Hi,
I have a laptop and was wondering if it can run the first Mass Effect OK.
I don't know much about PC hardware. I tested using http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/ and failed, but the details of the test were a bit baffling.
The two tests that failed were:
1. RAM:
Recommended: 2 GB
You Have: 1.9 GB.
I suppose I could always upgrade the memory, but in case I don't: are the requirements cut in stone? Is this tiny difference in memory a dealbreaker?
2. Video Card
Recommended: ATI X1800 XL series or higher, NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX or higher
You Have: ATI display adapter (0x68C1)
Features:
Recommended attributes of your Video Card
In these details I have 3D, Hardware T&L, Pixel Shader version 4.0 (3.0 required) and Vertex Shader version 4.0 (3.0 required). So, judging by these details, my video card should pass.
This is a bigger deal than the memory, since it is more expensive and complicated to change a video card on a laptop than memory.
The card is a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650.
Some info from notebookcheck.net:
The AMD ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 is a middle class DirectX 11 graphics card for laptops. Its based on the Madison (LE, LP or Pro) chip and is produced in 40nm. Like its predecessor, the Mobility Radeon 4650,
the HD 5650 features a 128 Bit memory bus for dedicated DDR3 and GDDR3
memory chips. GDDR5 is not supported on the HD 5650 (only in the higher
clocked versions like the 5750 or 5770 cards based on the same chip).
In our benchmarks with the HD 5650, the GPU is performing on a level with the previous Mobility Radeon HD 4670 or the Nvidia GeForce GTS 250M
(with DDR3 graphics memory). This means the performance is sufficient
for high details in nearly all DirectX 10 games (only Crysis and GTA4
are not fluently playable in high details - see gaming list below).
Upcoming and current DirectX 11 games (like DIRT2) may not run in full
detail settings. That means some of the new DirectX 11 features
(Tesselation e.g.) may not run fluently on this gaming graphics
adapter. Currently the HD 5650 is a good gaming pick for well
priced laptops with a 15 inch screen and a resolution of about 1366x768.
---
So, can anyone clear this up for me? First: Is it possible to run ME1 with this graphics card? Secondly, is it absolutely necessary to upgrade the RAM to run it?
Graphics card OK for ME1?
Débuté par
TJOHO2009
, déc. 23 2010 06:33
Retour en haut
#2
Posté 23 décembre 2010 - 08:08
Gorath Alpha
-
- Members
- 10 605 messages
The SR Labs site is unreliable, frequently inaccurate, and in general is doing as much of a disservice to gamers as any help it offers, because it it so bad.
The official requirements for the PC version are equally stupid, of course. When naming the entire Geforce 6 generation, they included the 6200, 6500, and 6600, all of which, with one exception, are very slow. The one with some speed was the 6600 GT, never offered with more than 128 MBs of VRAM, so it is also inadequate.
When naming the Radeon minimum, they chose a rare part, best known by its original name, the X1600 Pro, which for a short part of the X1n00 generation's production lifetime, was known as an X1300 XT. Your mobile version of the HD 5650 is well above that, although an X1650 would have been far more appropriate as a practical choice for them to have named (the X1650 is why the X1600 Pro was renamed).
www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php
GPU Review mostly ignores laptops, as do game developers, because of the non-standard ways in which the manufacturers deviate from the reference samples they are given with the technical descriptions. I picked the HD 5570 desktop card to put next to the X1650.
Gorath
.
The official requirements for the PC version are equally stupid, of course. When naming the entire Geforce 6 generation, they included the 6200, 6500, and 6600, all of which, with one exception, are very slow. The one with some speed was the 6600 GT, never offered with more than 128 MBs of VRAM, so it is also inadequate.
When naming the Radeon minimum, they chose a rare part, best known by its original name, the X1600 Pro, which for a short part of the X1n00 generation's production lifetime, was known as an X1300 XT. Your mobile version of the HD 5650 is well above that, although an X1650 would have been far more appropriate as a practical choice for them to have named (the X1650 is why the X1600 Pro was renamed).
www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php
GPU Review mostly ignores laptops, as do game developers, because of the non-standard ways in which the manufacturers deviate from the reference samples they are given with the technical descriptions. I picked the HD 5570 desktop card to put next to the X1650.
Gorath
.
Modifié par Gorath Alpha, 23 décembre 2010 - 08:49 .
#3
Posté 24 décembre 2010 - 04:48
SSV Enterprise
-
- Members
- 1 668 messages
As Gorath said, the test at systemrequirementslab.com is a joke, and your case proves it. You have a Mobility Radeon HD 5650, which should be able to run Mass Effect 2 fairly well. This also shows inconsistency for SR Labs -- my laptop has a Mobility Radeon HD 5470, which is worse than the 5650, and yet the scan passed for me. It even said I passed the recommended requirements, which is utterly ridiculous -- I can play the game with my system, but it's nowhere near the recommended specs. So regarding your graphics card, the scan is flat wrong, you're fine on that front.
As for system RAM -- that's a different story. Are you running Windows XP or Vista/7? If it's XP, then 1.9 GB of RAM should be fine. If it's Vista or 7, then you do need to upgrade the RAM. Such a small amount is hardly enough to run Vista or 7 alone; if you try running games on it, your computer will choke and die (figuratively) trying to keep up. Even if you had 2 GB, that really wouldn't be enough. You should upgrade to at least 3 or 4 GB. Luckily, RAM is one of the few parts of laptops that actually can be upgraded.
As for system RAM -- that's a different story. Are you running Windows XP or Vista/7? If it's XP, then 1.9 GB of RAM should be fine. If it's Vista or 7, then you do need to upgrade the RAM. Such a small amount is hardly enough to run Vista or 7 alone; if you try running games on it, your computer will choke and die (figuratively) trying to keep up. Even if you had 2 GB, that really wouldn't be enough. You should upgrade to at least 3 or 4 GB. Luckily, RAM is one of the few parts of laptops that actually can be upgraded.
Modifié par SSV Enterprise, 24 décembre 2010 - 04:52 .
#4
Posté 16 janvier 2011 - 08:58
hizuna
-
- Members
- 2 messages
Hi, I wanted to just reply here instead of starting a new thread. I am looking at a new laptop build myself with
6 gb ram
i7 1.6
mobility radeon 5650
Would it play Mass Effect 1 well on high settings?
6 gb ram
i7 1.6
mobility radeon 5650
Would it play Mass Effect 1 well on high settings?
#5
Posté 16 janvier 2011 - 09:13
Gorath Alpha
-
- Members
- 10 605 messages
Yes, it will, at least for the most part (call it a mix of one third medium, and two thirds high), as long as the screen resolution isn't also "high", and you aren't also seeking a steady 50-60 FPS. It is a Mainline graphics card, after all, so to max out the settings requires a High End card.
