***Gaming Forum Information Booth***

Gaming Forum Information Booth</top>
by crash and Charles P. Jefferies
last updated: 9 May 2011

The gaming forum is a busy one with many new threads created every day. For that reason, we created this guide to direct you to important and useful threads so the same information and/or questions do not get repeated over and over. This leaves more room on the front page of the forum for new questions and topics to be brought up. Enjoy your stay at NBR!

Quick Jump to
GPU and Gaming Threads&raquo;
Notebook Maintenance Threads&raquo;
Other Threads&raquo;
FAQ&raquo;

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GPU and Gaming Threads

These threads provide information about GPUs, drivers, games, and other gaming software and hardware.

Updating Mobile Video Card Drivers (Windows 7 and Vista)
A step-by-step guide for installing mobile video drivers for NVIDIA and ATI graphics cards in Windows 7 and Vista. Post your driver questions here.

NBR Mobile Video Bios Database
Need a vBIOS or want to share your vBIOS? Post here.

**Recommend Me a Game** Ask About Game Recommendations Here
This thread will be used to ask the users of NBR to recommend you some games to play depending on the kind of games you like. You can also post about any games that should be added to the list, whether they be old, or up and coming.

Steam Games Deals
A summary of the latest deals on Steam games.

Info on NVIDIA Optimus Technology
This thread will tell you where and how you can access the Optimus settings, and how you can use them to, at least crudely, optimize performance vs. battery life on an Optimus-enabled laptop.

The Complete List of Free (Quality, Family Friendly) Games
A list of free games appropriate for all ages.

The Alternative Free Games Thread
A comprehensive list of free games.

Gaming with a Netbook
Discussion on gaming with a netbook.

Starcraft II Tips
Keep getting rushed by those annoying little Zerglings before your Battlecruisers come online? Check here for Starcraft II tips or share your own!

How to make a DIY ViDock
Since you cannot upgrade your mobile graphics card, a DIY ViDock is a great way to improve graphics performance without buying a new notebook. Check this thread for information on how to do this.

DIY ViDock Experiences
If you own a DIY ViDock, post your experiences and benchmarks here!

Show off your awesome screenshots!
Got some cool in-game screenshots of you pwning some poor noob? Managed to crank Crysis to all Very High settings and want to show off the landscape? Post your screenshots here, but don't bother viewing this thread if you don't have broadband internet!

Official Flightsim Thread
Enjoy flightsims? For questions, comments, or anything else post here!

GPU and Gaming Threads&raquo;, Top&raquo;
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Notebook Maintenance Threads

Information about computer maintenance related to gaming and GPUs go here.

Monitoring Notebook Temps: nVidia & ATI, CPU, HDD - Do your temps worry you?
Learn how to monitor your temps.

Windows PC Optimization Guide
This three-part series is designed to help everyday computer users improve their productivity by optimizing their computer's performance, making use of handy shortcuts in the Windows operating system, and creating and maintaining a backup schedule.

The Undervolting Guide
Undervolting is a process which reduces the excess "voltage" given to the CPU using a software. This is widely used as a cooling solution and in my opinion more effective than any other cooling solution available (thermal paste, cooling pad, etc) at NO cost. Results can vary from 5c up to 30c drop in temperature, most will achieve an average of 10c.

Notebook Maintenance Threads, Top&raquo;
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Other Threads

For threads that don't fit any of the above categories well.

NBR Steam Community Group *Outside link to Steam's site*
If you have Steam, join NBR's unofficial Steam group to play and chat with fellow NBR members!

StarCraft II Friends List Database
Interested in playing StarCraft II with NBR members? Look no further!

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Friends List Database
Interested in playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2 with NBR members? Look no further!

NBR TeamSpeak Server (Bad Company 2, Starcraft 2)
A TeamSpeak server for NBR users hosted by our very own htwingnut!

NBR Mumble Server
Chat with NBR members on this Mumble server provided by our very own ViciousXUSMC!

Other Threads, Top&raquo;
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Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can my notebook run XYZ game?
2. Is X GPU better than Y GPU?
3. How do I update my graphics drivers in Windows?
4. What game should I get?
5. My laptop starts stuttering after gaming for a while and in some cases, crashes. What is going on?
6. Is there any way I can chat in person with NBR members?

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1. Can my notebook run XYZ game?
For accurate help on whether or not your current laptop (or one you don't own) will run a particular game, post here.
FAQ&raquo;, Top&raquo;

<a name="FAQ2"> 2. Is X GPU better than Y GPU?
If you are looking for a laptop and would like to know which GPU is stronger, or are wondering how your GPU compares to others, post here.
FAQ&raquo;, Top&raquo;

3. How do I update my graphics drivers in Windows?
For Windows 7 or Vista, see the Win 7 Updating Video Card Drivers thread. If you are running XP, see the old Updating Video Card Drivers thread.
FAQ&raquo;, Top&raquo;

4. What game should I get?
Get personalized recommendations by our knowledgeable users here.
FAQ&raquo;, Top&raquo;

5. My laptop starts stuttering after gaming for a while and in some cases, crashes. What is going on?
There are several reasons this may be happening, but the first simple step would be to update your video card driver. If that does not help, then monitor your notebook temps while gaming to see if your computer is overheating or not. With that info, we can help you better solve your problem.
FAQ&raquo;, Top&raquo;

6. Is there any way I can chat in person with NBR members?
Yes! You can join either the TeamSpeak server or Mumble server, both of which are used by members here.
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New gaming sticky for the new decade! Let me know if I'm missing anything or if you want to see something added.

 

Well done sir, well done. Thanks for doing this, hopefully it'll help clear some clutter!

 

Thanks to crash and Chaz for the updated sticky.

Now let's hope people use it.

 

You could probably add some links for Vicious's friends list database for all the games he has? I saw Battlefield and SC2's friends list not sure if there are more

 

Good idea, I'll find the links for those and also add in a link to the Steam NBR group.

 

Thanks crash for another awesome thread.. its become much easier to find info in the garming forum now with ur threads... Now if the same is done to the hardware forum, it would be excellent.. if i'm right , its in the process being done so right?

 

I'm not sure.. I don't frequent the hardware forum so I don't know what's going on there.

 

Very nicely put together! Thanks crash

 

Thanks

 

How about adding my NBR TeamSpeak 3 server to the list? It's open to anyone (preferably NBR users) for up to ten consecutive users at any given time. It's not used all that often and when it is, usually only a few people are on.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...-bad-company-2-starcraft-2-a.html#post6142501

Feel free to join.

 

Good idea, I added it

 

While you are doing this awesomeness, add the NBR mumble too since Mumble has some amazing features lacked by any other VOIP options for gamers.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...mble-chat-server-alt-teamspeak-ventrillo.html

 

*poof* added!

 

I made a thread with information on Nvidia Optimus a while back, which is now banished to page 8 or something. I'm not sure if you want it on this list, but it might be relevant as it's a subject that has a lot of questions and few answers floating around. Here's the link so you can check it out:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...05-information-nvidia-optimus-technology.html

Will try to keep it updated as new features are implemented.

 

Looks good to me, I'll add it to the guide.

 

hey guys i have dell xps 15 playing games is becoming hard for me even after updating the grapjics drivers..
what are other softwares requirements and optimisations for playing all latest games smoothly...
please help/.

 

Hi guys, I'm gonna buy a Dell Inspiron 15R (I5-3210m and 6GB RAM) soon and I will play some old games such as San Andreas, some nfs most wanted and AOEIII, not every day but casually and I would like to monitor my cpu's and laptop in general temps and the fans speed if possible while I'm playing for not overheat it, which program do you recomend for that??

 

MSI afterburner and HWinfo64 together. Here's a very useful link: HOW TO: Monitoring CPU and GPU Temperatures In-Game/In-Benchmark with On-Screen Display

 

Im new to gaming on a laptop and i came here to ask how i can play games on very high settings. I bought the MSI gx60 with amd radeon 8970m and almost every game plays on medium settings or lower, and i was thinking if i was supposed to do something to make the laptop able to play games on high and above settings? please help I really want to play good games without any problems. thank you.

 

It is true that laptops are now available only in versions with 2 video cards?(nvidia+intel, ati+intel) Will there be more laptops with a discrete graphics card?

 

Not true at all.

Edit: sorry misunderstood, yes, they all have igp, some will have it disabled though.

 

So, apparently Steam winter sale is gonna kick of on 18th of December.