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Improve Computer Performance


QuantumManiac

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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

ProcessorPentiumĀ® 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

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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.

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I did some digging, And it would appear that the machine is using "Mobile IntelĀ® 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

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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

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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

ProcessorPentiumĀ® 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

0xF0000000-0xFEBFFFFFIntelĀ® ICH9 Family PCI Express Root Port 1 - 2940OK

0xF2200000-0xF2203FFFRealtek RTL8191SE Wireless LAN 802.11n PCI-E NICOK

0xF2200000-0xF2203FFFIntelĀ® 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

0xF2504000-0xF25047FFIntelĀ® ICH9M-E/M SATA AHCI ControllerOK

0xF2504C00-0xF2504FFFIntelĀ® ICH9 Family USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 293AOK

0xF2800000-0xF2BFFFFFMobile IntelĀ® 4 Series Express Chipset FamilyOK

0xD0000000-0xDFFFFFFFMobile IntelĀ® 4 Series Express Chipset FamilyOK

0xF2504800-0xF2504BFFIntelĀ® ICH9 Family USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 293COK

0xF2100000-0xF21FFFFFMobile IntelĀ® 4 Series Express Chipset FamilyOK

0xF2500000-0xF2503FFFHigh Definition Audio ControllerOK

0xF4000000-0xF5FFFFFFIntelĀ® 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

0xF2000000-0xF200FFFFIntelĀ® ICH9 Family PCI Express Root Port 3 - 2944OK

0xA0000-0xBFFFFPCI busOK

0xA0000-0xBFFFFMobile IntelĀ® 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 IntelĀ® 4 Series Express Chipset Family

PNP Device IDPCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2A42&SUBSYS_FF011179&REV_07\3&11583659&1&10

Adapter TypeMobile IntelĀ® 4 Series Express Chipset Family, Intel Corporation compatible

Adapter DescriptionMobile IntelĀ® 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 IntelĀ® 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 IntelĀ® 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

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I used Canyourunit and this is what it says:

CPU

Recommended: Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 (K8) 2.6 GHz

You Have: PentiumĀ® Dual-Core CPU T4300 @ 2.10GHz

drivers-updates.gifClick here for the latest CPU drivers.

Upgrade Suggested

blue_i.gif

CPU Speed

Recommended: Info

You Have: 2.1 GHz

red_x.gif

RAM

Recommended: 4 GB

You Have: 2.9 GB

Upgrade Suggested

green_checkmark.gif

OS

Recommended: Windows XP or better

You Have: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (build 7600), 32-bit

drivers-updates.gifClick here for the latest Windows drivers.

red_x.gif

Video Card

Recommended: GeForce 66xx or ATI Radeon 9xxx and Up with OpenGL 2 Support (Excluding Integrated Chipsets)

You Have: Mobile IntelĀ® 4 Series Express Chipset Family

drivers-updates.gifClick here for the latest Video Card drivers.

Upgrade Suggested

Features: Recommended attributes of your Video Card

RequiredYou Have

green_checkmark_small.gif Pixel Shader version 2.0 4.0

green_checkmark_small.gif Vertex Shader version 2.0 4.0

green_checkmark_small.gif Dedicated Video RAM 64 MB 128 MB

green_checkmark.gif

Sound Card

Recommended: Yes

You Have: Realtek High Definition Audio

drivers-updates.gifClick here for the latest Sound Card drivers.

green_checkmark.gif

Free Disk Space

Recommended: 150 MB

You Have: 177.2 G

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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!

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