Will SH4 play fast on this laptop??

[mikecy]

I am just about to buy a new laptop with following specs:

- Intel Centrino Duo processor technology featuring Intel Core™2 Duo Processor T7300, Intel Wireless WiFi™ Link 4965AGN network connection and Intel PM965 Express chipset
clock speed : 2.0 GHz
front side bus : 800 MHz
2nd level cache : 4 MB

- Windows Vista Home Premium Edition

- System memory: standard 2,048 (1,024 + 1,024) MB DDR2 RAM

- Graphics card: ATI Mobility™ Radeon HD2600 supporting HyperMemory™ technology.
memory amount : 256 MB dedicated VRAM (up to 1.023 MB total available graphics memory using HyperMemory™ technology with 2 GB system memory)
memory type : DDR Video RAM (resp. DDR Video RAM and DDR system memory combined)
++++

It would be good to know if the game will be fast on this laptop (not just work). I want to enjoy the game's graphics and if the laptop specs are not good enough I'd like to know before I buy it.

I had SH3 on my previous laptop and the graphics were so slow.... it wasn't worth playing...

Thanks for your help!

Mike

[maerean_m]

As you can see here (http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=716&model2=858&chart=308), I compared the desktop AMD/Ati 2600XT with the nVidia 7600GT (a good card for SH4) and it prooved to be better.

The difference is that the laptops video card only has DDR memory, instead of 1100 MHz DDR3 on the desktop. On the other hand, I doubt that the Core2Duo processor uses DDR memory, instead of DDR2 (probably 667 MHz).

Basically, that laptop will run with settings on high in 1024*768. If you run in the maximum resolution of the laptop (as it is recommended), the FPS will drop by something like 20-30%.

So I recommend going for a laptop with a 8600M GT video card (Acer Aspire 5920G (http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=Acer+Aspire+5920G&go=C%C4%83utare&mkt=ro-ro&scope=&FORM=LIVSOP) puts up an impressive 21000 points in 3D Mark 2001).

[mikecy]

As you can see here (http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=716&model2=858&chart=308), I compared the desktop AMD/Ati 2600XT with the nVidia 7600GT (a good card for SH4) and it prooved to be better.

The difference is that the laptops video card only has DDR memory, instead of 1100 MHz DDR3 on the desktop. On the other hand, I doubt that the Core2Duo processor uses DDR memory, instead of DDR2 (probably 667 MHz).

Basically, that laptop will run with settings on high in 1024*768. If you run in the maximum resolution of the laptop (as it is recommended), the FPS will drop by something like 20-30%.

So I recommend going for a laptop with a 8600M GT video card (Acer Aspire 5920G (http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=Acer+Aspire+5920G&go=C%C4%83utare&mkt=ro-ro&scope=&FORM=LIVSOP) puts up an impressive 21000 points in 3D Mark 2001).


Thanks for your reply.

According to the laptop specs, the system memory is DDR2 667MHz Ram and the graphics card specs can be found here:

http://ati.amd.com/products/mobilityradeonhd2600/specs.html

Does this change your earlier evaluation?

It's just that I'm getting a great deal on this laptop, but on the other hand I need to know if I'll be able to enjoy the game.

Thanks

[ryanwigginton]

I have a similar spec laptop, a Centrino Duo T7200 at 2GHz with a 7950GTX and 2MB of RAM. I like to use the 1280x800 resolution, it plays well with full detail but if I go and add v-sync and anti-aliasing (x2) I drop down to 30FPS. I'm constantly adjusting the settings and not really happy.

This is a great website and you can see which the REALLY fast laptops are. Mine's currently 10th in the top 10 the Voyager 720DC Plus.

http://www.reportlabs.com/testbed/version1/nbv1/nbtop10gra.php

Perhaps it will help you decide. :)

[maerean_m]

mikecy, maybe you can talk to the guy that's selling you the laptop to let you run the free version of 3D Mark 2006 (http://www.futuremark.com/download/3dmark06/). If you like the way it performs and if it scores more than 3000 points, then the laptop will play SH4 very well (i don't remember right now if the basic version of 3D Mark allows you to get a score, but you'll be able to tell if the computer is fast enough).

[captiandon]

I am running it on a Dell XPS M1710 Centrino Duo Core 2.14 with 2.5 gigs of ram and a half a gig of video and it runs just fine however once and a while the frame rates drop but for the most part it runs fine and I run most of the sliders at max.