Gaming Not sure what notebook to get

[jrk190]

Okay, as the owner of an inspiron mini, I'm not going to reccomend any netbook, especially mine. They are slow, and many applications dont work on it. I'd reccomend getting a tablet instead. if you get a notebook, get one with a hirgh resolution, and a LOT of RAM.

 

[Originality]

@Raven, AMD actually have 2 directions they're taking. The first is switchable graphics, which their drivers don't fully support but their method causes less problems than nVidia's Optimus. They've been trying that for a while now (because whatever nVidia do they must do something similar). The second is APUs, but that's aimed at the lower end of the market. APUs are like Intel's graphics core integrated into the CPU. It's good enough to do all office and basic media applications, but not quite strong enough for modern gaming. It's a tier higher than Intel HD 3000, but a tier lower than the 540M, which means it can play the games, but can't get the high framerates gamers want.

EDIT: And @jrk190, the aim is to play Skyrim. Name a tablet that can play Skyrim. Tablets can handle emulation and photoshop just fine, but not Skyrim.

 

[the_randomizer]

And that's why I want to avoid Optimus at all costs...if I can. Until either nVidia fixes Optimus to where it can ACTUALLY switch properly, or until Hell freezes over, I'm leaning towards ATI/AMD at the moment. I want a notebook to play games/emulators, not just for basic internet surfing (already got a free Chromebook from Google last year, so...) So, there you have it. While I don't want a super high-end GPU, I just need one that, once it stays on the discrete GPU, it actually STAYS on that side of the GPU . That's my goal, that's what I'm trying to figure out and why I'm reading the feedback.

 

[junkerde]

macbook pro.

 

[the_randomizer]

macbook pro.

NO

I posted this thread to get a Laptop that has Windows on it, as stated in the first post (or at least on the first page).

(Begin anti-Apple rant in five, four, three, two, one...)

I have my reasons for not wanting to ever get an Apple product as I long as I live. First and foremost, the price. I can't, nor am I ever willing to pay $1000+ for the exact hardware I can get just as easily in a laptop that costs $600 to $800. My budget cannot exceed $800 as I have stated before. Second, I refuse to use MacOS. I don't care if it's "more stable" than Windows or if it "has less viruses" than Windows, that's not the relevant factor. Sure, it's a Unix-based OS, and I've used Ubuntu (also Unix-based) before, so I shouldn't have that big of an issue navigating. The thing that prevents me from wanting to use it is compatibility; I can't use half the programs I use on Windows on MacOS. And no, it's asinine and trivial to buy a Macbook Pro just to install Windows on it, that defeats the purpose of getting one in the first place. You don't buy Macs or Macbook Pros to install Windows on it. You buy Macs to use MacOS. Period. Third, the HDMI port, Apple made three or so adapters that hook up to their jacked-up sh***y version of HDMI where every other manufacturer uses a real HDMI port. (*End rant*)

Now that I got that out of the way, I will do more research on laptops, compare CPUs, GPU, RAM, etc and see what I can conclude. I'm not trying to tear anyone to shreds or sh** on someone suggestions. I hate Apple. Always have, always well. It will be a cold day in Hell before someone convinces me otherwise.

But getting back to what was said a few posts ago, which do you guys personally think is a better way to go, ATI/AMD or nVidia? Keep in mind that, with the latter choice, I will potentially go through Hell dealing with Optimus' unreliability.

 

[YayMii]

Okay, just wanted to clear some things up.
1. AMD has a similar thing to Optimus.
2. The Intel HD3000 isn't actually that bad. Sure, it doesn't meet your needs, but it should run at Medium at playable framerates (My MBA has the ULV version of the HD3000, which is somewhat worse than what you get on regular laptops, and it still plays at 25± FPS. People are reporting 30+ on regular HD3000s though). Also, it runs Modern Warfare 2 at full settings (minus antialiasing) at 60FPS, which is pretty awesome.
3. Apparently Nvidia changed how Optimus works recently, and now you have to specifically add Optimus programs to a list to make it activate (before it would activate whenever a DirectX program opens). I guess people didn't realize this and are now complaining that their favorite programs (which aren't on the list) aren't switching after the latest driver update. Also, there are tools to confirm if Optimus is working properly (such as this one), just in case you get an Optimus laptop and want to be completely sure it's working properly.
4. The Macbook Pro is not what you want. Macbook Pro is for the Apple fanboys and the kind of people who use computers professionally (e.g. they make and/or edit photos/videos as a job). It's way overpriced for use as a gaming computer.

EDIT: BTW, the Mini DisplayPort that Apple's using is NOT an Apple technology. In fact, the latest GPUs use that port (and, of course, they come with adapters). The Thunderbolt Port (in the latest Apple computers and is the same shape as the miniDP) is also not made by Apple, it's simply an Intel technology (which is 2x faster than USB3.0, mind you) that is currently exclusive to Apple (and coming to PCs in 2012). Also, the price is not just the operating system, it's the eco-friendliness, the metal chassis, the glass screen and trackpad, etc. It simply costs more to manufacture the parts the way Apple wants them manufactured, that's all. You could call it "Apple tax" if you wanted to.

 

[the_randomizer]

Okay, just wanted to clear some things up.
1. AMD has a similar thing to Optimus.
2. The Intel HD3000 isn't actually that bad. Sure, it doesn't meet your needs, but it should run at Medium at playable framerates (My MBA has the ULV version of the HD3000, which is somewhat worse than what you get on regular laptops, and it still plays at 25± FPS. People are reporting 30+ on regular HD3000s though). Also, it runs Modern Warfare 2 at full settings (minus antialiasing) at 60FPS, which is pretty awesome.
3. Apparently Nvidia changed how Optimus works recently, and now you have to specifically add Optimus programs to a list to make it activate (before it would activate whenever a DirectX program opens). I guess people didn't realize this and are now complaining that their favorite programs (which aren't on the list) aren't switching after the latest driver update. Also, there are tools to confirm if Optimus is working properly (such as this one), just in case you get an Optimus laptop and want to be completely sure it's working properly.
4. The Macbook Pro is not what you want. Macbook Pro is for the Apple fanboys and the kind of people who use computers professionally (e.g. they make and/or edit photos/videos as a job). It's way overpriced for use as a gaming computer.

Thanks for clarifying that, glad to see nVidia getting their act together. Guess I don't have to be so freaked out about it anymore. Would the HD 3000 be powerful enough to run emulators (fifth-gen) without getting pesky shader initialization errors older IGPs were plagued with?

 

[Joe88]

the intel hd is pretty horrible, even the lowest end amd/nivida igp will beat the highest intel gma

 

[YayMii]

The HD3000 is much, MUCH better than previous IGPs. From what I've read, it performs similar to an Nvidia 320M as long as you're not doing anything that requires more VRAM (such as antialiasing). It should be capable of running even Dolphin at fullspeed (although I'm having issues with my external DVD drive at the moment, so I can't test it for you).

And yeah, I did further research, and it seems you can force Optimus to run any program with the Nvidia card. The setting is just somewhat hard to get to (there's a few YouTube videos that show how to get to it), which explains why people were complaining.

EDIT: As seen above, there are tons of people who stereotype Intel IGPs as "crap". It's not bad, it's just not very suitable for gaming. The reason it's capable of Dolphin is because emulators are mostly CPU-intensive and don't require the best GPU to play.

 

[kevan]

I got an AMD 6770M and it switches to the Intel one as long as certain programs are closed.
Although it is a bit dodgy that if I close Internet explorer then try to switch it won't let me until I manually find the process 'iexplore.exe' and terminate that.

 

[the_randomizer]

Wow. I'm liking this information more and more!

Update: So I'm looking at Newegg, and notice that some laptops w/nVidia GPUs have the name "Optimus" next to them, while other laptops w/GPUs don't. Am I to assume that all have Optimus, regardless if it's specified or not?

 

[YayMii]

Not really. Most i7 laptops don't have an HD3000 built in, so it's usually specified whether it has Optimus or not.

 

[Deleted User]

The 520M/540M/550/555M are the low-mid range nVidia notebooks that tend to support Optimus more often than not. In order to run Skyrim, you'd want a good combination of hardware preferably in the 540M, but more likely for performance reasons; the 550/555M

 

[the_randomizer]

The one I'm confused about is this one here...I'm looking at it, but don't see "Optimus" anywhere, and this has a 520M http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246214
But as far as what I'm looking for in a GPU, as long as it can support the programs/games I run well (~60fps), I'm fine.

 

[YayMii]

The one I'm confused about is this one here...I'm looking at it, but don't see "Optimus" anywhere, and this has a 520M http://www.newegg.co...N82E16834246214
But as far as what I'm looking for in a GPU, as long as it can support the programs/games I run well (~60fps), I'm fine.

That's quite odd. I looked up that laptop, and reports are saying that this laptop doesn't have Optimus, but rather a physical switch on the front of the laptop to toggle between the 520M and the HD3000.
Also, with that laptop I'm estimating you'll get 40-ish FPS on Skyrim with Medium settings. Perfectly playable, but not the smoothest experience.

 

[junkerde]

macbook pro.

NO

I posted this thread to get a Laptop that has Windows on it, as stated in the first post (or at least on the first page).

(Begin anti-Apple rant in five, four, three, two, one...)

I have my reasons for not wanting to ever get an Apple product as I long as I live. First and foremost, the price. I can't, nor am I ever willing to pay $1000+ for the exact hardware I can get just as easily in a laptop that costs $600 to $800. My budget cannot exceed $800 as I have stated before. Second, I refuse to use MacOS. I don't care if it's "more stable" than Windows or if it "has less viruses" than Windows, that's not the relevant factor. Sure, it's a Unix-based OS, and I've used Ubuntu (also Unix-based) before, so I shouldn't have that big of an issue navigating. The thing that prevents me from wanting to use it is compatibility; I can't use half the programs I use on Windows on MacOS. And no, it's asinine and trivial to buy a Macbook Pro just to install Windows on it, that defeats the purpose of getting one in the first place. You don't buy Macs or Macbook Pros to install Windows on it. You buy Macs to use MacOS. Period. Third, the HDMI port, Apple made three or so adapters that hook up to their jacked-up sh***y version of HDMI where every other manufacturer uses a real HDMI port. (*End rant*)

Now that I got that out of the way, I will do more research on laptops, compare CPUs, GPU, RAM, etc and see what I can conclude. I'm not trying to tear anyone to shreds or sh** on someone suggestions. I hate Apple. Always have, always well. It will be a cold day in Hell before someone convinces me otherwise.

But getting back to what was said a few posts ago, which do you guys personally think is a better way to go, ATI/AMD or nVidia? Keep in mind that, with the latter choice, I will potentially go through Hell dealing with Optimus' unreliability.

calm down there son, heres a twix.

 

[the_randomizer]

Told you I'd go on a rant, but I kept it under control (more or less). I hate Apple and Macs altogether. There, I said it. If they were half the price they were sold at, I wouldn't hate them.

 

[YayMii]

It seems that I keep editing things into my posts after you read them. Here's something I posted related to the whole Mac-hate thing.

EDIT: BTW, the Mini DisplayPort that Apple's using is NOT an Apple technology. In fact, the latest GPUs use that port (and, of course, they come with adapters). The Thunderbolt Port (in the latest Apple computers and is the same shape as the miniDP) is also not made by Apple, it's simply an Intel technology (which is 2x faster than USB3.0, mind you) that is currently exclusive to Apple (and coming to PCs in 2012). Also, the price is not just the operating system, it's the eco-friendliness, the metal chassis, the glass screen and trackpad, etc. It simply costs more to manufacture the parts the way Apple wants them manufactured, that's all. You could call it "Apple tax" if you wanted to.

And keep in mind that I'm not trying to convince you to switch. I'm just here to give you facts, that's all.