No it wouldn't. Just set Windows to run at the new resolution.
Visualsations and games may run slower at this new res though, since the onboard graphics card you have is pretty low spec. Visualisations and games will use the graphics hardware more you see, which 3D graphics may find hard to run on.
As for the tearing, and stuff, this is caused by only having software drivers, and not hardware drivers. Running a video card update would stop this, and after a restart, and a resolution change, should run perfectly normally and not slow at all.
If he needs the graphics power, and you know what motherboard you have, we can find out the cheapest, but best video card for your needs, that'll run all you want at the resolution specified.