How well will Civ 5 run on this laptop?

So I'm thinking of buying a new laptop to run civ 5 (My current one has 30GB Total hard drive), and I want to make sure this one will run it well:

Intel Core i3-380M processor (2.53 GHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
4GB 2 DIMM DDR3 1333Mhz Memory
640 GB hard drive
15.6" WLED Display with TrueLife
Intel HD Graphics



The main thing I'm worried about is graphics card.

You're worrying about the right part.
integrated i3 graphics are the very most bottom of the requirements, so i would not expect great performance.

Would I be better to get the one that has an Intel Core i5-480M Processor?

Nope. Only the very latest i5/i7 models (Sandy Bridge) have an improved IGP, but those will still be marginal at best for Civ5.

For Civ5 to run "well" a dedicated graphics chip is essential, preferably a 420/525m (nVidia), mobility 5650 (ATI/AMD) or better.

Don't even bother getting Civ5 if you only have an integrated intel 'graphics' card. While the latest ones can run the game, they don't do a very good job and are not for gaming.

tokala said:

Nope. Only the very latest i5/i7 models (Sandy Bridge) have an improved IGP, but those will still be marginal at best for Civ5.

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All i3/i5 laptop models have same graphics, and that's GMA HD. And it is good enough for civ. In fact, Intel partnered with Firaxis to make Civilization decently playable on that GPU, on low settings. Even minimal system requirements show that such integrated solution is the minimum for playing Civ5.

P.S.
GMA HD is first Intel integrated graphics that is not complete rubbish. Still, it is pretty much weak, but good enough for Civ5 or Starcraft2 on low settings.

Getting Core i5 over i3 would not make any difference in regard of frame rate. But could decrease turn time in late game or some other stuff not related to graphics.

"All told, Intel’s HD Graphics 3000 checks in an average of 6% faster than HD 5470, 8% faster than GeForce 320M, 25% faster than G 310M, and a whopping 130% faster than both the previous generation HD Graphics"

But as intel is recalling the buggy chipsets/mainboards for the new Sandy Bridge CPUs, it will be next to impossible to get a laptop with one of those faster IGPs for the next few weeks anyway.

Well, I never really considered those new sandy-bridge laptops.
Being better then entry level dedicated cards (like 5470 or G310M) is nice, and should give much better performance on lower/medium settings.

But why not getting laptop with current i3/i5 technlogy and dedicated graphics? It would probably run civ5 good enough.

player1 fanatic said:

But why not getting laptop with current i3/i5 technlogy and dedicated graphics? It would probably run civ5 good enough.

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Yes, that seems to be the general consenus.