FEAR Combat on HP ze2000 (ATI Radeon Xpress 200M)

My friend got a HP ze2000 laptop. Specs:
AMD Sempron 2800+ (~1.6 GHz, 256KB L2 cache)
1024MB DDR 333Mhz Memory
40GB 4200rpm HDD
ATI Radeon Xpress 200M graphics with 128MB dedicated video memory

He doesn't game a lot, but I managed to convince him of the bliss of multiplayer FPS, particularly FEAR Combat. Now, my friend won't accept (yet ) to download the large game package (1,8GB), if he's not 100% sure the game can run playable on his system. He got only 4GB of free HDD space left, so he propably have to remove something before installing the game. What I know from threads found here in NBR is that 1GB of memory and Xpress 200M with dedicated 128MB should handle the game pretty well atleast at 640x480 resolution with minimum settings. And IMHO the minimum settings are best for multiplayer FEAR anyway, so no worries there.

But how can the Sempron 1.6GHz cope with the game that lists Pentium 4 1.7GHz as a minimum CPU requirement? And can he expect atleast a minimum of 25 fps in heavy firefights on his system with those settings? I would appreciate the minimum fps ratings from anyone with similar system specs with these settings: 640x480, music Off, every graphics/computer settings set at minimum except of course these two: DX8 Shaders - Off and Pixel Doubling - Off. (if those are set On, the game looks like Doom 1 )

 

Its defiantly playable ive seen screenshots of FEAR on the x200m and if you search around the forum im sure you can find them. Im not sure what settings they were taken at.

But honestly is it really fun playing at low res and uber low detail? Whay not buy an older game and turn the graphics up? e.g. Dues Ex? Serious Sam?

 

I was on of those who you speak of, I played on a similar setup on my old HP dv8125nr (look up specs at hp.com)

Only difference from factory was I made it 2 gig of ram.

On said system I ran 800x600 on mostly low but some medium (can't remember offhand as that was 8 months ago) and I got a very playable FEAR Combat Online.

So the video should not stop you from enjoying low rez low detail gaming. Guessing it would be slower than mine as its 1.8ghz opposed to 1.6ghz and had more ram.

But give it a shot, should be able to run 640x480 everything low fine is my guess.

 

if you are trying to open him up to fps's, FEAR is too much of a system hog to convince him. it will be a miserable experience.

check out half life and counter strike (original not source)

I would recommend hl2 and cs:s, but for integrated graphics, the originals will be a better experience.

 

Thanks for your replies.

The guy has tried some older FPS games like Alien vs Predator, Unreal Tournament, but never online, only single player or in very small LAN. So he knows what fps games are. He doesn't buy games, because he rarely plays on his PC. I suggested him FEAR Combat, which he considered trying since it's completely free.

I have seen Havok's FEAR Combat screenshots. They suggest 30-40 fps for games with max number of 8 players. Havok's 200m had only 64MB shared memory and there were no dedicated memory, so it's good to know it was actually worse than my friends' one. But those screenshots doesn't tell much about the real gameplay since there's not much action. Is it completely smooth or are there any stuttering that disrupt proper aiming? If the fps won't drop under 25 in any situation at settings I reported earlier, then I would think it's very playable.

And yes it's great fun even at lowest settings, not sure about the lowest resolution though. But my cousin plays it always at 640x480 reso with his desktop, so it's propably not that bad at all. Even I play at lowest settings except at native 1440x900 reso. Actually, in FEAR Combat the gameplay is more important than eye candy which can actually hurt your competency (shadows, smoke, bodies etc.). The game is so intensive, you wan't as little other distractions as possible. Of course when I play the single player I turn everything at maximum, because there the atmosphere is more important.

 

if the game is free just download it and see for yourself

 

That's what I'm trying to get him do.