Laptop question about SH3 and SH4

The Bandit · 09-16-07, 12:22 AM

well I've decided to get a laptop, just so I can have somthing portable, and I know that SH3 and SH4 were not built with them in mind but, I was wondering which intergrated graphics chipsets that they work with. Right now I'm looking at a Dell with ATI Radeon® Xpress 1150 that goes up to 256, I've also been looking at a more expensive toshiba u300 (weights 4.5 pounds and has a 13.3) and it will have Intel GMA 950 graphics. I would think that the basic CPU in both cases (the cheapest Dell would come with a Sempron 3500+ and the cheapest Toshiba would probably be a Pentium Dual Core 1.73ghz, but might end up being a Celeron 520) would be able to run SH3 great and SH4 pretty good, I'm not looking to buy a gaming laptop but, playing these games on it would be a plus. Anyhow I am just wondering what you guys have and what works, I know that a lot of integrated graphics chipsets laptops have will just NOT work with some games, so I just want to go with whatever works with them.

Canovaro · 09-16-07, 03:10 AM

I would not recommend a celeron in a laptop since they tend to get very warm. After some time dust will get into you laptop and things might heat up, causing the laptop to shut down. Better have a Pentium in your laptop.

I'm not sure about the Sempron, could be the same story for AMD. Maybe you better get an Athlon, but again I'm not sure about that.

Kaleu_Mihoo · 09-16-07, 04:00 AM

I have a 1.5 intel centrino laptop with mobile radeon 9700 graphic card (64 MB vid memory) and 512 MB ram. SH3 (GWX) is running just ok, except of many explosions in the same time. No info on SH4, because not really interested in that sim. The advantage of centrino is, you can tone down the core voltage with some free tools (default 1,340 V, my laptop running on 0,940V), which means a major reduction of heat and power conspumption from the battery. Under normal work, the temperature never exceeds 52 deg C, and it is not necessary to use a cooling fan at all

So I would also recommend Intel and not AMD, as they are getting much warmer, like Canovaro allready said.
cheers

SilentOtto · 09-16-07, 04:08 AM

And as far as I know, those intel 94* or 95* graphics chipsets are sluggish for gaming.
I know, my centrino laptop has the 945 chipset and with 3D apps it is one of the slowest things I had seen in years. Do not touch that for gaming!

And btw yes at least this centrino gets hot!

The Bandit · 09-16-07, 04:53 AM

thats a good idea to have a look at the operating temp of the system. The main reason I was looking at the intel graphics is compatibuility. I've heard that a lot fo the ATI or Nvidia integrated chipsets are not regcognized by some games. I don't mean for this to be a pure gaming laptop, I just want to be able to run SH3 and SH4 pretty well. Both are pretty vanilla compared to what's out there now. I might look at laptops that have separate video cards but they are usualluy a bit more expensive.

johnno74 · 09-16-07, 05:05 AM

2nd that advice about celerons. They don't step down their clock frequency when the CPU is idle.

Thats all rather old tech now, intel core cpus are what pretty much all new laptops have, and they rock. I have a Dell Latitude D820 with a core2 duo @ 2ghz, and cpu is pretty much never the bottleneck.

For video I've got an nVidia Quadro NVS 110M which was the top video option for this laptop. I play GWX @ 1680x1050 with no problems at all.
Generally laptops with screens 15" or smaller have crap to acceptable video performance. Some laptops with 17" screens have chipsets that will blow most desktops out of the water - mainly because a 15" laptop is made lighter, and can't dissipate enough heat for a high-end GFX chipset

Kpt, Otto · 09-16-07, 05:32 AM

Avoid a Celeron chip if you can, they are not fast enough. Duel core cpu is ok, either Pentium or Centrino. The Pentium chips run very hot normally which means a heavy fan to cool them in most cases.

I have both as auxilary computers a Pentium 4 2.4Ghz laptop and a dual core Centrino laptop. The Centrino is by far the better unit because its light weight and smaller so can be carried around easier. The Pentium is a heavy weight and its fan is louder when it goes off which is every five minutes and stays on for ten. Horible when listening to music or watching a Dvd. When playing a game it can be very distracting.

In most cases the graphics card in laptops are slimed down versions of their desktop familly and therefore makes gaming a touchy experiance. On the box of my copy of Silent Hunter 4 is says:

Supported graphics cards:

ATI Radeon 9600/9700/9800/x300 to x850/x1300 to x1800
Nvidia Geforce 6200/6600/6800/7800

Laptop models of these cards may work but and are not supported.

When I bought my copy of SH3 I had a laptop as my main computer (the Pentium 4) and was gutted when it wouldnt play because its graphics card was not up to it. At that time SH3 spec was that it would run on any ATI Radeon card. It didnt run on mine because it was a laptop version of a Radeon! I had to when I could afford it build this desptop computer which is a monster before I could play it! I havnt tried to play it on my Duel core centrino laptop because I know its graphics card is not up to spec.

Also I would consider the sound quality issue. Most laptops have inferior sound as well.

Ah well just my 2p worth! A laptop is good as a back up mobile unit only!!

09-16-07, 12:22 AM	#1
The Bandit Sonar Guy Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 395 Downloads: 39 Uploads: 1	Laptop question about SH3 and SH4 well I've decided to get a laptop, just so I can have somthing portable, and I know that SH3 and SH4 were not built with them in mind but, I was wondering which intergrated graphics chipsets that they work with. Right now I'm looking at a Dell with ATI Radeon® Xpress 1150 that goes up to 256, I've also been looking at a more expensive toshiba u300 (weights 4.5 pounds and has a 13.3) and it will have Intel GMA 950 graphics. I would think that the basic CPU in both cases (the cheapest Dell would come with a Sempron 3500+ and the cheapest Toshiba would probably be a Pentium Dual Core 1.73ghz, but might end up being a Celeron 520) would be able to run SH3 great and SH4 pretty good, I'm not looking to buy a gaming laptop but, playing these games on it would be a plus. Anyhow I am just wondering what you guys have and what works, I know that a lot of integrated graphics chipsets laptops have will just NOT work with some games, so I just want to go with whatever works with them. __________________

09-16-07, 04:00 AM	#3
Kaleu_Mihoo Medic Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Poland/Germany Posts: 159 Downloads: 66 Uploads: 0	I have a 1.5 intel centrino laptop with mobile radeon 9700 graphic card (64 MB vid memory) and 512 MB ram. SH3 (GWX) is running just ok, except of many explosions in the same time. No info on SH4, because not really interested in that sim. The advantage of centrino is, you can tone down the core voltage with some free tools (default 1,340 V, my laptop running on 0,940V), which means a major reduction of heat and power conspumption from the battery. Under normal work, the temperature never exceeds 52 deg C, and it is not necessary to use a cooling fan at all So I would also recommend Intel and not AMD, as they are getting much warmer, like Canovaro allready said. cheers __________________ Beide Maschinen AK voraus, hart backbord, auf 107 Grad gehen! Anlauf beginnt!...NYGM 3.0

09-16-07, 04:53 AM	#5
The Bandit Sonar Guy Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 395 Downloads: 39 Uploads: 1	thats a good idea to have a look at the operating temp of the system. The main reason I was looking at the intel graphics is compatibuility. I've heard that a lot fo the ATI or Nvidia integrated chipsets are not regcognized by some games. I don't mean for this to be a pure gaming laptop, I just want to be able to run SH3 and SH4 pretty well. Both are pretty vanilla compared to what's out there now. I might look at laptops that have separate video cards but they are usualluy a bit more expensive. __________________

09-16-07, 05:05 AM	#6
johnno74 Planesman Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 197 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	2nd that advice about celerons. They don't step down their clock frequency when the CPU is idle. Thats all rather old tech now, intel core cpus are what pretty much all new laptops have, and they rock. I have a Dell Latitude D820 with a core2 duo @ 2ghz, and cpu is pretty much never the bottleneck. For video I've got an nVidia Quadro NVS 110M which was the top video option for this laptop. I play GWX @ 1680x1050 with no problems at all. Generally laptops with screens 15" or smaller have crap to acceptable video performance. Some laptops with 17" screens have chipsets that will blow most desktops out of the water - mainly because a 15" laptop is made lighter, and can't dissipate enough heat for a high-end GFX chipset __________________ When you pull the pin from Mr. Grenade, he is no longer your friend.

09-16-07, 05:32 AM	#7
Kpt, Otto Planesman Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: London Posts: 195 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Avoid a Celeron chip... Avoid a Celeron chip if you can, they are not fast enough. Duel core cpu is ok, either Pentium or Centrino. The Pentium chips run very hot normally which means a heavy fan to cool them in most cases. I have both as auxilary computers a Pentium 4 2.4Ghz laptop and a dual core Centrino laptop. The Centrino is by far the better unit because its light weight and smaller so can be carried around easier. The Pentium is a heavy weight and its fan is louder when it goes off which is every five minutes and stays on for ten. Horible when listening to music or watching a Dvd. When playing a game it can be very distracting. In most cases the graphics card in laptops are slimed down versions of their desktop familly and therefore makes gaming a touchy experiance. On the box of my copy of Silent Hunter 4 is says: Supported graphics cards: ATI Radeon 9600/9700/9800/x300 to x850/x1300 to x1800 Nvidia Geforce 6200/6600/6800/7800 Laptop models of these cards may work but and are not supported. When I bought my copy of SH3 I had a laptop as my main computer (the Pentium 4) and was gutted when it wouldnt play because its graphics card was not up to it. At that time SH3 spec was that it would run on any ATI Radeon card. It didnt run on mine because it was a laptop version of a Radeon! I had to when I could afford it build this desptop computer which is a monster before I could play it! I havnt tried to play it on my Duel core centrino laptop because I know its graphics card is not up to spec. Also I would consider the sound quality issue. Most laptops have inferior sound as well. Ah well just my 2p worth! A laptop is good as a back up mobile unit only!! __________________ Kpt, Otto. My War Diary and Website. . . Here. . .!

09-16-07, 03:10 AM	#2
Canovaro Ace of the Deep Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Netherlands Posts: 1,062 Downloads: 34 Uploads: 0	I would not recommend a celeron in a laptop since they tend to get very warm. After some time dust will get into you laptop and things might heat up, causing the laptop to shut down. Better have a Pentium in your laptop. I'm not sure about the Sempron, could be the same story for AMD. Maybe you better get an Athlon, but again I'm not sure about that.

09-16-07, 04:08 AM	#4
SilentOtto Engineer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: BF79 Posts: 209 Downloads: 71 Uploads: 0	And as far as I know, those intel 94* or 95* graphics chipsets are sluggish for gaming. I know, my centrino laptop has the 945 chipset and with 3D apps it is one of the slowest things I had seen in years. Do not touch that for gaming! And btw yes at least this centrino gets hot!