My computer sucks. Let's just get that out of the way. It's a Dell Optiplex 745 USFF with an Intel Express Chipset Family integrated graphics card. Anyone whose ever tried gaming on a machine with an integrated graphics card (such as a laptop) knows how frustrating this can be--you might technically meet all the specs for a specific game, but still run into framerate issues or inexplicable crashes. Likewise, it's almost impossible to know whether or not a given game will run. You just have to buy it (or try the demo if it has one) and hope you get lucky.

So as a reference, here's a list of GOG games I've tried on my system. Although I can't guarantee these results for everyone, it might at least be able to give people an idea what games tend to play well with integrated cards and what games don't. I'll update this list as I try more games, so favorite it if you find this information useful (I'd ask for a sticky, but I know this isn't really of general interest). Anyone with their own useful input is encouraged to contribute.

DOSBOX NOTE: I'm not including any games that run through DosBox, since the issues associated with integrated graphics cards don't usually come up. It's pretty safe to assume that if a GOG game runs through DosBox, you should be able to get it working on your machine provided you have enough memory.

CARD SPECS: Intel Q965/963 Express Chipset Family with 256MB of memory.

Unreal Gold (non-GOG version) - Runs at a pretty consistent 60FPS maxed out, but can lag to less than 30FPS in areas with fog. Remains playable throughout, however. Looks pretty too. Also was able to run this on a much older system with a different integrated card, so it's a pretty safe game.

Alien Shooter 2 - With object shadows turned off I could run this pretty smoothly at 1024x768. Only had a bluescreen error once, and it was not in the main campaign. Game looks freakin beautiful.

Arx Fatalis - Ran perfectly fine for a few hours, then started bluescreening. I wouldn't recommend it, as the game is known to give issues even on normal graphics cards.

Baldur's Gate II - No issues whatsoever.

Blood 2 - Strangely, I found that the red flash that occurs when you get hit only covers half of the screen. Nobody else has reported this issue, so I assume it has to do with my card. Other than that, runs fine.

Darkfall: The Journal - No issues.

Gothic 2 - I have not personally run into any problems, although it should be noted that some people have reported framerate issues even on high-end systems.

Judge Dredd - Doesn't seem to work. Training mission goes ok, but it crashes after the first cutscene.

Kingpin - Runs into a TON of odd framerate issues, including horribly laggy cutscenes. Basically unplayable.

Outcast - This game is almost entirely reliant on the CPU, so any relatively modern system should have no trouble. I myself have experienced no issues, apart from some lag with the fan-made high resolution patch (which is probably due to the game being rendered by the software).

Planescape: Torment - No issues.

Rainbow Six - Runs fine, but has some graphical errors. Most of these seem to be present on other systems as well, so it's likely the game and not the graphics card that is the problem.

Shogo - Framerate and graphical issues don't seem to be a problem. The game is buggy as hell though.

Unreal Tournament 2004 - Very surprisingly, this game runs perfectly fine at medium graphics while still looking fantastic. Obviously Epic Games knows how to optimize.

Serious Sam: The First Encounter (non-GOG version) - Runs fine at near-max, with a few very minor framerate lags. Even when there are hundreds of foes on the screen at once, it still is perfectly playable. If you want to forget you're using a crummy machine, this is a great game for you.

Serious Sam: The Second Encounter (non-GOG version) - Unlike the first game, this one has some problems. Framerate issues are more severe, and it bluescreens on me in some areas.

Arma: Gold Edition (non-GOG version) - framerate is a bit choppy with medium-high visuals at 800x600, but other than that it works fine.

Far Cry (non-GOG version) - On med-low at 800x600, it runs surprisingly well with no issues.

So I have no idea if any of this information is useful to anyone else, but it's been something I've wished someone would do. Again, if you have any information to contribute, please do. I'll make sure to add it to the list and/or change my own observations to fit.



OTHER PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCES:

JudasIscariot (Intel GMA965):

The Witcher - Runs ok with a low-ish framerate. (NOTE: Requires Hardware T&L which not all integrated video cards have)

Die By The Sword - runs quite well but suffered from the severe discoloration issue when I ran it on Intel GMA965. Downloading DBTS Extended should fix that. No slow downs that I recall.

The Guild - The Guild is interesting in that it likes to crash at times but that's more related to the fact that it was already crash-prone before GoG. The first time you boot it up, it might feel like it's not working. You have to wait for it to get comfortable, so to speak. Even though it crashes at inopportune times, it autosaves like it has ADD so no worries. Runs quite well from what I can recall.

Arx Fatalis - I don't recall any major problems while running on this chipset.

Painkiller - runs really well and is quite stable after some minor tweaking of the graphics settings, i.e. turning down some of the fancier graphic settings. (NOTE: Suggests Hardware T&L which not all integrated video cards have)


JMich (Lifebook S7210 with an Intel Q965):

Evil Genius - Slowdowns when the game is zoomed out, but otherwise works.

Freedom Force vs the Third Reich - No issues mentioned

UFO Aftermath - Would not run.

Is that chipset a relative of the Intel GMA965? If so, I managed to get The Witcher running on it with a slighly crappy framerate only because I didn't feel like mucking about with the settings too much.

This was for the disc version of The Witcher, btw.

On my (now dead) lifebook S7210 with an intel 965 on it, Evil Genius and Freedom Force versus the 3rd Reich played well enough (slowdowns on high zoom outs on Evil Genius, but it is possible that too many things were going on at the same time on screen). UFO Aftermath though wouldn't work at all.

Can't recall any other games I've played on it though.

Really? Huh...I didn't buy the game because I expected it wouldn't run on my computer. Might have to look into that.

I can give a list of the games I ran on that chipset if you like...

Sure, that'd be great. I'll add them to the list (and I might buy some too :3)

OK as requested:

Die By The Sword - runs quite well but suffered from the severe discoloration issue when I ran it on Intel GMA965. Downloading DBTS Extended should fix that. No slow downs that I recall.

The Guild - The Guild is interesting in that it likes to crash at times but that's more related to the fact that it was already crash-prone before GoG. The first time you boot it up, it might feel like it's not working. You have to wait for it to get comfortable, so to speak. Even though it crashes at inopportune times, it autosaves like it has ADD so no worries. Runs quite well from what I can recall.

Arx Fatalis - I don't recall any major problems while running on this chipset. YMMV.

Painkiller - runs really well and is quite stable after some minor tweaking of the graphics settings, i.e. turning down some of the fancier graphic settings.

Patrician - since it's a DOSBox game, I have noticed no problems.

Duke Nukem - runs great but you may not be able to use some of the hi-res graphics mods for it. The Intel GMA965 chipset was not supported at the time I tried to use it. YMMV.

Redneck Rampage - same as Duke Nukem since it is a Build Engine game.

That's what I can think of off the top of my head. Once I recall more, I'll add more info.

Awesome. Thanks!