The purpose of this article is to help you identify your Graphics Card correctly.

If your laptop/desktop comes with an Intel from the i3, i5 or i7 series, WITH the “Sandy Bridge” Architecture, then chances are your GPU is an Intel from the Intel HD 3000 Graphics Family. Please note (for laptops ONLY) that there’s a high number of laptops that come with 2 GPUs: - an Intel HD for power saving and a NVIDIA from the 500M series or 400M Series that takes the lead once you are doing tasks that require intensive GPU usage – that is the NVIDIA Optimus Technology. Almost all desktops also come with a dedicated GPU too but some don't. That is where this article comes in.

Before we get to the juicy bits, it’s important that you know a little about the Intel HD 3000 Graphics. This is what you need to know:

• It’s an integrated GPU embed on your CPU.

• It uses Shared Memory: It will use the Level 3 Cache your CPU has + The RAM installed on your system. Shared Memory usage is much slower and the amount of memory depends on the amount of Level 3 Cache your CPU has + the amount of RAM installed on your system.

• Since it uses system memory, the performance also depends on the type of the RAM your system has (DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1600 are the supported modes).

• It's max memory is up to around 1.7 GB on Windows Vista/7 and 1 GB on Windows XP.

• It comes with a Turbo-boost Technology that overclocks the GPU’s core clock, depending on the CPU load and power consumption. The overclock limit also depends from CPU to CPU.

• It has extremely low power consumption. (important for laptops)

• It doesn’t support DirectX 11:  It only supports up to DirectX 10.1.

So are the Intel HD 3000 Family GPUS recommended for gaming? Well their performance varies considerably from CPU to CPU and a lot from CPU Model to CPU Model, so it’s hard to tell. Still, they should be able to play every game out there, even if at the lowest settings.

Now, let’s get to the point. It’s very easy to identify your Intel just by the name of your CPU. Here are a couple of examples:

Laptop:

• If your CPU is an “Intel Core i7-2630QM 4-Core 2.0GHz”, then you have the “HD i7 2630QM”.

• If your CPU is an “Intel Core i5-2410M 2.3GHz”, then you have the “HD i5 2410M”.

• If your CPU is an “Intel Core i3-2310M 2.1GHz”, then you have the “HD i3 2310M”.

Desktop:

• If your CPU is an “Intel Core i3-2100T 2.5GHz”, then you have the “HD i3 2100T”.

• If your CPU is an “Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz”, then you have the “HD i5 2500K”.

• If your CPU is an “Intel Core i7-2600K 4-Core 3.40GHz”, then you have the “HD i7 2600K”.

Note: Our list of GPUs that come with the i7 model is still very incomplete but we will be adding more and more GPUs in the upcoming days.

Once identified your GPU, you can now select the specific model for your Rig.

With your GPU correctly identified, our tools will deliver more accurate data and that is our ultimate goal. If in the next few days your GPU is still not on our list, please report it to me and I will add it. Meanwhile and until the process is done, you can select the generic model “Intel HD Graphics 3000 Mobile” or “Intel HD Graphics 3000 Desktop”.