8600M GS Issue

Just picked up a new HP dv9535nr with a 8600M GS.

NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS
Intel® Core(TM)2 Duo Mobile 1.5GHz
2GB DDR2 Ram
Windows Vista Home Premium

Running into Issues when trying to play older games such as FFXI, average in game fps is not even over 5, even when running the game at the lowest posible settings. When running newer games such as HL2 it runs perfect with no lag.

I have tried multiple drivers from http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/ and not one seemed to increase performance at all, any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

I see you are running Vista. Try right-clicking the game and run it in compatibility mode for Windows XP or 2000.

 

Have tried running it in compatibility mode as well as run as administrator. Same issue either way. Also when checking system load while running FFXI. Ram and processor are both near 30-40%.

 

This is most likely an issue related to the age of the game . . . I would try an Internet serach and see if you come up with anything. Perhaps there is a workaround.

 

i do recall that game did have problems with vista, so thats ur issue i guess

 

I have multiple other computers i use to run the game , one of them is XP pro and the other Windows Vista Ultimate, so i know its not a compatibilty issue with vista. The only information I have found by searching for similar issues came from people having debugging enabled in DX9, I have the DX10 SDK installed and no debugging options are selected or enabled.

 

What graphics card is in your Vista Ultimate that runs the game correctly?

If your Ultimate is using a DX9 graphics card and running the game correctly then it might be possible that a DX10 setting/feature that the game doesn't support is causing the problem. I'd recommend turning off/disabling any graphics card setting and features that are DX10 (that were not available in DX9) and see if the low frame rates continue. If the frame rates improve re-enable the DX10 features one by one until you find which one is causing the problem.

(Also are you having Windows force any settings, or are you set to let the "Application deside" for your AA and AF? If you are having Windows force setting, you may want to set them to application deside, and if you have them at application deside you may want to switch them to force running at a low setting).

 

I have always figured it has somthing to with DX10 settings , but using the directx control panel and the card options themself i dont really see anywhere to disable and or turn them down.

Also Windows is not set to force anything, everything is set to let application decide.

 

If possible try the following:

On your Vista Ultimate system write down (or compare the two systems side by side) each of the graphics settings. If your Ultimate system is using a card that only supports a certain AA or AF multiplier (ex 6x AA and 2x AF) try unchecking the application decide check box in the notebook and set it to the multiplier you are using on the Ultimate. (It is possible the older game(s) may have issues trying to convert for settings that did not exist when the game was made). If there are types of filtering and buffering on the notebook that don't exist on your Ultimate system uncheck them as well. If you set all the graphics features the same on both systems and still get low fps on the notebook then that may help isolate it to a DX10 issue.

 

All settings on both machines are the same ~.~

 

A bit off-topic, since I'm not a gamer, but considering the price -- and the fact that folks who are getting fully decked-out 9500t systems from HP with the 2.2 Ghz processor, the same video card, but the faster 7200 rpm drive are getting a Windows Experience Index rating of only 4.6 (and I checked one of the $1,399 9535s at Best Buy and it gets a 4.5 ranking, even with the 1.5 Ghz processor and slower hard drives), I'm wondering how those of you who have this laptop feel it performs, overall?

I'm looking at closer to $2,000 to get the faster model (of course that would also include a bigger battery and a spare, plus bluetooth, the faster hard drive and the fingerprint reader), but I still wonder if just getting the one at Best Buy isn't worth it (and hope you get your game issue worked out, Sore2000).
Jeff

 

Hey Jeff, if you could complete our FAQ in the What Should I Buy forum we could give you a recommendation. If you are not gaming you don't need to worry about the graphics card and I'd say as long as you have a Core 2 Duo processor you shouldn't worry too much about the clock speed.

 

Well, Chaz, I took your advice, and I got one responder, who made two posts, and that was it

So you really think it doesn't matter whether I have a 1.5 Ghz Core 2 Duo or a 2.2 Ghz Core 2 Duo and whether I have ANY video card or, say, the 8600 everyone seems to be falling all over himself for, not being a gamer (but someone who DOES watch and record A LOT of TV on the home system and will likely get a laptop with a TV tuner, as well)???

I'm NOT just thinking about TODAY, either... I buy systems thinking about 3 years from now... Will this system still be "satisfactory" in 3 years... Not "state-of-the-art," but within-reason "useable"??? And THAT'S the balance I'm trying to strike between price and performance with this laptop purchase...

As a lead moderator with more than 22,000 posts to your credit, Chaz, if anyone has the experience to answer these sort of questions, it just might be YOU.
Jeff