Saints Row 2 (Windows, 2008)

1280x720, medium quality

Min spec: Nvidia 7600 / ATI X1300, Pentium Dual-Core 2 GHz, 1 GB RAM
Rec spec: Nvidia 8800 / ATI HD3850, Pentium Dual-Core 3.2 GHz, 2 GB RAM
Where to get it: GOG (£7.79)

We're starting off with a pretty tough ask: a game that may be almost a decade old now and use DirectX 9, but which doesn't have a good reputation for working well with integrated graphics chips. It's fair to say that this reputation is deserved, as I found it a real struggle to get a playable frame rate – and even then it depends how you define "playable".

Using the initial "Jailbreak" level, I found that the best (well, least worst) option was to go for 1280x720 on Medium quality settings, which generally produced low 20s fps. Some gamers will find this unbearable, but I found it surprisingly playable. Admittedly, I'm absolutely terrible at this game so probably wouldn't notice much anyway!

Shifting down to Low quality made the whole thing look terrible for a minimal fps increase, and the same was true of going down to the minimum supported resolution of 640x480. Nice as the shadows and lighting on High quality look, they're not for us as frame rates barely get into double figures at times.

With all this in mind, I'm going to declare Saints Row 2 to be marginally playable with the OptiPlex and its Intel HD 2500 chip. This may seem a rather disappointing way to kick off this blog, but I want to be realistic here – and besides, this is one tough game for low-powered, integrated GPUs to handle.

Next time: GT Legends (2005, Windows)