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Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD

The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD (sometimes also called GMA X4500 HD or other combinations) is a DirectX 10 capable onboard graphics adapter in the GM45, GE45 and GS45 chipset of the Centrino 2 platform (Montevina). The chip has no dedicated graphics memory, but takes dynamically an amount from the main memory (up to 384 MB).

The 400MHz clocked version of the 4500MHD found in the GL40 and GS40 chipsets, is called GMA 4500M (without the HD) and has a worse performance in 3D games and video decoding.

Compared to the predecessor GMA X3100, the GMA 4500MHD has two more shaders and a 33 MHz higher core clock speed. Therefore, the chip is noticable faster than the older one (especially in 3DMark06). Still, the performance is just on par with the entry level dedicated graphics cards and therefore not suited for demanding games. Some older games like Fear can be played in low details and low resolutions (see "Gaming Performance" below).

Compared to other modern integrated graphic cards like the Nvidia GeForce 9400M (G 102MNVIDIA GeForce G 105M) or AMD ATI Radeon HD 3200, the GMA 4500M HD noticably slower and provides less optimized drivers for games.

The version in the GS45 can be clocked lower (320 versus 533 MHz) and support only FSB 800 (instead of FSB 533/1066). Furthermore, switchable graphics are only supported in the GM45 chipset. The GE45 has the same features as the GM45, and aditionally is certified by Macrovision.

A new feature of the GMA chip, are the integrated HD video-decoding functions. The GM45 is able to decode HD-videos in the formats AVC, VC-2, and MPEG-2 to help the CPU. This way a Blu-Ray playback should also be possible with a low end CPU (only with the 533 MHz clocked version in the GM45 and GS45).

The graphics core in the GL40 and GS40 chipset with a lower core speed of 400 MHz is called GMA 4500M (without the HD). Because of the lower clock rate, the 4500M performs a bit worse in games and is not capable of decoding Blu-Ray videos fluently.

ManufacturerIntel
GMA Series

Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4700MHD 10@640MHz

Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD 10@533MHz

Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500M 10@400MHz

Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) X3100 8@500MHz

Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950 4/0@250MHz

Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900 4/0@400MHz

Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 600 4@400MHz

Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500 4@200MHz

CodenameMontevina
Pipelines10 - unified
Core Speed *533 MHz
Shader Speed *533 MHz
Memory Speed *
Memory Bus Width0 Bit
Memory Typemit Hauptspeicher geteilt (shared) bis 384 MB
Shared Memoryyes
shared Memory
DirectXDirectX 10, Shader 4.0
technology65 nm
FeaturesEnhanced Intel Clear Video Technology, HD Video Decoder (VC/VC2/MPEG2), HDMI with HDCP support, Display Refresh Rate Switching Technology, Render Standby
Notebook Sizesmall and light
Date of Announcement01.10.2008
Link to Manufacturer Pagehttp://www.intel.com/products/Centrino/c...
* The specified clock rates are only guidelines for the manufacturer and can be altered by them.

Benchmarks

3DMark 2001 - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 3511     avg: 5100 (12%)     max: 7180 Points
3DMark 03 - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 1402     avg: 2025 (3%)     max: 3050 Points
3DMark 05 - Standard 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 739     avg: 1227 (5%)     max: 1710 Points
3DMark 06
0% 100%
min: 483     avg: 743 (4%)     max: 1030 Points
PCMark Vantage - Gaming Score 1024x768
0% 100%
min: 865     avg: 1695 (14%)     max: 4300 Points
Windows Vista Experience Index - GPU
0% 100%
min: 3.1     avg: 4 (53%)     max: 5 Points
Windows Vista Experience Index - GPU Games
0% 100%
min: 3.3     avg: 4 (52%)     max: 4 Points
Cinebench R10 - Shading 32Bit
0% 100%
min: 516     avg: 791 (10%)     max: 1227 Points
Windows 7 Experience Index - Graphics
0% 100%
min: 3.2     avg: 4 (48%)     max: 4.1 points
Windows 7 Experience Index - Gaming graphics
0% 100%
min: 3     avg: 3 (46%)     max: 4 points
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailled information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

StarCraft 2
StarCraft 2 (2010)
low:
11  fps      Compare
med.:
4  fps      Compare
» With most tested laptops not playable.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (2010)
low:
8  fps      Compare
» With most tested laptops not playable.
CoD Modern Warfare 2
CoD Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
low:
16  fps      Compare
» With most tested laptops not playable.
Risen
Risen (2009)
low:
8  fps      Compare
» With most tested laptops not playable.
Need for Speed Shift
Need for Speed Shift (2009)
low:
-1  fps      Compare
» With most tested laptops not playable.
Colin McRae: DIRT 2
Colin McRae: DIRT 2 (2009)
low:
-1  fps      Compare
» With most tested laptops not playable.
Anno 1404
Anno 1404 (2009)
low:
7 7 ~ 7 fps      Compare
» With most tested laptops not playable.
Sims 3
Sims 3 (2009)
low:
27.5 41.3 45 ~ 38 fps      Compare
med.:
15.4 16 ~ 16 fps      Compare
high:
9 9.8 ~ 9 fps      Compare
» With most tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
F.E.A.R. 2
F.E.A.R. 2 (2009)
low:
25  fps      Compare
med.:
11  fps      Compare
» With most tested laptops not playable.
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead (2008)
low:
32.4  fps      Compare
» With most tested laptops not playable.
Far Cry 2
Far Cry 2 (2008)
low:
11.5  fps      Compare
high:
3.4  fps      Compare
» With most tested laptops not playable.
Crysis Warhead
Crysis Warhead (2008)
low:
0.8  fps      Compare