26 réponses à ce sujet

[Erika T]

I am about to buy a laptop and I need something DA and DA2 runs perfectly on.  We all know about alienware m17, and I WILL get it when I win the lottery, but in the mean time, what should a complete technophobe get?  I have no idea what is the difference between intel i3 or duo core processors and which i number would be good enough to run DA on.  Also confused about the GhZ - the numbers are too confusing.  Could someone please tell me in a really simple language (as if explaining to a 8 year old) what specs do I need to run DA smoothly and prettily, without breaking the bank? 

In short, I am looking for a LAPTOP computer on which DA runs perfectly.  Do not need gazillions of hard drisk space or anything fancy.  Do I need a gaming computer, or can a spec1d up normal computer work? 

Any help would be most appreciated. 

Thanks:blush:

[Gorath Alpha]

Personally, I always recommend getting a budget Notebook PC that isn't going to be used for games, and with the money saved, buy a used desktop a couple of years old, and upgrade that as the game box. People are so anxious to have Mobile computing systems that they are selling perfectly good desktops to do so.

The problem with trying to make a special order laptop into a gaming machine is always HEAT. It takes more fan power and more heat sink metal (weight and noise) to play games for long sessions, than the ordinary laptop ever has, and a "cooling tray" cannot fully make up for the omissions.

[Moondoggie]

Laptops are rarely made with gaming in mind and when they are they can be insanely expensive. With said money you can buy some serious hardware and build a gaming desktop with lastability that can tackle the latest games. Why pay through the nose for something that just about manages games when you can buy something that pwns any games graphics you can throw at it.



I'd take Goraths advice don't get hooked into this "gaming laptop" crap if you are serious about PC gaming look into building an affordable rig. If you know what to buy and where to look you can get something good for little money. And still have enough for a simple laptop to do work and stuff when on the move.

[Erika T]

I appreciate what you guys say and I really would prefer a desktop (right now I am playing on my sisters desktop and its running fabulously) but for reasons that are long and boring to explain, I cannot - it has to be a laptop for me . I have an old (3 yrs) laptop on which DA just about runs but not very enjoyable - hence my decision to get a new one to play DA on and also to wait for DA2.



any ideas about the optimum configuration? I was thinking about a dell build, but every time I try to get anything strong, they move onto their uber expensive alienware stuff.

[Gorath Alpha]

Not Dell, not HP, not Sony; of the "good" brands, Toshiba is quite good (Sager, IMO, is absolutely the best), and if you want to gamble, Acer and Asus both equip laptops with fairly good cooling and fairly good graphics, although Acer's quality leaves something to be desired, and Asus tends to load their down with tons of Asus software that give mosr games indigestion.

Here is an $800 Toshiba with an HD 5650 graphics card: www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx

But if you are addicted to Geforces, you have the chance to pay $1100 more for a Toshiba with a GTX 460 in it:

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx

Avoid Alienware, it really isn't worth the price they are asking for them.

Modifié par Gorath Alpha, 27 décembre 2010 - 10:07 .

[Erika T]

Thanks Gorath. so what graphics card and processor should I get then? I am confused by the intel i-numbers. I asked dell support and they said for this I need i7 but of course they would say that as its the most expensive...



Ive never heard of Sager.

[Gorath Alpha]

You probably cannot afford one, unless you're a lot better off than I am these days (fixed income).

http://www.sagernotebook.com/

I added a couple of Toshiba notebooks at Newegg to my last answer. One is really overpriced (IMO, for a Mobile device), with a Geforce, while a perfectly good Radeon equipped system costs half as much. For gaming purposes, two cores are just fine, and six or eight are total overkill.

At the end of January, now (almost three weeks behind the vaguely announced release date previously mentioned), the AMD Fusion APU-powered Mobile devices will be available, adding decent graphics (compared to Intel's) at the same cost as a system with no dedicated video, or for a very nominal added cost, upping the graphics several notches into the gaming class (budget-cost, but good, like an HD 5570 Radeon card).  

Gorath

Modifié par Gorath Alpha, 27 décembre 2010 - 10:18 .

[Erika T]

Wow thanks, digging into this now. you think the first toshiba is good for DA? at 800 its really a good price, I was thinking about spending maximum L800 (thats supposed to be the pound sign), but preferably under L600....



what does it mean - two cores / six / eight - sorry if I seem dumb but I just dont know much about computers really. Ive spent my evening googling it all but ended up all the more confused.



so alienware is not good then?

[Erika T]

newegg dont deliver to the uk

[Gorath Alpha]

Once upon a time, it was a separate "Boutique" seller, with reasonably good quality and very high prices. Today, the high prices are still there, but the quality is the same as any other Dell, so the value is poor (and wasn't truly "great" before Dell bought them out).

Beginning about six years ago, AMD began selling two CPU cores in the same package, at a time when they were already leading Intel in almost every area other than the amount of waste heat that the old P4s threw out. It's taken until now before most software puts both cores to work.

Four years ago, the Core Two Duo was the first Intel CPU in many years to actually beat AMD in performance, and did so by a wide margin, with two CPU cores in the package. AMD has matched Intel, and done so at a lower cost, but hasn't been able to stomp on them the way they used to do.

Both CPU companies sell four and six-cored processors that have tons of potential, and both will soon have eight-cored processors,

Games have been slow to use two cores, and right now, IMO, more cores than two add some complications for some games that I don't want to deal with myself. For all practical purposes, for all of the ordinary things, other than game-playing, that people use computer quality hardware for, we've been beyond the overkill level for the past 8-10 years (as can be seen with the little "Netbook" PCs that only have the kind of power that PCs used to have that long ago, and the little things are very popular).

[Gorath Alpha]

Erika T wrote...

newegg doESnt deliver to the uk :

America, Canada, China, right.  At one time, there were a couple of UK gamers who were more familiar with the sellers in Old Blighty than I am, and they showed up fairly regularly, but I haven't seen any of about three or four of them, unless they changed Avatar names since I ran across them last.  I think that "Flem 1" formerly kept track of some online sellers there, but he is relatvely inactive any more. 

You can look in on his Social Group and ask, though: 

http://social.bioware.com/group/151/

(No guarantee that Flem is still around, however.)

P. S.  I wasn't paying a lot of attention a bit ago, when I looked up
the first, high-dollar Toshiba laptop with a geforce 460, and saw that
ridiculous $1900 price.  Below it was another, for $1300:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16834214051

(In case there are kibitzers following the developments.)

Modifié par Gorath Alpha, 28 décembre 2010 - 12:24 .

[Moondoggie]

I may be of assistance being English blooded myself ^^



http://www.palicomp.co.uk/ is my reccomendation to look at lots of choice in customisation and competative prices.

[Erika T]

thanks thanks everyone for the answers - i will have a good look around.



Can I just what i-processor you guys thing DA will run well? is i3 enough or should I go for i5 or even i7?



Gorath, I just read your comment about 5 times and still only understand one third of it - I am such a dumb redhead )))

[Moondoggie]

A decent i3 would probably be fine though if you can get a good price on an i5 theres no reason not to go for that. Have a look around for the best priice offering value for power you dont want to pay too much for too little when you can get a much more powerful CPU for like £10 more if you look for it.



Stay away from the i7 you won't need one they are overpriced and overpowered with way more than any game will ever need. They are very expensive and a mainly reserved for those in the media industry using heavy duty editing and effects software. People who don't know enough about computers and just buy the most expensive components they can find. And also for people who need to compensate for a small penis XD

[Erika T]

Moondoggie wrote...

A decent i3 would probably be fine though if you can get a good price on an i5 theres no reason not to go for that. Have a look around for the best priice offering value for power you dont want to pay too much for too little when you can get a much more powerful CPU for like £10 more if you look for it.

Stay away from the i7 you won't need one they are overpriced and overpowered with way more than any game will ever need. They are very expensive and a mainly reserved for those in the media industry using heavy duty editing and effects software. People who don't know enough about computers and just buy the most expensive components they can find. And also for people who need to compensate for a small penis XD

an incredibly useful reply, thank you (especially the "you wont need an i7" part).  so if i3 works well and i5 is definitely good then i have a few options within my price range.  

lol @last comment. 

[Moondoggie]

Erika T wrote...

Moondoggie wrote...

A decent i3 would probably be fine though if you can get a good price on an i5 theres no reason not to go for that. Have a look around for the best priice offering value for power you dont want to pay too much for too little when you can get a much more powerful CPU for like £10 more if you look for it.

Stay away from the i7 you won't need one they are overpriced and overpowered with way more than any game will ever need. They are very expensive and a mainly reserved for those in the media industry using heavy duty editing and effects software. People who don't know enough about computers and just buy the most expensive components they can find. And also for people who need to compensate for a small penis XD

an incredibly useful reply, thank you (especially the "you wont need an i7" part).  so if i3 works well and i5 is definitely good then i have a few options within my price range.  

lol @last comment. 

Be sure to look at the AMD range as well they do some great CPU's at competative "bang for buck" prices compared to Intel you may find a better deal .


I should also stress that the Graphics card is vitally important to consider especially when buying a laptop to play games on DO NOT buy anything with an "intel intergrated graphics chip" or something along those lines they are not made for games.

Modifié par Moondoggie, 28 décembre 2010 - 05:28 .

[EnchantedEyes1]

I hope you don't mind me chiming in but I'm also in the market for a laptop right now and trying to research the best options. I have a question about the graphics cards, I've been reading that ATI is the best and that NVidia is ok - are they really that far apart in performance and power consumption?

[Erika T]

@moondoggie - whats wrong with the intel integrated graphics chip? will keep in mind not to get that.



@enchantedEyes - bioware recommends nvidia, dont they? on the faq page.

[Gorath Alpha]

EnchantedEyes1 wrote...

I hope you don't mind me chiming in but I'm also in the market for a laptop right now and trying to research the best options. I have a question about the graphics cards, I've been reading that ATI is the best and that NVidia is ok - are they really that far apart in performance and power consumption?

Neither of them is "best" at everything.  Relatively frequently, nVIDIA is fastest, as well as the very most expensive.  At a majority of price to performance points, AMD Radeons win the Bang for the Buck honors.  At every point, they use less elctricity, and generate less waste heat, so they are environmentally more conscientious.  On a monthly basis, Toms hardware has a new edition of their "Bang for the Buck" award lists.  Visit there often.

Only AMD and nVIDIA actually *care* about games and game players.  Intel does not, not at all.  Their junk is terrible for trying to game with. 

[Moondoggie]

EnchantedEyes1 wrote...

I hope you don't mind me chiming in but I'm also in the market for a laptop right now and trying to research the best options. I have a question about the graphics cards, I've been reading that ATI is the best and that NVidia is ok - are they really that far apart in performance and power consumption?

That far apart? Depends on the cards being compared both have cards for every sector of the market. You could go into small details of which is best at what but its an argument nobody really wins you can choose either as long as you are chosing the right card for the job the manufacturer does not matter. If you are looking for value for money go with ATI if you want pound for pound more power go with Nvidia.

[Moondoggie]

Erika T wrote...

@moondoggie - whats wrong with the intel integrated graphics chip? will keep in mind not to get that.

@enchantedEyes - bioware recommends nvidia, dont they? on the faq page.

To put it simply it's not made with gaming in mind. It's fine if you just want a laptop to do your work on use the internet and watch DVD's but it won't handle games. You can read the achives of the forum with folks getting all upset because they can't play for proof of that.

[EnchantedEyes1]

Thanks folks, you have given me more to think about. I'm looking at your previously suggested models and trying to balance cost and performance. I haven't ever bought a PC with its main purpose being gaming so this is a bit overwhelming at times.

[Erika T]

Thanks for all your help, I have yesterday bought my new laptop, woo hoo.



I didnt go for alienware because its sooo chunky and everyone here said its just the name I pay for. I went for a rather unconventional choice - an acer laptop. I know its not top brand, but I really really liked the look of it (Im a girl, cars and laptops need to look pretty), and its got i7 in there, also the best on the market NVIDIA card, 8 RAM! and it was half the price of alienware.



I installed DAO on it yesterday, and gosh, it looks and runs beautiful. The graphics!! I am running it on the highest setting on everything and its beaaaaoouuutiful, I am now watching all dialogues without skipping because I just enjoy looking at them!! woo hoo hoo.... and it runs fast, it loads fast, its fantastic! am such a happy person here



Thank you thank you thank you all for your help, I couldnt have done it without you guys

[Moondoggie]

I'm glad you got a good deal. Alienware is really overpriced anyone who builds computers can tell you that. Lot's of newbies make the mistake of paying through the nose for that stuff and they really don't need to.



Hope you enjoy the new laptop and happy gaming!

[Erika T]

Thanks Moondoggie.. working perfectly so far.. woo hoo..

I might buy fallout 3 and mass effect now that i am at it. Is mass effect as good as DAO<?