Can we play smoothly today without a graphics card?

Surely you are looking to buy a new computer to play and the price of graphics is a problem. Although they are going down, accessing a mid-range graphics card is quite unfeasible. But don’t worry, you don’t need to buy a dedicated graphics card, you can use the one built into the processor.

AMD and Intel offer integrated graphics in some of their processors. These graphics cards will allow us to play different games, yes, with certain limitations. We cannot ask one of these graphics cards to offer us the same time as a dedicated graphics card. We will explain what processors include them since you can play without major problems.

Can we play smoothly today without a graphics card

Which processors have integrated graphics cards?

Well, while both Intel and AMD offer processors with integrated graphics, not all processors from both companies have them. On the one hand, Intel offers graphics on all its processors, but some are not functional. AMD, for its part, offers integrated graphics in a small number of models. This is what we need to know:

  • Intel: All of the company’s processors include discrete integrated graphics. It should be noted that the Core-F and Core-KF processors have the graphics disabled due to some type of defect that makes it non-functional.
  • AMD: Few processors include graphics , only the so- called APU include graphics. Normally these processors are called Ryzen and behind the number they include the letter “G” that tells us that it has an integrated graphics card.

It should be noted that the graphics of AMD processors are superior to those of Intel. Also note that Intel starting with the 11th Generation of Core processors includes Intel Xe graphics , which are more powerful than previous generations. Although they are still behind AMD solutions, they offer quite interesting performance.

Los procesadores de Intel y AMD integran tarjetas gráficas que nos permiten jugar

Will I be able to play any game with integrated graphics?

The reality is that these graphics are not excessively powerful, so they are not valid for any game. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult for you to be able to enjoy the latest games released on the market. But there are plenty of simpler games you can play with the integrated graphics in Intel and AMD processors. Some of them are:

  • Minecraft: This game has very lax requirements, being able to play without major problems with integrated graphics in processors released in the last 6-7 years. We may need to make some vision adjustments to avoid overloading and be able to play smoothly, but otherwise, we shouldn’t have any problems.
  • League of Legends (LoL): MOBA type game is quite popular and the requirements are quite low due to its simple graphics. This is another of the options that we have to enjoy for hours with the graphics included in the processors
  • Dota 2: Similar to the one mentioned above and has fairly simple graphical requirements . We should be able to play it without major problems
  • CS:GO: Now this game is free and with some graphic adjustments, we could enjoy it without major problems. It is not excessively demanding and with AMD Ryzen APUs it should work quite smoothly
  • Fortnite: It is based on Cartoon-type graphics, which are usually much lighter than other types of more realistic graphics. We will need to make some graphical adjustments to be able to move it above 30 FPS, but we should be able to run it without any major problems.
  • GTA V: It has been on the market for a few years and its graphics are not excessively demanding for current integrated graphics. With a few tweaks we should be able to launch this game smoothly and have it look pretty smooth.