Noob question about pc spec

[Daergel]

I am trying to decide whether I can run WoW on this new laptop I bought, but I cant seem to find out whether the graphics card will handle it - on XP I didnt have a problem; I knew exactly where to go to find out the info I needed, but Vista is a different kettle of fish entirely (it doesnt even auto connect to my wireless network - it has to be forced, unlike all our other pcs :( )

I have a Compaq C731EM - I am pretty sure all the other stats will handle, but not sure about the graphics card - all it says on the websites I have looked at is that it has a Intel Graphics Media Accelerator. I already know I cant rely on the PC World website because they seem to include erroneous info, such as that it has Lightscribe when in fact it doesnt - the woman in there said as much!

Anyway, your help would be appreciated!

[Coud]

basically an intergrated video card which means you're sharing your ram with it.

random google sites says the laptop has 2Gig ram and runs vista. I'm not sure how much Vista takes up now with SP1 launched but let's say 512 ( same as windows XP ) which means you have 1.5Gig left...

I'm guessing you prob won't be running wow on max setting using it. at best it will be around medium level with a 1024*768 resoultion ( maybe slightly higher). if you're mod heavy you'll prob be running wow on low.

[snackereen]

I would definitely not encourage you to buy something with an integrated videocard.

Here's why: Vista needs 1GB Ram at least (right after booting). Adding some more for tasks & WOW, there will be not much left for your video experience AND shared RAM is much slower concerning access times to it than integrated RAM on a "real" videocard.

It really gets painful (FPS) if your videocard needs to use your swap-file because the "rest" of your RAM is used already by something else.

So, if you can try to fin d a notebook with an EXTRA videocard (DELL has some quite good notebooks even for playing and reasonary prices).
Check this site for some infos about notebooks & performance. They had many infos on performance and pricing

[chemical whore]

um. . . laptops and games don't generally play well together.
the integrated graphics on your laptop will kill your fps. you may be able to play WOW, but i'd be really REALLY surprised if you could play The Burning Crusade expansion.
for comparison, my old Dell couldn't run The Burning Crusade very well w/ a 2.8GHz P4, 2G ram, 512MB ATI Radeon video card. i'd get like 10 fps in Shatt.
that was when i decided it was time to build a new rig. now i get 160-200fps. lol

[mavric240]

Here's why: Vista needs 1GB Ram at least (right after booting)

Thats without Norton installed which will suck up another half gig. So I strongly recommend you add more memory as soon as you can. Find out what the max you can install in your rig before you buy though. Most integrated graphics on laptops will run mid to low 20's in regards to fps. So you should be able to get by on what you have.

[Absalom]

More memory of the fastest that the system supports plus the fastest hard drive will be about all you can do to maximize your ability to play WoW on the laptop.

Vista is a horrible resource hog.. I'd actually see about getting Windows XP (Buy it if you have to) and install it instead of Vista. You will not only see a performance boost on your laptop.. you will also find that more drivers are available and may work better.

Vista service pack 1 did help some stuff.. but not enough.

[chemical whore]

if the laptop came w/ Vista Business or Ultimate you can downgrade to XP for free. and then go back to Vista (which you paid for) whenever Vista fixes all its performance issues.

[mavric240]

Oh I almost forgot to tell you that you can download a Norton removal tool if your machine has it installed. Norton's and Vista chew up a lot of memory. Here is the link:
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail...a/1169144666/1

[chemical whore]

memory isn't really an issue for him. sure, more is better, but 18GB's of 1066MHz running at 3-3-3-8 isn't going to change the fact that he has no dedicated video card and w/o it his FPS is crippled.

Daergel, if you're still following this thread, you can look into an external graphics card. I'm not sure if your laptop is capable of connecting to it. it required an external Express Card Slot. i saw something about it last year, it was called the XG from Asus.
honestly, i'm not sure if they were ever released or if their still available, but it's worth a look i suppose.

[mavric240]

This is the Article in which Chemical Whore was referring to I believe.


Mon Jan 8, 2007 7:18PM EST
See Comments (38)
This bizarre contraption takes quite a bit of explaining, and it's hardly something that every consumer is going to rush to buy. Listen: It's an external video card. Bear with me. I'll explain.
Say your notebook doesn't have 3D graphics (as is the case with many a crippled business machine). But you want to play Oblivion nonetheless. So you just hook up the an external video card (called XG Station, at least for now) via your laptop's ExpressCard slot, and run a cable to an external monitor.
Close the lid and boom, the monstrous XG Station takes over and does all the graphics processing instead of the lame chip inside the laptop. Because ExpressCard has very high available bandwidth, this is now a real possibility.
I saw the XG Station in the flesh, attached to a low-end notebook alongside that same notebook with the XG. Talk about night and day. The XG-equipped machine was running heavy-duty 3D benchmarks without much stuttering. The non-XG machine looked like it was about to catch fire. Whoosh!
As for the dial, it lets you adjust the fan speed, among other things, depending on how hardcore your gaming plans may be. The readout shows temperature, volume, and other stats. No pricing or release date, but it's targeted for a Q2 release.