Curse

Nature Loves Me · Oct 05, 2008, 10:34 PM // 22:34

Me again. Should be getting Laptop Saturday.

I really need help comparing some Laptop's and info on how well they can run current games that have been released.

I can only get 800 USD at the most for a new laptop.

I really don't want to get one that can't run much. I want that one that can run most games for whenever I decide I wanna play a video game.

==
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...i_sku=10335852

That is what I want and is hoping to get. It doesn't say the type of Graphics Card it uses though and I want to know how well it could run games like COD4/GW and possibly *gulp* Crysis.

==
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...ct_id=10379513

How well could that run currently existing games. It might mostly be what I'll be able to get but I don't know.

==

If you can find any others(On Walmart.com, mom will only use that =\, possibly dell.com but the ones with dedicated cards are over 800 USD) that can run current games smoothly paste me pinks pls xD

Also, are laptops upgradable? GFX Card-wise?

Evil Genius · Oct 05, 2008, 11:03 PM // 23:03

Unfortunatley both of the models you provided links for have integrated graphics and would struggle with Guild Wars, let alone COD4 and Crysis. For $800 nothing would handle Crysis. Dell's laptop range has basically two graphics options at your budget: nVidia 8400M GS and ATI 3450. HP appears to offer the 3450 too at that budget.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Notebookcheck on the 3450

The performance of the card can be suited for modest casual gamers. Demanding games like Crysis run only with very low details and resolution.

Quote:

Also, are laptops upgradable? GFX Card-wise?

No: the graphics card is soldered onto the motherboard. The ASUS ROG Xg is an external unit that contains a 8600GT and plugs into your laptop and an external monitor I believe.

Nature Loves Me · Oct 05, 2008, 11:13 PM // 23:13

How good is a 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450? And how would it run currently existing games?

TheGuildWarsPenguin · Oct 06, 2008, 12:10 AM // 00:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nature Loves Me

How good is a 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450? And how would it run currently existing games?

Terribly/lowest settings.

Only slightly better than integrated.

Lord Sojar · Oct 06, 2008, 05:29 AM // 05:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGuildWarsPenguin

Terribly/lowest settings.

Only slightly better than integrated.

Umm, the Mobility HD3450 is an integrated card.

It will do decently for older games Nature, such as GW. It will not do well for anything new or cutting edge, to say the least.

I Dont Do Coke · Oct 06, 2008, 05:54 AM // 05:54

I don't know about the Mobility Radeon HD 3450, but I personally have a notebook with a GeForce Go 8400M GS. I'll give you a briefing on it.

Guild Wars
With all settings cranked up to highest, except shadows which are at medium, Guild Wars runs smoothly at a resolution of 1440x900. Yes that's with Anti-Aliasing at 4x, and yes even in Kamadan.

Call of Duty 4
I played this at 1440x900 also, but all settings on low or, if applicable, off. It's playable although there will be FPS drops at times.

Crysis
Craptastic performance, even with everything low/off and at 800x600 res'. It was a slide show for some of the time and laggy the rest. I didn't even get to part where there was tons of snow, but the performance would probably be impossibly worse.

Quaker · Oct 06, 2008, 02:28 PM // 14:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nature Loves Me

How good is a 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450? And how would it run currently existing games?

That first Dell you linked to is available with either Intel integrated graphics, or the HD3450. The HD3450 would be a major improvement over the Intel, and it would be the one you'd want in the Dell.

Off-hand, I'd say the HD3450 would run most games reasonably well. Not great, and not Crysis, but reasonably well. You have to keep in mind that you would be buying a computer (laptop) that's not a top-of-the-line model, and therefore, just like in a desktop, you're not going to get TotL performance.

Nature Loves Me · Oct 06, 2008, 09:53 PM // 21:53

What are the pro's on cons of 64 and 32 bit systems. All anyone tells me is 64 is new =\

What's the difference between these two processors?

Pentium(R) Dual-Core Mobile Processor T3200 (2.0 GHz)

and

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T5800 (2.0GHz)

How much better than the other are they?

moriz · Oct 06, 2008, 11:39 PM // 23:39

the T3200 features a 667mhz FSB (front side bus) and 1mb L2 cache

the T5800 features a 800mhz FSB and 2mb L2 cache.

the T5800 is the more powerful of the two.

the actual performance gain between a 64bit and a 32bit operating system is generally very small. unless an application is especially written to take advantage of it, you won't notice much difference between the two operating systems.

generally, unless your system features 4gb ram or more, use a 32bit operating system.

Elder III · Oct 07, 2008, 01:43 AM // 01:43

64bit is not new - it's been out for a number of years - it's becoming more widespread now with the advent of 4GB or more in systems now. However, most people at this time are still using 32bit OS, because for the avg. user there is no need for 64bit. With that said if you have the option between the two and the price is similar then go with the 64bit, it won't hurt you and you "may" wish you had it down the road.

The HD3450 is ok on GW, and similar era games. The most graphically demanding game I ever tried on one was Farcry, which was big stuff back in it's day, but is pretty weak compared to the latest games.... it played that just fine btw.

Nature Loves Me · Oct 10, 2008, 11:36 AM // 11:36

Was walking in walmart(Store) and saw this on display. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...ct_id=10363872

I have no idea what kind of GFX it has though, but I'm assuming it's decent. It has a NVIDIA one is all I know. It's less than 800 USD. Is probably gonna be the one I'll get because I looked at every other one on display and their cards were not good.

Tomorrow = Day I'm supposed to choose a laptop (hopefully).

Oh, saw the card. NVIDIA GeForce Go 7150M (UMA); up to 1071MB Total Available Graphics Memory.

How bad is that?

jeppe986 · Oct 10, 2008, 12:01 PM // 12:01

http://www.nvidia.com/object/mobogpu...ies_specs.html Motherboard GPU's(Integrated) for gaming fails. sorry.

Malice Black · Oct 10, 2008, 12:17 PM // 12:17

Slightly over budget - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16834117662R

About the best you'll get in your price range. For a gaming machine you really need $2000+

Quaker · Oct 10, 2008, 03:29 PM // 15:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evil Genius

No: the graphics card is soldered onto the motherboard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rahja The Thief

Umm, the Mobility HD3450 is an integrated card.

I do wish you guys would get your terminology straight. You may know what you mean, but a lot of forum readers don't. Specifically:

Integrated graphics has the graphics "engine" (it's not even a chip, as such) imbedded into the motherboard chipset - the chipset that handles all the nitty-gritty input/output and things on the motherboard. It is not a card, nor even a chip in the sense of being a separate unit.

Many mobile graphics solutions, such as the HD3450, are actual discrete chips that are only used for graphics and are not part of the motherboard chipset. These chips are often soldered directly to the laptop motherboard, especially when space is limited and no choice in graphics is offered.
The discrete chips can also be setup as a module, so that they can be easily chosen when the laptop is assembled (like in the Dells, etc., where you choose the graphics you want when you order it). These graphics modules are usually proprietary and designed to fit only the specific models from one manufacturer (which isn't necessarily the same as the "brand"), and are a real "bag of snakes" to replace - involving complete dismantling of the laptop.

AFAIK - There are no graphics cards for laptops in the normal sense of what you would call a card. Most laptops have a mico-PCI slot - which is a "card" slot - but it is usually used by the wireless adapter, and it has no standard external attachment setup. This not to say that this won't change at some point, but due to the limited space available and the need for tightly configured cooling, it's not apt to happen soon (or very often). (Perhaps on some very high-end gaming laptops.)

Nature Loves Me · Oct 10, 2008, 08:01 PM // 20:01

Hmm, how about this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834210014

Even if it's good, idk if my mom will buy from newegg

Seems good to me but never heard of ZT before.

interrelated Intel® Core™2 Duo processor

^ What does interrelated mean?

Quaker · Oct 11, 2008, 03:37 PM // 15:37

I think your first choice - the Dell Studio 15 - was good enough.

(Provided it's the $800 version with the HD3450.)

ZT is a big unknown. I can't find the reference to "interrelated", but my guess is it's a misprint. I noticed it was a "deactivated item" anyway - which basically means it's not available.

psykick5 · Oct 11, 2008, 03:51 PM // 15:51

if you just want to type, then there are laptops for you, because no modern game will run on a 2GHz processor, even if it does, it will at the lowest settings, and pretty slow too. i am surprised that these laptops, even with the RAM and VRAM, will run worse than my laptop. my laptop has a ATi mobility radeon 9600, but runs guild wars (at max settings) at 75-80 fps! i say you just save money so you can actually buy a laptop with balls. or just go for a desktop, remember, DESKTOPS ARE UPGRADEABLE! and for 800 bucks, you can get a way better desktop than a laptop.

this is a laptop ONLY for document writing:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...i_sku=10335852

THIS IS A LAPTOP!! omg i want one of these
http://www.alienware.com/products/ar...de=SKU-DEFAULT

but there is a gap in price... (800 vs 3850)

OasaTor · Oct 11, 2008, 09:31 PM // 21:31

This is the laptop i bought, its nothing spectacular for gaming but I can play mass effect low settings 1366x768 at a solid 45+ fps, and guild wars cranked up all the way with AA 1366x768 at a minimum of 35fps.

http://www.thesource.ca/estore/Produ...du ct=2510311

I work at the source so I got it at employee price, but its a fairly decent laptop if your willing to shell out a few bucks... BUT the only bad thing is the display is very weird and has a terrible viewing angle.