Question about Quad cores.

[Ajidica]

My laptop has an Intel graphics chip and it is horrible. Lenovo G770.

I have an Intel chip on my laptop (Lenovo T420). IIRC the chip is an Intel 3000 HD. While it is by no means a powerhouse chip, I have been pleasently surprised by it. It handled Deus Ex Human Revolution just fine, same with Fallout: New Vegas and XCOM. If I did some fiddling and installed the low-res texture pack I could probably push 20 fps in Skyrim.

Integrated graphics cards are for the most part pretty iffy but they have been improving lately.

 

[Synobun]

I have an Intel chip on my laptop (Lenovo T420). IIRC the chip is an Intel 3000 HD. While it is by no means a powerhouse chip, I have been pleasently surprised by it. It handled Deus Ex Human Revolution just fine, same with Fallout: New Vegas and XCOM. If I did some fiddling and installed the low-res texture pack I could probably push 20 fps in Skyrim.

Integrated graphics cards are for the most part pretty iffy but they have been improving lately.

I have the same chip and it can't run Fallout at all. Must be another component of the laptop that is falling short (i5-2430M 2.40ghz, for those that are interested) for me, then.

 

[warpus]

Well, I'm probably gonna buy this computer then.

Hmm, it comes with windows. I'm not entirely quite sure how things work these days, but could you get the same laptop, without windows, at a place like ncix.com or something similar? Might save you some money, but then you'd have to look after windows yourself.

I haven't bought a laptop in over a decade, but I remember my sister having issues - she didn't get windows install dics with her purchase, even though she paid for windows. That seemed to be the norm at places like bestbuy, future shop, etc... and is incredibly inconvenient - what if you want to reinstall windows?

Anyway, my advice might be out of date, and probably is.

 

[Synobun]

Hmm, it comes with windows. I'm not entirely quite sure how things work these days, but could you get the same laptop, without windows, at a place like ncix.com or something similar? Might save you some money, but then you'd have to look after windows yourself.

I haven't bought a laptop in over a decade, but I remember my sister having issues - she didn't get windows install dics with her purchase, even though she paid for windows. That seemed to be the norm at places like bestbuy, future shop, etc... and is incredibly inconvenient - what if you want to reinstall windows?

Anyway, my advice might be out of date, and probably is.

Yup, they don't come with the CDs. They told me if I never needed to reinstall the OS, I'd need to bring it in and they would "recover" it via the secondary partition. Not sure how feasible that is but I'm glad I still have my Windows 7 Ultimate CD from my previous obsolete/broken computer in case I ever need to redo this machine.

 

[warpus]

Yup, they don't come with the CDs. They told me if I never needed to reinstall the OS, I'd need to bring it in and they would "recover" it via the secondary partition. Not sure how feasible that is but I'm glad I still have my Windows 7 Ultimate CD from my previous obsolete/broken computer in case I ever need to redo this machine.

Yeah, and they probably charge for that, right?

I wouldn't buy a computer, pay for windows, and then not get a disc with windows on it. That just doesn't seem very wise.. but that's just me.

 

[Zelig]

You basically can't buy laptops without Windows. (You can probably find some netbooks with WinXP collecting Dust, which aren't worth using, or the Dell XPS Developer edition starts at over $1400)

Disc are obsolete anyway, none of my computers have optical drives. Microsoft offers ISO downloads for free, you can stick them on a USB key and boot using your legit key.

Windows 8 recovery options are much improved, it has a single-button reset to factory conditions feature.

 

[Luckymoose]

Well then, do you know any of their GPUs that are at least comparable to contemporary mid-low tier Ati/Nvidia cards?

If you're using an APU, you're doing it wrong.

 

[warpus]

You basically can't buy laptops without Windows. (You can probably find some netbooks with WinXP collecting Dust, which aren't worth using, or the Dell XPS Developer edition starts at over $1400)

Disc are obsolete anyway, none of my computers have optical drives. Microsoft offers ISO downloads for free, you can stick them on a USB key and boot using your legit key.

Windows 8 recovery options are much improved, it has a single-button reset to factory conditions feature.

That's good to hear. I seem to be a bit behind the times

 

[Ajidica]

I have the same chip and it can't run Fallout at all. Must be another component of the laptop that is falling short (i5-2430M 2.40ghz, for those that are interested) for me, then.

I did a quick check on your laptop and it appears it should be capable of running Fallout 3. It has the same processor and graphics card as mine with the addition of a dedicated graphics card that appears better than the Intel HD 3000. However, you do have to have the laptop switch to this card, so you might want to try that. Also, you really should make sure your drivers are up to date. One of my friends couldn't get Metro 2033 to work until he updated his drivers because the old drivers really did not like the PhysX program.

Also, Fallout 3 (Steam and possibly retail versions) has a rather annoying oversight by Bethesda where it won't recognize modern graphics drivers so you have to download a file to fix that (just do a search for 'Fallout 3 Steam d3d9.dll). You will also probably have to fiddle with the .ini file to, IIRC, disable multi-threading as the game engine doesn't really know how to handle multi threading.

 

[Synobun]

I did a quick check on your laptop and it appears it should be capable of running Fallout 3. It has the same processor and graphics card as mine with the addition of a dedicated graphics card that appears better than the Intel HD 3000. However, you do have to have the laptop switch to this card, so you might want to try that. Also, you really should make sure your drivers are up to date. One of my friends couldn't get Metro 2033 to work until he updated his drivers because the old drivers really did not like the PhysX program.

Also, Fallout 3 (Steam and possibly retail versions) has a rather annoying oversight by Bethesda where it won't recognize modern graphics drivers so you have to download a file to fix that (just do a search for 'Fallout 3 Steam d3d9.dll). You will also probably have to fiddle with the .ini file to, IIRC, disable multi-threading as the game engine doesn't really know how to handle multi threading.

I... don't have that dedicated card, nor do I have the i7. All I have is the Intel HD 3000 and the i5.

Specifics: My only display adapter is the Intel HD 3000 graphics, and my processor is the i5-2430M. The one you linked me has the Intel HD 3000, the AMD Radeon, and then an i7-2620M.

I sleuthed to find the laptop I specifically bought (and got reimbursed by Futureshop, though they didn't really give a large selection to choose from. Hint: This was the best I was being offered). Here. Yup, no AMD.

 

[Ajidica]

Well, that's unfortunate.

 

[Skwink]

Last thing, If I find the same model online on Wal-Mart.com as I find in-store, but the online price is cheaper, does anyone know if they'll honor the online price in-store?

 

[Glassfan]

Disc are obsolete anyway, none of my computers have optical drives. Microsoft offers ISO downloads for free, you can stick them on a USB key and boot using your legit key.

I've been reading more about that lately. It assumes permanent, universal wireless access by everybody everywhere. It also suggests in part, a reciprocal relationship between technological innovation and corporate profitability.

Anybody have an opinion on how stable/reliable the cloud actually is? Is it hackable? Cybersecure?

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Last thing, If I find the same model online on Wal-Mart.com as I find in-store, but the online price is cheaper, does anyone know if they'll honor the online price in-store?

Well they were doing this thing where they would match any coupon, so I would assume this applies to online walmart.com prices as well. Not sure if they are still doing the 'low price guarantee' thing or not.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Eh, a quad at 1.9 ain't great for gaming.

It's even inadequate for the current crop of Big Fish Games match-3.

I'm looking to buy a laptop in the next couple of months. It has to be able to handle Big Fish Games' Large File Hidden Object games and Civ 2 and 3. A numeric keyboard is essential.

A friend has also been trying to persuade me to try Second Life, and I've never had a computer capable of handling that, either.

Suggestions? I hope to buy from London Drugs, since the local store here has a fantastic repair department with people who know me and don't laugh at my novice questions.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

A budget would be helpful.

 

[Zelig]

I've been reading more about that lately. It assumes permanent, universal wireless access by everybody everywhere. It also suggests in part, a reciprocal relationship between technological innovation and corporate profitability.

Anybody have an opinion on how stable/reliable the cloud actually is? Is it hackable? Cybersecure?

Well, to be fair I have a single external USB optical drive, but there's no reason to put an optical drive in all of my computers.

Cloud is great for lots of stuff... it's kind of too huge a subject to really say much about unless you've got more specific questions.

It's even inadequate for the current crop of Big Fish Games match-3.

I'm looking to buy a laptop in the next couple of months. It has to be able to handle Big Fish Games' Large File Hidden Object games and Civ 2 and 3. A numeric keyboard is essential.

A friend has also been trying to persuade me to try Second Life, and I've never had a computer capable of handling that, either.

Suggestions? I hope to buy from London Drugs, since the local store here has a fantastic repair department with people who know me and don't laugh at my novice questions.

I'm not sure there are any laptops with numpads I'd recommend, they cramp up the rest of the keyboard too much.

If I was in a situation where I was going to be doing a lot of numeric entry with a laptop without an external keyboard, I'd get an external numpad specifically for that.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I have a gateway gaming laptop with a numpad that doesn't cramp the keyboard. It was expensive though, which is why I asked for a budget.

An external numpad is a great idea btw.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

A budget would be helpful.

Hopefully under $600 Canadian. However, I'm willing to go higher (maybe up to $750) for something that will last a good long while.

I'm not sure there are any laptops with numpads I'd recommend, they cramp up the rest of the keyboard too much.

My current keyboard has a numerical keypad, and I prefer that. I have small hands, so I can't have too big a keyboard (for regular typing and being able to reach the Ctrl, Alt, etc. keys). I only use the numpad for playing Civ.

I do have an external numerical keypad, but would prefer not to have to use one - I don't have a lot of tabletop space available, and it's one more thing for my cat to play with when I'm asleep. I do prefer to use a mouse with a laptop, btw.

 

[Ajidica]

Hopefully under $600 Canadian. However, I'm willing to go higher (maybe up to $750) for something that will last a good long while.

On that budget, I would reccomend looking for business class laptops that are being liquidated (ie: the company is upgrading its laptops). If you do some hunting you could probably find a 2-3 year old Lenovo thinkpad on that budget.

If at all possible, get a business class laptop. They tend to be made better and have matte screens (less glossy and reflective than gloss screens that most laptops haveO.