Laptop Struggling - Identify The Bottleneck?

Lepudds

Reputable
Jul 4, 2014
29
0
4,530
Hi everyone.

I recently bought a new laptop for academic work and light gaming, so had a dig around online and ended up with a Lenovo G505s, 4GB model which after research online pointed towards it being an 'okay' laptop for lightweight games. I do have a desktop for gaming, so please don't lecture me, this is not a dedicated gaming machine.

However, the laptop struggles to keep up with rather old games.
http:// Here is the link for specs.

Using Team Fortress 2, Endless Space and Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Runescape as an example.

TF2: Really can't play, the input is sluggish, I get stuttering and extremely low framerates, even on lowest settings, and setting power options to high performance.

CS:GO: Same problem as TF2. Menus often freeze up and loop audio.

Endless Space: No framerate issues, but slow to respond, and slight framerate drops when scrolling around the playable area. In-game menus are slow to load up and respond when clicking.

Runescape: Slow to load (not connection based, running fibre optics), bad FPS issues in game at low settings.

All of these games had to be tuned down from the default PC-defined settings, and still produce these issues running at low.

I close all applications while gaming, which leaves me running at ~68% RAM usage on average and outside of gaming, applications tend to load up quickly and are responsive.

Now, my issue is: Are my issues likely caused by lack of RAM, insufficient CPU or lack of dedicated GPU? Please help me identify the issues so I can upgrade, or replace my system accordingly so I don't make this mistake again.
 
You can upgrade the RAM from 4gb 1600mhz to 8gb 1866mhz, this should give you a fair boost in games. Use the crucial.com scanner for guaranteed RAM compatibility.

APU based machines really need 6gb+ of ram and they like ram speeds of at least 1866mhz - yet frequently APU laptops are sold with less than this to save money.
 

Lepudds

Reputable
Jul 4, 2014
29
0
4,530


Thanks for the prompt and constructive response. So to clarify, let's say I upgrade to 8GB, 1866mhz, then you think that there will be a noticeable increase in performance? I am aware that nothing drastic would change, but it would be nice for my games to be playable on this.

 


I'm glad you recognise it's not going to be like night and day - it's not suddenly going to be beating dedicated graphics in benchmarks or anything. The slight bump in ram speed would net you 1-5 FPS depending on game and the upgrade in available working memory (plus the fact that it would be in dual channel mode - correct me if I'm wrong but it's a single 4gb stick in there right now?) should also give a little bump. In a normal computer the difference between single & dual channel is minimal but it's more noticeable with an APU :)

Try the crucial scan and see what it says, you're looking for "PC3-14900" memory btw.
 


Hmm, I think you're right. I definitely saw on crucial's US site that it takes 1866mhz but if it says 1600mhz straight from the horses mouth then I gotta go with that. (crucial link http://images.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=1E7B5E0DA5CA7304). 1600 it is then.
 

Lepudds

Reputable
Jul 4, 2014
29
0
4,530


I would assume that it's 1x 4GB in there. I haven't checked. I'll update you once I get home from work. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but upgrading laptop CPUs at this point in time is a pretty no-go area, right? I'm not opposed to replacing my machine, as I won't have difficulty selling my current one, I just want to make sure the upgrade is justifiable first :)
 

Lepudds

Reputable
Jul 4, 2014
29
0
4,530
That's a good question. Since it's a factory set machine, I'd say no. I will check when I get home. Having said that, I have kept up with all updates and have had no prompts of that nature for graphic drivers or BIOS.
 

Lepudds

Reputable
Jul 4, 2014
29
0
4,530
That sorted it, LucoTF. It is running on a single stick of RAM, for further interest. Updating my graphics drivers, presumably past the generic factory ones, and updating the BIOS has sorted it out, and the games are running smoothly now. Thanks for your help and suggestions :)