Video Card issues???

[supermunchor]

So i recently bought a macbook pro. it's a great computer, but i tried to play Minecraft on it and it doesnt seem that my video card is powerful enough or something. there is no video with the game at all, and that's the only thing i can think of. so..
should the game be running with my Intel HD Graphics 3000 512mb card?
if so, what should i do?
if not, is there any way i can upgrade my card, or are there any stand-alone type, plug-in video cards that would work better? i realize you can't replace the video card in the mbp.
if anyone can help, id appreciate it. thanks!!

 

[DESNOS]

Which model do you have? If you have the 15'' or 17'', then Minecraft is just plain wrong. It would switch to the more powerful GPU automatically if it was given the chance. If you have the 13'', then it's probably also wrong, since the Intel 3k is should be good enough... The issue is that many games had 0 support for intel GPUs because they have all been crap in the past, and some haven't been updated to accept the Intel 3k. Can't you manually switch GPUs on those MBPs? I don't have one.

 

[snaky69]

Minecraft is poorly coded to begin with, and will run like crap even on newer hardware, it shouldn't be unplayable though.

 

[supermunchor]

i have the 13". but if the game's not coded for the intel one, is there any outside cards i can get? or am i stuck with this?
and im pretty sure i only have one GPU but im not sure what that stands for exactly..

 

[DESNOS]

i have the 13". but if the game's not coded for the intel one, is there any outside cards i can get? or am i stuck with this?
and im pretty sure i only have one GPU but im not sure what that stands for exactly..

The 13'' indeed only has one GPU, an integrated one. Its performance isn't anywhere near what you'd get with a dedicated GPU, but as far as integrated graphics go, the HD 3K is not a bad one. A company called Village Instruments is supposed to be working on an external dock for a GPU via thunderbolt, although that would require an external monitor, it would also solve your problem. You can get a decent GPU for $100, but the real cost would be a decent monitor. Being able to decide on the GPU to buy does give you a very wide range of monitor choices though.