While I'm waiting for my FX5600 card, I thought I would check out the Intel Extreme Graphics 2 site to see if a driver upgrade would be useful and to see how they explain their mediocre product. First line of the general info section was a sample of what was to come:

 

"Intel® Extreme Graphics 2 delivers great graphics without the expense of a graphics card."

 

Indeed! If "great" was replaced by "woefully limited" it would at least be accurate and put the proper emphasis on Intel's selling point to computer manufacturers -- "cheap, cheap, cheap."

 

This is followed by a list of "compatible games," as though this was a great service to customers, as opposed to a massive excuse for the limitations of the product. The game list is not long and the games with problems are all T&L required. My favorite, "Pirates!" is not on the list, probably due to when the list was compiled, but it works poorly with the Intel card -- characters that look like the invisible man with his wrappings coming loose and a fencing section that is in slow motion (perhaps I'm fortunate for that glitch!).

 

The shammery goes on, but I won't bore you.

 

But I would suggest a name change for the product, something that replaces the annoying "extreme" with a better adjective. Let's say, "Bare-bones," or "Rock-bottom," or "Bottom-fishing," or just plain "Bu**-ugly." Ah, I knew I was going somewhere with this.

 

"Intel Bu**-Ugly Graphics 2 delivers woefully limited graphics without the expense of a graphics card." To which Dell can add, "And you can't upgrade it without a hudred bucks and a fight either." That should sell a few more budget computers...