So, I've got me a new computer a couple weeks back. It's a Samsung, and it cost $1,100 plus tax. Personally, this thing has served me well these past couple of weeks, as it has hardware I know is good. However, the graphics card eludes me as to the quality of it. I know it's an nVidia, and it's definitely a step up from an Intel Integrated Mobile Chipset whatever. But is it still considered good? Basic Computer Specs: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 6 GB RAM Intel i7 Processor @ 2.0 GHz, 2.9 with a Turboboost program. And finally, an nVidia GeForce GT 525M Is the GT 525M any good?
With regards to recent nVidia cards, the numbering is typically GT(X) xy(0/5), where x is the series of the card and y is the placement within the series of the card. A higher x means a newer card, and a higher y means a higher-end card within the series. So, a 260 is older than a 460 is weaker than a 480, etc. A 525 would be a fairly low-end card within the 500 series. <a href="http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2964-7.html" target="_blank">Tom's Hardware</a> puts the related GeForce GT 520 fairly low in the list; just an inch above my old GeForce 7600GT, which was considered mid-range... in 2006. Obviously, you're using a mobile card, which generally performs slightly worse than the desktop card, but all the same I can't be entirely certain how the 525M compares to the 520. You'll be able to play a few older PC titles, but cutting-edge games will either have to run on low or be right-out entirely. In either case, you are right in that it's preferable to Intel's cards, which can't run pretty much anything - I had one of those in an old desktop, and it struggled to run Half-Life 2 at a framerate even approaching playable.
Well, I've tested it, and it's been able to run some games perfectly (such as Oblivion and Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing) on high settings, and can run some ISOs in Dolphin and PCSX2 with little to no slowdown on low settings, which is definitely a step up, as my previous computers choked on those games at low settings. Also, I'm not into the whole FPS market, which is usually where the cutting-edge comes in. I don't care if I can't run Crysis, I never planned on playing that anyway.
