Intel's HD 3000 graphics core is a large step up from their previous integrated GMA solution. However, your expectations are a bit high.
Based on some Anandtech benchmarks, the Intel HD 3000 is a little more powerful than the Radeon HD 5450. I believe in one benchmark the Intel HD 3000 outperformed the HD 5450 by as much as 15% - 20%. This all sounds great until you consider the fact that the Radeon HD 5450 is not really targeted to gamers, but for multimedia purposes. At best the HD 5450 can be used to play games in low resolution with low graphics quality. The same can be said of the Intel HD 3000 graphics core.
This thread reminds me of another thread where the poster was disappointed that the Intel HD 3000 was not as fast as a Radeon HD 5770. If it were so, then AMD and nVidia would be in serious trouble because their graphics division make most of their money from value and mainstream video cards.