Intel HD 4400 versus Radeon HD 5870 + Game Performance on an SP3

[switch6]

Hi everyone, I am wondering how much of a difference in performance between the Intel HD 4400 and a Radeon 5870 there is. The reason I ask is I have a Surface Pro 3 with the Intel HD 4400 on board, and a desktop loaded with the Radeon 5870, and there's a few games I'd like to play while on the road with the SP3:

• StarCraft 2
• Final Fantasy 13 (PC Port <-- planning on getting this game)
• COD: Modern Warfare (yes, I still play this on occasion)
• Mass Effect 3 (Citadel is very fun, and warrants a replay in my books)

Other questions that I have:

 

1. Can these games be played comfortably on the SP3? (Core-i5 / HD4400).

2. Anyone regularly play games like the above with an SP3?

3. Anyone worried about overheating the unit?

 

The Radeon HD 5870 is still running very strong, allowing me to play many games with high quality for the most part. The Intel HD 4400 is newer (?), and is of the mobile variety, but wondering if Intel made great strides to improving its performance as an integrated option.

 

Thoughts?

[pmrd]

Startcraft 2 and Mass Effect 3 will run great.

[+Zlip792 MVC]

If you can compromise on Textures, Quality etc and willing to run Games at Low or Medium and some games at High rather than Very High or Ultra with compromise on resolution as well then many games will run at playable rates.

 

Don't expect wonders from integrated GPU, which is in ULT (ultra low thermal) processor. It will work for most of things but Gaming is not its primary forte.

 

Don't own SP3 but its expected at least.

[ZakO]

I don't own a Surface Pro 3, but I do have a Intel 4400 in my cheap laptop. If you're happy with 720p and 'low' quality you should be able to run the games listed (perhaps excluding FFXIII) at 25-30fps, not ideal but just about playable.

 

The 4400 is still a weak (i)GPU, in benchmarks the 5870 is roughly 5x faster.

[Noir Angel]

The 4400 is unlikely to match the 5870 in terms of raw power so don't expect miracles, especially at the resolution of the SP3's screen. It might be playable on the lowest difficulty settings, but the Surface range really aren't meant for gaming.