[shinya82]

Hello-

I dont know much about CPUs, so please bare with me...I have been doing my best to look on the internet for suggestions on cpu specs. I have ran the benchmark and received a 1205 (low). At the bottom I pasted what my laptop currently has. So, I guess my two questions are:

1. Can anything be done to my current CPU (software/hardware) to enhance its performance?

2. If nothing can be tweaked on my current machine would the basic AlienWare laptop be sufficent for 14?- I refer to Alienware as it is the only line of gaming computers that I am familar with, and would just be lost attempting to build my own.

Your help is much appreciated~

Operating System
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
CPU
Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo @ 2.13GHz 53 °C
Penryn 45nm Technology
RAM
6.0GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 398MHz (6-6-6-18)
Motherboard
Sony Corporation VAIO (N/A)
Graphics
Generic PnP Monitor @ 1600x900
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 (Sony)
Hard Drives
488GB Hitachi Hitachi HTS545050B9SA00 (IDE) 34 °C
Ricoh Memory Stick Disk Device (IDE)
Ricoh SD/MMC Disk Device (IDE)
Optical Drives
PIONEER BD-ROM BDC-TD01
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

[dragonclaw]

On a laptop, tweaks are generally not possible. On a desktop, overclocking is possible because they run cooler and the cooling system can be made more powerful.

In anycase,

1) The specs on your laptop should work out ok. As others have pointed out, SE's benchmark test was crap and people with very low scores have been playing the alpha without problems. So best thing to do is wait, try it out, and if needed opt for a new laptop.

2) since performance on a laptop is different compared to a desktop, buying a laptop that can run the game smoothly may be difficult. (This is further made difficult by the fact that drivers for laptop graphics are usually less refined than a desktop).

3) Alienware is like buying a 3 thousand dollar suit. Its expensive as balls, the value gained is minimal, and most would rather spend 3k on 8 suits instead of 1. In other words, its eye candy. Not worth the price.

If you have the time to spend on finding the perfect laptop for you, you can do 1 of 2 things:

1) Keep your eye on a website like this: http://www.techbargains.com
This site will show you great deals and if your patient can net you the perfect PC for you. A good example that I see is http://www.techbarga...tem.cfm/214931. Its a Core i7 with a decent video card for $900. (not sure if it will run 14 though)

2) Wait til it comes out. Go to best buy and get a decent laptop in your price range. Take it home and test it. Dont like it? Return it. They revoked the 15% restocking fee (last i checked), if not just make up something wrong with it. Repeat this step with other configuations til you find which one is the best for you. If you dont want to give bestbuy your money, return it and find the same setup online.

A friend of mine did this. Got his laptop to run ffxi but the laptops he bought had graphics driver issues that would make the game run at 5fps. He eventually found the perfect laptop for him.

Edit:

Just so you understand, just about all manufacturers at this point have a gaming division. Dells for instance is either the XPS series or Alienware, HP has the voodoo PC brand, and so forth. There are also other manufacturers that deal directly online like cyberpowerPC and Ibuypower. Shop around and seriously dont buy into the premium priced crap. If you wish to get a desktop instead of a laptop you also have alot more options since most companys, including the ones i mentioned have configurators to customize directly from them. I would also suggest to browse newegg.com and look at the various models and components available to you.

This post has been edited by dragonclaw: 12 July 2010 - 08:08 PM

[shinya82]

Thanks a bunch for your reply- I really appreciate it

[PLDExander]

Geforce 9700M GTS and above will run this game fine in a laptop. Mine runs it fine on standard np. Try and stay with 9700M GTS Up, 250->260M GTS up, 350->360M GTS up.

If you want to wait a few months i strongly suggest you do so if you want a laptop. nVidia 400M Series drops in a few months.

http://pressroom.nvi...jsp=release_157

This post has been edited by PLDExander: 07 September 2010 - 01:15 AM