Help! Oblivion on a budget.

I recently bought a HP G60 16" with AMD Turion X2/nVidia 8200M G and decided to try out Oblivion and see if it was playable on it. I even rand the systems requirements lab test and everything seemed to pass on both tests, except the processor for some reason.

I found the only resolution widescreen resolution that was playable was 720x480(something like that). It didnt matter if I turned off all the effects and reduced textures - it wouldnt run smoothly on higher resolutions. But strangely enough, it handles textures on high and HDR at that resolution perfectly well.

This is fine for some people, but it really couldnt stand how blurry and jagged everything was because of amount of stretching. So Ive pretty much decided to return this notebook PC and am looking for something with a little more graphic power and a smaller screen.

After doing some research, I found that people could play Oblivion on med-high settings with the new ATi HD3200 (which is also integrated I think). I even found a YouTube video of someone running it reasonably well on high settings on an Acer 5536 15.6" with an AMD Athlon X2/ATi HD3200. Its actually one of the notebooks Im considering because of its low price at $480CAN.

The other choice is the Asus K40 14" which is quite a bit more expensive at $680CAN (sale price). It does have an Intel Core Duo processor and nVidia G102M (Im hoping its dedicated) though, which is nice since Ive grown tired of ATi's lack of support for their integrated cards and AMD's overly hot-running processors.

Which one would be better for playing games? These are the two models that I have found (with graphics other than the nVidia 8820M or Intel GMA) that are available in local retail stores for under $700; sadly buying online is not an option for me. Sorry, Im a bit new to PC gaming and have only ever owned notebooks with integrated graphics. Any opinions would be appreciated, thanks.

 

See if you can find a good deal on a Dell Studio 15 (1555); it includes the ATi Mobility Radeon HD 4570 256MB or 512MB. I have the 256MB version and I've been playing Oblivion for several weeks now at my native 720p (1366x768) with pretty high settings, and it's great. It starts at $600 on Dell.com.

 

Yes! I was looking at that same model from Staples, but it seems they only have the French version; that and it is sold out! So frustrating...
Sadly its not possible for me to buy online at the moment, so shopping at Dell.com wont work in this case.
It would be amazing to play at the native 1366x768 resolution; just looks so much more crisp.
Thanks for the quick reply though.

 

Once you install a few Mods which are essential for decent gameplay, the game will stutter even on a 4670.

Cheers

 

Which mods are you referring to? I just started playing Oblivion so Im pretty new to it.
I bought the GotY edition for $20CAN at ebgames; seemed like a good deal since other places sell it for as much as $60.

 

Here is my experience with Oblivion and my notebook...

First, I have a HP dv5t with the 9600GT 512M video card. After tweaking and running over 200 mods it is still playable at 30 FPS (I cap my FPS with a OBSE plugin) at 1280x800

Now, you are on a budget but I would highly recommend at least a 512M VRAM as Oblivion is a video memory hog but on a budget you have to make sacrifices. I would not recommend many texture replacers with such a small amount of VRAM. My 512m card is usually always maxed while I play.

I also had to install a sound mod (Quiet_Feet_MAX_2_0) as the onboard sound had some major stuttering when around 4 legged animals (wolves mostly). It was so bad that I almost gave up playing. This only happened when going into combat with a wolf or other 4 legged animal.

I would also look into another mod (Oblivion Stutter Remover) which helps with video stuttering.

From your first post it appears that the G 102M is a little faster then the ATI 3200.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-G-102M.16313.0.html

Finally, I know you stated no online options, but here is a ASUS with a 4570 for $650US (on sale) so if I where you I would do some digging and look for a deal with a nice card. Don't give up

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220569

I hope this helps.

 

Thanks, that was very helpul

I decided to go ahead and buy the ASUS K40 with the nVidia G102M which says it has 512MB dedicated. Though I hear it is very low-end dedicated since its designed for low power-consumption in thin-and-light notebooks. It does have CUDA (whatever that is ).

I could probably find a more powerful notebook with better graphics if I waited, but probably not at any retail store near my home. Too bad, since the deals online are much better for the most part. Anyway, I feel very happy with my purchase since I got $120 off the original price (got the very last one, on the very last day xD).

Ill update this post after running Oblivion on my new notebook.

 

Just throwing it out there, but my brother was able to play on his DV4 with intergrated HD3200 and at native resolution, 1280x800 I believe, with pretty decent settings.

I installed these textures for him:

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=7163

Basically it allows you to use "small" textures but have them look higher resolution than what they originally did. Do that and a couple other graphic saving tweaks and you have a pretty decent game, even with mods.

 

Thanks a lot. Ill definitely try that out if doesnt run well as is.

 

Look, the 102M is mediocre, at best. Having 512MB RAM won't help it at all, and you'll be lucky to utilize a third.

What is your budget? Surely there's a better option out there.

 

Just tried it out and it works perfectly well at the native 1366x768 resolution (preset medium settings). Even plays fine with V.Sync and HDR enabled and its very playable. Only noticed a drop in frame rate after switching to preset high settings. So Im completely satisfied with its performance so far. The game simply looks wonderful.

[update]
I also ran the Systems Requirements Lab Test and it passed both minimum and recommended with no problem at all. It actually reached all the way to the very end where it displayed 'fast'.

 

I think you can play of low settings.

 

If you have ever played Oblivion or Morrowind before you know that vanilla oblivion sucks major balls( Bugs, Performance Issues, Leveling Enemies and much much more)

Get: Oscuros Oblivion Overhaul, Operation Optimization, Deadly Reflex..

Or well look for your self:

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/top/alltime.php


This will improve your oblivion experience by 100%.

Cheers

 

I would stay away from distant LOD textures but there is a nice texture replacer that should not impact performance that bad. It is VibrantTexures by CorePC. I had to give up on the distantLOD stuff as the performance hit was just to great for my taste.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18677

I would also suggest following the Oblivion mod forum for any additional mods you are planning to add. If you decide to install FCOM don't get frustrated if you have to re-install Oblivion a couple times
I was new to Oblivion and it took me a week to get it installed properly along with the other mods I use.

http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.php?showforum=25

 

I have played Oblivion with Quarls pack 3, full LOD upgrades etc. The whole "Mod" package adds an extra 12Gb to the game folder...

Looks amazing but, even with 1Gb Video memory, running creates a motino blur effect... Play's like a film almost...

You do need graphics power though...

If you google Ovblivion mods, you'll find loads of places for advice.

Try TES4 nexus...?

OB

 

Oodle-Bear, did you install a motion blur effect? Probably...

@nlspoh, there are thousands of mods out there, many many good ones. I would definitely suggest an overhaul though, as I also can't stand the original Oblivion leveling system. Fortunately, for a first playthrough, you don't even notice it until around level 20 or so. At least I didn't.

 

Nope... I just ran alot and ended up with a really high running speed... seemed that if you ran down hill, the trees blurred until you slowed down, not a mod itself, just s side effect of running lol

OB

 

Without mods, I've set the game to 255 speed and 255 athletics... there isn't any blur. And I almost die when I run into something or run off a shallow hill because it's running so fast.

 

Yeah the running off hills part is kind of annoying, you seem to perform a run-jump and then crash..... I found that can be fatal if your not careful.

The "motion blur" seemed to be when i was using the 4096 x 4096 tileing instead of the usual 512 x 512 in the vanilla version, along with landscape texture inprovements and weather mods...


basically think of final fantasy, the FMV parts, that's what my 'Oblivion' looks like all of the time, almost "real" looking, if that makes sense.

I had both my graphics cards running and the game was on ultra detailed using 1920 x 1200 resolution, Vsync turned off... if that helps.

If you want, i can list the mods i used...?

OB

 

Nice, it seems I can play on modified medium settings (with large textures and HDR).
Anyone know how to fix the problem of the cheat console not opening? Its strange because it worked fine on my last computer with the same vista premium 32-bit OS.
I dont think Ill install any mods until later. I just want to turn off the grass and edit my character appearance; I dislike using actual cheats.

 

You have to enable it in the oblivion.ini file, in reference to the console.

 

So far, I dont find that I need the console yet. But I might after level 20 or so...
I hear theres a Ring of Gods mod to fix this problem if editing the .ini file doesnt work?
Still confused as to why my previous laptop had no problems opening the console and this one does. Same OS and I didnt change any of the program files - unless Asus did something weird...

 

Does your laptop have an IR port, like for a remote control or something? For whatever reason, these tend to conflict with opening the console in Oblivion and Fallout 3. My old Studio 15 had an infrared port, and I could never open the console in FO3. My new one has no IR port, and the console works just fine.

If yours does have one, try uninstalling the driver.

 

Are you trying to say that you think mods are cheats? I hope not. Many mods add a ton of "extras" to the game that should of been in the game already.

Here is a list in no particular order...

- Maybe you don't like the way Oblivion handles leveling... maybe you like experience based leveling better... try Oblivion XP
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15619

- Maybe you don't like it when a merchant cries for help and calls you a criminal when you pick up an apple... try Put it in its Place - Enhanced Grabbing
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=19847

- Maybe you want to add your own map markers... try Map Marker Overhaul
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=26389

- Maybe you want a more "living" economy... try Enhanced Economy - Gold Adjustment
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=25078

- Maybe you don't like the fact that guards from one city know what you did in a different city. What? do they have Motorola's in Cyrodiil? try... Reneers Guard Overhaul
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5977

- Maybe you think people should walk from one city to another... maybe you think that the roads seem a little quite? Do the citizen's of Cyrodiil fly everywhere? try... Crowded Roads Revisited
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20575

These are just a few mods I use to "enhance" game play. I use many, many more. How and don't forget about combat mods. There are a few really good ones out that add different combat styles.

 

Absolutely not. I was just referring to the infinite gold/stat editing/gate&chest unlocks which can be done in the console.

Thanks for the list of useful mods; Ill definitely take a look at those and see which will best suit the way I want to play the game.

As for the IR receiver, Ive been looking and looking but I cant seem to find it in my device manager. Maybe someone can help me with this?

 

You enabled the console in your oblivion.ini file, right?

 

Oblivion without Mods = Epic Fail.

 

Not yet. Not really sure which folder to edit.