settings and still have poor performance.  You definately need a new video card to play that game.\n\nBut the problem is even worse sense I am assuming you have a laptop.  Laptops are not good for gaming, you have to spend big money to get one that will game well, and even then it will be outdated in a few years with little room to upgrade.