Thin and light gaming

[sailorjohn]

Hey yall,

I think Ive decided on the Lenovo U400, but maybe some geek wizardry could sway me...

Im in the Navy, so storage and space are tight, to say the least. I want a laptop, primarily for movies/websurfing/skyping, but I want to be able to play games as well. I had looked at Ultrabooks, but being limited to 4gb of Ram seems to be unacceptable. From what I understand, the Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics can handle most games at medium settings....but with 4gb of memory?

So here is what I want. 14" or smaller display. 6GB or more memory. 1600x900 res. HDMI out. SSD drive, 128 is big enough for me. Bluetooth/wireless capable. Enough muscle to run Skyrim at 30-40fps on medium settings.

Thanks fer looking!

 

[WR2]

From what I understand, the Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics can handle most games at medium settings....but with 4gb of memory?

So here is what I want. 14" or smaller display. 6GB or more memory. 1600x900 res. HDMI out. SSD drive, 128 is big enough for me. Bluetooth/wireless capable. Enough muscle to run Skyrim at 30-40fps on medium settings.

Hello SJ;
Intel HD 3000 graphics = most games at medium? Ahhhhhhh - not so much. And certainly not on a 1600x900 pixel display. Higher resolutions need more GPU muscle.

Skryim? Won't run acceptably even on low settings, low resolution.

To get an idea what you're looking at:
Intel HD Graphics 3000 review

Got a plan B?
Or a working budget?

 

[WR2]

And how soon will you need to pick up your new notebook?

 

[maxinexus]

I don't think that they make 14" displays laptops with powerful graphics

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214604

This is the least expensive laptop that is capable of running games at mid/high settings...you don't want to play games in low

 

[sailorjohn]

Im not so much on a budget, just don't like paying $600 extra to have the latest generation.

This looks promising, though lacking the SSD...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246323

And I need ti relatively soon, not going to sea again without some form of entertainment.

 

[WR2]

It's just about the same as the HD 3000 Graphics result (HD 5450M / Geforce 410M equivelent).
So the HD 6470 is just a very minor upgrade. Still no Skyrim on Low.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Benchmarks

 

[WR2]

To me - it looks like you'll need a Geforce GT 555M / GT 635M or Radeon HD 6770 / HD 7690M laptop graphics card to get medium graphics on 1366x768 resolution.
(remember that's average FPS you're seeing)

 

[maxinexus]

SSD will only help with booting and loading games. It is not going to help with FPS in games...but OS will run snappier which is really nice ... It would be cheaper to get SSD from newegg and reinstall the entire OS system than to get it from manufacturer...the only draw back is that there is no OS disk it is all preinstalled partition not sure if you can copy that to your SSD..maybe another thread

 

[WR2]

Something that should run Skyrim on low in a slim 14" frame
MSI X460DX 14" Notebook $850
Core i5 2450M(2.50GHz) 6GB RAM, 500GB 7200rpm HDD, 14" 1366x768 LCD w/ NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M
(GT 630M is a renamed GT 540M)

 

[WR2]

An Ultrabook with a respectable GPU:
Acer Aspire M3 ultrabook has Nvidia GT 640M Kepler GPU, plays 'Battlefield 3' on ultra detail

Another news article on GT 640M performance.
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Mobile...rce GT 640M Review: Kepler Arrives For Mobile

(or course you know this stuff is going to go on sale the day after you sail)

 

[sailorjohn]

Good stuff,

What about the Sony VIAO S series?

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-VPCSA4FGX-BI-DVD-Writer-Professional/dp/B006YTEYMG

Seems like it has the muscle...

The other options are a custom X460 MSI and the Alienware M11...

The MSI seems a bit large for watching movies in my tiny rack though.

Something must be wrong with the S series...according to just the components, it should run Skyrim at medium...with at least 30fps...what am I missing?

 

[WR2]

MSI: 4.3 lbs. 13.35" x 9.43" x 1"
Sony: 3.65 lbs. 13.04" x 8.84" x 0.92"-1.27" and an extra $500+. Does have 1600x900 resolution though.

 

[WR2]

it should run Skyrim at medium...with at least 30fps...what am I missing?

Probably tested @ 1366x768 resolution.
Expect less at 1600x900. There is a chance the faster CPU might lift it back up above 30FPS, but I cant say for certain.

 

[sailorjohn]

Great point on the sizes. So, its between X460DX and Asus U31SG

MSI-
2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) (SKU – X2N170)
nVidia GT 630M 2048MB PCI-Express DDR3 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology
8GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1866MHz CL11 Dual Channel Memory (2x4GB SODIMMS)


ASUS-
2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-2410M, 2.3-2.9GHz, (32nm, 3MB L3 cache)
nVidia 610M 1024MB PCI-Express DDR3 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology
8GB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2x4GB SODIMMS)


So, ASUS is smaller and cheaper, MSI seems to have more 'umph'. Whats the consensus?

Also, which of these do I want?

Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card + Bluetooth (SKU - X8R002)
Intel® Advanced-N 6230 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module + Bluetooth (SKU - X8R105) ( + 30 )
Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1102 (2x2) (SKU - X8R051) ( + 40 )

 

[WR2]

That Nvidia 610 GPU is OK for home entertainment stuff and very light games. It's just pretty far behind the GT 630M for gaming.

Intel WiFi/Bluetooth would be my suggestion for an upgrade but the standard WiFi Bluetooth is OK too.

X460DX suppose WiDi (Wireless Display). With a HDMI dongle for TV the notebook can broadcast directly to the TV. That might be handy for your situation.

Wireless Display - WiDi

 

[Dickstar]

Thin and light and gaming simply don't mix. It's one or the other.

That said, check this one out, you can also customize yours:

http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-m14x/pd.aspx

It's not about the amount of RAM if it comes to gaming. 3-4GB is all you need for pretty much anything and most laptops have that these days. You need a fast CPU and GPU for gaming.

 

[hella-d]

4GB Is Plenty For Games