Do I need a new CPU or Graphics Card?

[Chriskinder]

Hello, i was wonder which of the 2 i needed. I love playing PC games such as WoW, Guild Wars, DMC, Skyrim, etc. and i was wondering which of the 2 would be better. I'm not super smart with computers but i know more than most people do. I can run Devil May Cry (the reboot) at ultra Graphics but i cant even run Skyrim at low settings without slight lag. Please help me, anything will help.

My Specs:

CPU:Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2450M CPU @ 2.50GHz
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 7450M
RAM: 6.00 GB

 

[bigshootr8]

I'm a little confused are you using a laptop because I see a mobile processor there?

 

[Chriskinder]

Yes, i am using a laptop. My bad. A Dell Inspiron 15r N5110

 

[jthill909]

Yes, i am using a laptop. My bad. A Dell Inspiron 15r N5110

Then you won't be able to upgrade anything. The hardware in a laptop, for the most part, is hardwired onto the motherboard making upgrades impossible. The only upgrades you really can make on a laptop is installing more ram or replacing the hard drive with an ssd which won't really affect gaming performance anyways.

 

[dgriffs]

You could probably use an upgrade for both the cpu and gpu. Unfortunately most components cannot be changed on laptops and when it is possible, its more difficult than swapping desktop parts.

 

[darkmendez]

Neither, just needed more RAM.....due to the fact that your video card sharing the RAM(System Memory). If u r gaming, try to change your video settings.

 

[Chriskinder]

okay, thank u guys soo much!! i was not aware that laptops were like that, this is why i ask you guys, thank u very much!!! maybe ill just build my own laptop next time i get one! hahaha

 

[bigshootr8]

That would be quite the feat sir building a laptop takes a lot of tinkering to get that to work. But yes as others have said you are very limited as to what you can do. I know that there are ways of using thunderbolt to drive a graphics card however that would put you down quite a bit a money.

 

[darkmendez]

Read carefully: Go to the AMD website and update your video card drivers. Next, after the driver is downloaded.....right-click on the screen and look for "AMD Catalyst manager". In the Settings...change Anisotropic filtering to 16x and Antialasting to application-controlled, vertical sync to "ON" and push the noise effect to the max. This will improved your gaming performance.

 

[Chriskinder]

by build i mean customize an existing one like how aleinware allows you to

 

[bigshootr8]

Some prefer a mobile experience I would do some research on graphic chips with the laptop series of things because what alienware may offer may not be as strong as a company that builds laptops your digital storms, and orgin pcs.

 

[darkmendez]

Myth#5....laptops are not meant for gaming. Any laptop that uses: 2 to 4 core processor, 6GB+ for RAM, 500 GB+ for hard drive, and has a 14 to 22-inch monitor viewing screen is a gaming laptop. The quickest way to find out if it is a gaming laptop is the price... 600 to 2000 dollars.....beyond that is too much. Intel: i3, i5 and i7 AMD: Phenom I and II, FX-4000s to FX-8000s.

 

[bigshootr8]

I believe they can be used for gaming however you would need to shell out a little bit more to get what you could get on a desktop its all a matter of preference.

 

[darkmendez]

Myth#3......you can't upgrade a laptop. The hard drive, RAM and CPU(must be upgraded by a PC Tech) is upgradeable.

 

[djangoringo]

The thing is for a laptop to get a decent performance in 1080p, it must have the top card, the 680m, and even with that it's still not good for some games at maximum settings, it needs two 680m for it, and when you see the price it's more than 2000$ for it.
A single 680m doesn't even compare with a 660 gtx desktop.
Two 680m is more or less a peformance of a 660 ti desktop when the game has sli support for the two mobile cards.
A laptop isn't a good idea for gaming, unless you want it for lans.

 

[bigshootr8]

True enough and if you have a deep enough pocket book to put out.

 

[darkmendez]

It doesn't take beyond $2000 to get good performance off of a gaming laptop....Beyond $600 get you better gaming.

 

[bigshootr8]

Well if you get a laptop with a a10 processor I would agree with you but if you are after bleeding edge gaming then yes you would need 2k

 

[bigshootr8]

Doesn't mean they are not for gaming just means getting one for gaming requires a deep pocket to be where we are on the desktop side of things.

 

[djangoringo]

Yes, some laptop can run any game at high settings at 1080p, with two 680m it's possible to do it, but it's going to cost a lot.
For 720p there's more laptops out there that can run any game with decent amount of fps and settings.
For lans, it's a good option.