How well will SHIV run on this laptop?

[gamingdave]

I know its not an easy question, but I am in need of a new laptop. I know getting a desktop is the most economical way forward, but I really need a laptop.

Having had a look arround, these new dells seems like very good value ... http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-studio-xps-16?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs ... if the link doesnt work its the new Studio 16 machines.

They have Core 2 Duos, 4G of DDR3 ram, 7,200rpm harddrives, but, only a 512MB ATI® Radeon™ HD 3670 graphics card

My current, dying, laptop has a lower spec Duo (not Core 2), only 1G (of slower ram), and a Geforce Go 7600. It used to run SH3 fine (at least well), but really struggled on SH4.

SH is the only PC game I really play, and so im not interested in how it will run other PC games, just the SH series. Also, when playing I will probably be using my projector which is 1280*720, so I wont need to be running on high res, but would like to turn most of the effects and filters all the way up.

I found a site which compares mobile gfx cards http://www.notebookcheck.net/Comparison-of-Graphic-Cards.130.0.html, but as I am not really a PC gamer it doesnt actually help me much.

I could look into more gaming focussed laptops, like the XPS, or something from Rock, but would still (if possible) like something semi portable, which can be used on the lap whilst sitting on the sofa. I could get a XPS M1730, with SLI™ Dual GeForce™ 9800GTX from Dell Outlet within budget, but they are a bit to large for my liking (not to mention, IMO, a little ugly)

So, any of you knowledgable people out there got any advice? How would that Dell cope, or is anyone running on a similar machine and how well does it run for you? I know different configs make massive differences. But I am assuming (maybe totaly incorrectly) that the Core 2 Duo and DDR3 Ram will help a lot.

Many Thanks

[Rockin Robbins]

Wow! Everything looked good until I read the word "Radeon." That takes it out of my area of knowledge. Good luck. Some are running SH4 without problems on laptops, so if you're careful you'll be fine.

[abclkhan]

Mine is HP pavilion dv 2570br,320mb ati card 3gb ram and 2,0 ghz
runs pretty fine.

[GREY WOLF 3]

Well i run sh4 and sh3 gwx3 no problems at all make sure you have 2 gig ram:up:at least
using compaq laptop

[SteamWake]

I was going to point you to "Can I run it" http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

But then I realized you dont have the laptop yet :timeout:

I can imagine walking into a dealer and asking to perform this test as a basis for a buying decision... :rotfl:

[irish1958]

The "disktop" replacement computers are as good as any laptop, esp with DDR3 RAM and a decent Video card.

[GREY WOLF 3]

I was going to point you to "Can I run it" http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

But then I realized you dont have the laptop yet :timeout:

I can imagine walking into a dealer and asking to perform this test as a basis for a buying decision... :rotfl:

What a load of rubbish can i run it
running sh3 with gwx3 and sh4 with no problems at all
go to that site and check :down: it tells me my pc cannot run either game
what a load of crap:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[CaptianT]

I was looking for a laptop recently and pretty much also only play SH3 and SH4. I settled on getting a 1440 x 900 screen resolution as the best compromise between browsing the web and playing the SH3/4 at the screen's native resolution with a medium stength notebook gpu.

Here is what I tried...

I initially purchased a 15" Dell XPS 1530 that had an 8600gt (ddr3) gpu. I was able to run SH4 with all of the sliders at about half setting and with none of the other options "ticked" off. Anything higher than this produced a slightly choppy visual performance. I was unhappy with running the game at these settings, so ended up returning the laptop.

I then purchased a refurbished 15" Dell m4400 Precision from the Dell Outlet which came with a quadro m770 (9600gt) gpu. This notebook is able to run SH4 with all sliders maxed out, and with roughly half of the options "ticked" off on the right side of the sliders. The visual performance is excellent and I am very happy with running this game with this gpu.

If my memory serves me correctly, the ATI card that you are considering is rated similar to the 8600gt (ddr3) gpu that I tried. If that is the case, you should be able to run SH4 with it (especially at the lower resolution that you desire). I guess you need to determine how much visual image/detail performance you are willing to settle with. If it were me, I would definately go with at least a 9600gt or equivalent gpu.

One other tip. In most cases, you will need to keep your notebook plugged into the electrical outlet in order to be able to play SH3/4. Otherwise, I think most notebook gpu's downclock with only the battery power. At least that is my experience with the notebooks that I own.

I hope this helps. Good luck on your notebook purchase.

Best regards.

[coreykill]

hmm i play sh3 and 4 almost exclusively on this laptop i got only a week ago the computer you were pointing at is running a 512 3670, im running an ati 512 3650 and i havent run into any problems at all so id say your in the clear. i get about ~260 fps looking at the map in sh3 and ~190 fps at the map in sh4 outside on sh3 i can be looking at easily 90+ fps but it drops to about 60fps in sh4...but thats in the middle of a full scale war. think i last benchd it when i was charging through the midway mission.
hope this is at least a little helpful

[gamingdave]

Thanks for all the replys, I had actually forgotten I started this thread, and just found it again.

Since posting I have strongly been considering getting a Macbook Pro, with a 2.93Ghz Core 2 Duo, 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SRAM and a 512 MB Nvidia 9600M GT.

From what I have read arround, this should (using BootCamp) be able to run both SH3 and 4 pretty much maxed out.

Anyone got any comments?

[quietguy52]

I had the stock SH4 on a Sony Vaio with 2GB RAM and processor based graphics chip.

It worked but it ran slllooowwwww, too slow to really enjoy the game.

I recently purchased a new Dell desktop quad processor, 8 GB RAM, 64 bit, 1.2 Terabite HD and 256GB graphics card (ATI I think), which is barely enough to run the graphics properly. Software runs well but graphics card could use replacement. Also have a 22" widescreen flat panel.

:03:

[gamingdave]

Just a quick bump as I have now answered my own question.

Got a Macbook Pro in the end. 2.8GHz, 4GB RAM, and the 9600GTM.

Runs SH3 and SH4 a charm. SH4 runs at 1920*1200, with all effects on without breaking a sweat. Havent had time for a proper play, maybe tonight, and there are no mods installed, but it looks very promising.

[Kloef]

Congrats on your new choice!

[billyjack]

I got a ASUS laptop it's got 2 dual core proceser 4 gib ram 320gb hard drive a 15.6in screen A Nvidia Ge FORCE 9800m GS 512/mb video card. works darn great. I love it. :O:

[tomoose]

Got this laptop to take with me overseas mainly just to play SHIV. Works like a charm (although the 15" screen is kinda small). A colleague had a huge screen in his room (50" or something monstrous like that) so I asked if I could plug in the laptop to see how it looked on the big screen. In a word, WOW, LOL. I am definitely going to get me a big screen for the new PC when i get back.

One thing to note about the HP laptop. The sound was choppy and it was happening to all games I tried. It turned out to be the WiFi feature which was easily turned off from the keyboard. After that everything ran great.
:salute: