QuantumManiac Posted January 18, 2013 Posted January 18, 2013 Does anyone know some ways to make your computer more optimized for gaming? My specs are: OS NameMicrosoft Windows 7 Home Premium Version6.1.7600 Build 7600 OS ManufacturerMicrosoft Corporation System NameHOME-PC System ManufacturerTOSHIBA System ModelSatellite L550 System TypeX86-based PC ProcessorPentium® Dual-Core CPU T4300 @ 2.10GHz, 2100 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s) BIOS Version/DateTOSHIBA V1.70, 10/6/2009 SMBIOS Version2.5 Installed Physical Memory (RAM)4.00 GB Total Physical Memory2.84 GB Available Physical Memory1.46 GB Total Virtual Memory5.68 GB Available Virtual Memory3.76 GB Quote
Torezu Posted January 18, 2013 Posted January 18, 2013 All you have here is OS, processor, and RAM. There's no mention of hard drive (not as important) or video card (very important). Also, you're on a laptop, albeit a Toshiba, and those never perform as well as an equivalent desktop in my experience. Nevertheless, more info is needed for advice to be given. Quote
holymage! Posted January 18, 2013 Posted January 18, 2013 if you want to save on CPU power then you can change from the normal windows 7 default theme to the classic theme...its saves a crapton... Quote
Chefsbrian Posted January 18, 2013 Posted January 18, 2013 I did some digging, And it would appear that the machine is using "Mobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset Family 268435456" or more likely know as GMA 4500MHD. Did some more poking, that GPU is considered to be incapable of Handling WoW above 25FPS on low.... Take this with a grain of salt, but this is it compared to known common gaming titles http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html Quote
QuantumManiac Posted January 18, 2013 Author Posted January 18, 2013 All you have here is OS, processor, and RAM. There's no mention of hard drive (not as important) or video card (very important). Also, you're on a laptop, albeit a Toshiba, and those never perform as well as an equivalent desktop in my experience. Nevertheless, more info is needed for advice to be given. Ok I just copied the info from system settings so I will get some more info Quote
QuantumManiac Posted January 20, 2013 Author Posted January 20, 2013 Got some more info: OS NameMicrosoft Windows 7 Home Premium Version6.1.7600 Build 7600 Other OS DescriptionNot Available OS ManufacturerMicrosoft Corporation System NameHOME-PC System ManufacturerTOSHIBA System ModelSatellite L550 System TypeX86-based PC ProcessorPentium® Dual-Core CPU T4300 @ 2.10GHz, 2100 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s) BIOS Version/DateTOSHIBA V1.70, 10/6/2009 SMBIOS Version2.5 Windows DirectoryC:\windows System DirectoryC:\windows\system32 Boot Device\Device\HarddiskVolume1 LocaleUnited States Hardware Abstraction LayerVersion = "6.1.7600.16385" User Namehome-PC\home Time ZonePacific Standard Time Installed Physical Memory (RAM)4.00 GB Total Physical Memory2.84 GB Available Physical Memory1.52 GB Total Virtual Memory5.68 GB Available Virtual Memory3.94 GB Page File Space2.84 GB Page FileC:\pagefile.sys 0xC0000000-0xDFFFFFFFPCI busOK 0xF0000000-0xFEBFFFFFPCI busOK 0xF0000000-0xFEBFFFFFIntel® ICH9 Family PCI Express Root Port 1 - 2940OK 0xF2200000-0xF2203FFFRealtek RTL8191SE Wireless LAN 802.11n PCI-E NICOK 0xF2200000-0xF2203FFFIntel® ICH9 Family PCI Express Root Port 4 - 2946OK 0xFED1C000-0xFED1FFFFMotherboard resourcesOK 0xFED10000-0xFED13FFFMotherboard resourcesOK 0xFED18000-0xFED18FFFMotherboard resourcesOK 0xFED19000-0xFED19FFFMotherboard resourcesOK 0xE0000000-0xEFFFFFFFMotherboard resourcesOK 0xFED20000-0xFED3FFFFMotherboard resourcesOK 0xFED45000-0xFED8FFFFMotherboard resourcesOK 0xF2504000-0xF25047FFIntel® ICH9M-E/M SATA AHCI ControllerOK 0xF2504C00-0xF2504FFFIntel® ICH9 Family USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 293AOK 0xF2800000-0xF2BFFFFFMobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset FamilyOK 0xD0000000-0xDFFFFFFFMobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset FamilyOK 0xF2504800-0xF2504BFFIntel® ICH9 Family USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 293COK 0xF2100000-0xF21FFFFFMobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset FamilyOK 0xF2500000-0xF2503FFFHigh Definition Audio ControllerOK 0xF4000000-0xF5FFFFFFIntel® ICH9 Family PCI Express Root Port 1 - 2940OK 0xFED00000-0xFED003FFHigh precision event timerOK 0xF2010000-0xF2010FFFRealtek PCIe FE Family ControllerOK 0xF2000000-0xF200FFFFRealtek PCIe FE Family ControllerOK 0xF2000000-0xF200FFFFIntel® ICH9 Family PCI Express Root Port 3 - 2944OK 0xA0000-0xBFFFFPCI busOK 0xA0000-0xBFFFFMobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset FamilyOK 0xD4000-0xD7FFFPCI busOK 0xE0000-0xE3FFFPCI busOK DriveC: DescriptionLocal Fixed Disk CompressedNo File SystemNTFS Size266.76 GB (286,433,210,368 bytes) Free Space175.87 GB (188,838,658,048 bytes) Volume NameS3A8047D003 Volume Serial NumberB20E2F36 DriveD: DescriptionCD-ROM Disc DriveE: DescriptionRemovable Disk DriveF: DescriptionCD-ROM Disc DriveQ: DescriptionLocal Fixed Disk CompressedNot Available File SystemNot Available SizeNot Available Free SpaceNot Available Volume NameNot Available Volume Serial NumberNot Available NameLogMeIn Mirror Driver PNP Device IDROOT\DISPLAY\0000 Adapter TypeNot Available, LogMeIn, Inc. compatible Adapter DescriptionLogMeIn Mirror Driver Adapter RAMNot Available Installed DriversNot Available Driver Version7.1.542.0 INF Filelmimirr.inf (lmimirr section) Color PlanesNot Available Color Table Entries4294967296 Resolution1600 x 900 x 60 hertz Bits/Pixel32 Driverc:\windows\system32\drivers\lmimirr.sys (2.50.0.596, 9.91 KB (10,144 bytes), 6/8/2012 12:05 PM) NameMobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset Family PNP Device IDPCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2A42&SUBSYS_FF011179&REV_07\3&11583659&1&10 Adapter TypeMobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset Family, Intel Corporation compatible Adapter DescriptionMobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset Family Adapter RAM1.30 GB (1,390,870,528 bytes) Installed Driversigdumdx32.dll,igd10umd32.dll,igd10umd32.dll Driver Version8.15.10.1883 INF Fileoem3.inf (iCNT0 section) Color PlanesNot Available Color Table EntriesNot Available ResolutionNot Available Bits/PixelNot Available Memory Address0xF2800000-0xF2BFFFFF Memory Address0xD0000000-0xDFFFFFFF I/O Port0x00001800-0x00001807 IRQ ChannelIRQ 4294967294 I/O Port0x000003B0-0x000003BB I/O Port0x000003C0-0x000003DF Memory Address0xA0000-0xBFFFF Driverc:\windows\system32\drivers\igdkmd32.sys (8.15.10.1883, 5.67 MB (5,946,368 bytes), 8/27/2009 9:00 AM) NameMobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset Family PNP Device IDPCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2A43&SUBSYS_FF011179&REV_07\3&11583659&1&11 Adapter TypeNot Available, Intel Corporation compatible Adapter DescriptionMobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset Family Adapter RAMNot Available Installed Driversigdumdx32.dll,igd10umd32.dll,igd10umd32.dll Driver Version8.15.10.1883 INF Fileoem3.inf (iCNT1 section) Color PlanesNot Available Color Table EntriesNot Available ResolutionNot Available Bits/PixelNot Available Memory Address0xF2100000-0xF21FFFFF Driverc:\windows\system32\drivers\igdkmd32.sys (8.15.10.1883, 5.67 MB (5,946,368 bytes), 8/27/2009 9:00 AM) Too much info im guessing Quote
Chefsbrian Posted January 20, 2013 Posted January 20, 2013 A bit, but I was right, integrated graphics. Sorry, not much you can do about it, its not built for gaming Quote
BurningCake Posted January 20, 2013 Posted January 20, 2013 A bit, but I was right, integrated graphics. Sorry, not much you can do about it, its not built for gaming Basically this. Integrated graphics = don't use for games/visual work Quote
QuantumManiac Posted January 20, 2013 Author Posted January 20, 2013 I used Canyourunit and this is what it says: CPU Recommended: Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 (K8) 2.6 GHz You Have: Pentium® Dual-Core CPU T4300 @ 2.10GHz Click here for the latest CPU drivers. Upgrade Suggested CPU Speed Recommended: Info You Have: 2.1 GHz RAM Recommended: 4 GB You Have: 2.9 GB Upgrade Suggested OS Recommended: Windows XP or better You Have: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (build 7600), 32-bit Click here for the latest Windows drivers. Video Card Recommended: GeForce 66xx or ATI Radeon 9xxx and Up with OpenGL 2 Support (Excluding Integrated Chipsets) You Have: Mobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset Family Click here for the latest Video Card drivers. Upgrade Suggested Features: Recommended attributes of your Video Card RequiredYou Have Pixel Shader version 2.0 4.0 Vertex Shader version 2.0 4.0 Dedicated Video RAM 64 MB 128 MB Sound Card Recommended: Yes You Have: Realtek High Definition Audio Click here for the latest Sound Card drivers. Free Disk Space Recommended: 150 MB You Have: 177.2 G Quote
QuantumManiac Posted January 20, 2013 Author Posted January 20, 2013 Well don't care about the RAM because I have an extra 2GB with ReadyBoost Quote
Chefsbrian Posted January 20, 2013 Posted January 20, 2013 You fail the video card test, that is a prebuilt unit, you can't put a real card in. Nothing to be done Quote
QuantumManiac Posted January 20, 2013 Author Posted January 20, 2013 You fail the video card test, that is a prebuilt unit, you can't put a real card in. Nothing to be done NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Quote
dragonshardz Posted January 21, 2013 Posted January 21, 2013 Well don't care about the RAM because I have an extra 2GB with ReadyBoost ReadyBoost is not RAM. Quote
fidchelle Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 You fail the video card test, that is a prebuilt unit, you can't put a real card in. Nothing to be done This isn't entirely true, I mean he can't install a new video card and that is defiantly important, but there still might be some performance improving upgrades he can make to the metal. I'm on a laptop myself (Asus G60Vx) I take very good care of it and, my gaming performance isn't the best ever, If I built my own desktop (I would if I had the funds) I would most definitely get considerably more power out of it, but in my years of laptop gaming I have learned a few tricks to squeeze more life out of it. First of all. Max out that ram. No matter what you have (To reiterate what dragon said, ReadyBoost is -NOT- ram) maxing your ram out will be a big noticeable upgrade. However I should also mention it will not be as noticeable in gaming as it would in other day to day tasks. Ram is essentially the desk your processor puts shit on to work with before putting it away for safe keeping. The more ram you have the more shit you can run at once. Of course the reason ram is important for technic is because it uses Java. And Java needs huge amounts of ram to function. You only have a 32x motherboard so unfortunately you cant go over 4 gigs (I actually think it can only use 3.25 or something of that ram, do a little research and see the maximum ram you can handle.) If you had a 64 bit board you could probably, realistically handle something like 6 or 8 gigs, which for a game like minecraft is optimal (not the best but good) Now that your ram is maxed out, let's talk about that hard drive. You have a few options, and believe it or not this -can- drastically improve gaming. If your laptop has the capacity to hold 2 hard-drives (mine does, I am not sure about yours however. Most do not) Pick one of those slots to be your dedicated run time drive. Make sure whatever the capacity for that drive is, the hard-drive itself is a solid state. A solid state drive has no moving parts. They are generally more expensive then a regular drive, but they are faster and more reliable due to the simple fact it doesn't rely on moving parts, and can send and receive data more efficiently. On your solid state, do not put anything but your operating system and installed programs on this. In the second slot, put a large capacity hard-drive in there, and this second drive is where all of your files and folders will go. With everything being mounted on the solid state, your programs have a more efficient route to get to the processor and ram, and will load faster for it. If you don't have 2 slots, which is very likely then all you can do is replace the drive you have with a solid state at the highest capacity you can afford. It will still give you some improvements, although not as much as if you had a dedicated drive for only installed items. The machine is pre-built and more then likely you are not going to find anything but proprietary video cards that are compatible with its motherboard, but I still recommend looking up the specs for your motherboard and seeing if you have any other options available. It's very unlikely, and even if you do have options, be careful because a laptop is a pain in the ass to disassemble, and better video cards make more heat which a laptop has a difficult time dispersing efficiently. You can look into getting a processor upgrade too. I'm pretty sure it's going to be the same story as the video card. All in all, this is the best you can do upgrade wise at the moment with a pre-built machine. If you are low on budget (which I am) or if you don't mind having to fuss with settings to make something run better for your rig then I would go the option of upgrading. If you have a decent budget (you can make a nice gaming rig for under 500$, and you can make something bat-shit insane for under 1000$) If I knew everything I knew about computers when I bought this laptop like 3 years ago, I would have used my 2000$ to make a ridiculous murder-box of a gaming rig instead. Live and learn though. All in all a laptop has very few pros and quite a-lot of cons for gaming. Pros: 1. Its portable. 2. You can add peripheral devices to it in order to make it more functional for you. 3. It can be useful as a utility machine when not being used for gaming. Cons: 1. A laptop and laptop parts are more expensive then its bulkier desktop brother. 2. A laptop is difficult to keep cool, Even a decent gaming laptop will have heat issues. You will likely need to invest in a cooling dock to get anywhere. 3. I have rarely heard of anyone making a custom laptop from scratch. Most laptops run on manufactured proprietary parts, unlike desktop parts which tend to be a bit more compatible with one another. 4. You have very limited upgrade and expansion options once you purchase a laptop. When you buy the metal, you are generally stuck with it. There is nothing wrong with gaming on a laptop if you have to or prefer to, but if performance is your main goal, building yourself a nice desktop computer would be the more economical (more bang for your buck) and more efficient way to go. If you do ever decide to go with a desktop rig and need some help figuring out how to build one, give me a PM. I can help you get started. And have a nice day! Quote
Eldmor Posted January 23, 2013 Posted January 23, 2013 You have yourself a craptop. Do yourself a favor and save ~$500 to build a desktop with a DIY kit or individual parts. You will have something much cheaper, more reliable, and more powerful. Quote
Lothos Posted January 23, 2013 Posted January 23, 2013 FWIW, their are nice systems on Newegg.com for $500 that blow that laptop out of the water without needing to DIY yourself a box. Quote
fidchelle Posted January 23, 2013 Posted January 23, 2013 If you're going to do it yourself, like Lothos said, Newegg is a good place to go. Tigerdirect has a wide selection of parts as well at decent prices. Quote
Guest Ysharma Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 If you dont want to do it yourself, and still want a custom computer. Pm me and Ill guide you to the right place. Quote
gotyaoi Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 As always in situation like this, I try to mention the ars technica system guide. They update it about twice a year, and the latest was in december. Good info and lots of newegg links. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/12/ars-technica-system-guide-december-2012/ Quote
fidchelle Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 As always in situation like this, I try to mention the ars technica system guide. They update it about twice a year, and the latest was in december. Good info and lots of newegg links. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/12/ars-technica-system-guide-december-2012/ Wow! I never knew about this guide! This is really helpful, thank you! Quote
QuantumManiac Posted January 25, 2013 Author Posted January 25, 2013 Well I don't need any help any,more because in about 2 weeks I'm getting a new desktop computer so thank you all for your help! Quote
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